The work examines the concept of beauty and unrealistic body image and beauty standards propagated by the media.
The Body has been traditionally understood as a gift. Generally a gift is given and accepted and not demanded. The dissatisfaction about the body-gift is partly caused by the images that are being bombarded through various media. As a result ideals of body shapes are formed both in men and women, nowadays from a very early age. Children in many countries (more so in developed ones) consume media for three to four hours daily on average. The perfect body image standards set by the media are almost impossible to live up to. This can cause low self-esteem and can lead to psychological disorders such as depression. Contemporary media’s presentation of the body, especially in advertisements, almost amounts to "organs without body". However, some individuals and organizations have come forward to counter the unrealistic body image and beauty standards propagated by the media. Ultimately, one must develop a positive body image.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Brief History of the Concept of Body
3. The Concept of Beauty
4. Body Shape Ideals
4.1 Body Shape Ideals among Men
4.2 Body Shape Ideals among Women
5. Media Exposure and Body Image Ideals
6. Media Causation and Body Image Perceptions
7. Impossible Standards
8. The Dove ‘Real Beauty Campaign’ and Perceptions of Beauty
9. Organs without Body
10. A Positive Body Image
11. Born Beautiful
12. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This work explores the pervasive influence of contemporary media on the perception of body image, examining how unrealistic beauty standards are propagated and internalized by audiences. It investigates the psychological impacts of media exposure, the fragmentation of the human body in modern digital imagery, and the societal efforts to counter these dominant narratives to promote a healthier, more positive self-perception.
- The historical and philosophical development of the concept of the body.
- The impact of media-driven body shape ideals on men and women.
- The relationship between media exposure, self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction.
- The role of digital manipulation and unrealistic beauty standards in advertising.
- Critiques of corporate initiatives like the Dove 'Real Beauty Campaign'.
Excerpt from the Book
9. Organs without Body
As in almost every other field the digital age has transformed the discussions on the body. The digital image, or better, the logic of new media has literally opened up the body, dematerializing its corporeal layers into fragments of information. ‘A body-in-pieces’ that appears to be fully autonomous, having left behind its holistic body notion, has been born out of this new configuration. “Over the last two decades, the discourse around and about the body, as represented in popular science, in the arts, in theory and cultural studies, and even in the realm of advertisement and fashion has gotten increasingly under the skin.” One of the important results of this process of getting under the skin has been the fragmentation of the body: the presentation of a body-in-pieces. It is said that body at the turn of the 21 century “has become an organ without a body, or into an organ instead of a body”. In this scenario “the face, which has always ‘over-coded’ other body parts, has now ceased to be the most representative signifier of human appearance; under the skin every organ has an (inter) face. Faces are becoming obsolete. For instance, “Words usually reserved for your face are now possible all over your body,” reads an advertisement for the body wash Oil of Olay. What we see in the advertisement is not a beautiful woman with a beautiful face, but an “even-toned” body with a “smooth texture” that is supposed to look “radiant and resilient”. These new characteristics are shown in a healthy looking body (mostly legs and arms), indicating a fit body. Thus organ without a body is in which any body part pushes toward the surface, and becomes able to overcode the rest of the body. Potentially, each organ may stand in for the whole body.” This certainly is the latest reality with regard to the body as it is presented in contemporary media.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the biological and social dimensions of body image and introduces the pervasive role of modern media in influencing how children and adults perceive their bodies.
2. Brief History of the Concept of Body: Examines philosophical and anthropological perspectives on the body, from the dualism of Plato and Descartes to modern social constructivist views.
3. The Concept of Beauty: Explores the classical and metaphysical definitions of beauty, tracing the shift from objective aesthetic ideals to modern, socially constructed standards.
4. Body Shape Ideals: Discusses the evolving pressures on men and women to conform to specific physical appearances, highlighting the rise of issues like the 'Adonis Complex'.
5. Media Exposure and Body Image Ideals: Analyzes how media influences body image through the selection of role models and the use of subtle, often subconscious, persuasive messaging.
6. Media Causation and Body Image Perceptions: Investigates the psychological mechanisms behind social comparison and the 'third-person effect' when consuming media imagery.
7. Impossible Standards: Details the prevalence of digital manipulation and photo-editing technologies that set unattainable beauty benchmarks for consumers.
8. The Dove ‘Real Beauty Campaign’ and Perceptions of Beauty: Provides a critical assessment of Dove's marketing strategy and its attempt to challenge traditional advertising stereotypes.
9. Organs without Body: Analyzes the fragmentation of the body in the digital age, where specific body parts are fetishized over the holistic human form.
10. A Positive Body Image: Proposes strategies such as media literacy education to help individuals develop a healthier relationship with their own physical identity.
11. Born Beautiful: Highlights positive counter-movements, including the use of diverse representations in entertainment to foster self-acceptance.
12. Conclusion: Summarizes the transformation of body image across history, concluding that we currently reside in a 'postfacial' era where traditional human communication is diminished by fragmented media imagery.
Key Words
Body, Body-image, Beauty, Faciality, Media, Advertising, Self-esteem, Digital Age, Fragmentation, Role models, Social construction, Beauty standards, Body surveillance, Media literacy, Postfacial era
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
This work examines the complex relationship between media representations, evolving body image perceptions, and the psychological impact these have on individuals in contemporary society.
What are the central themes discussed?
The text covers historical perspectives on the body, the evolution of beauty standards, the psychological effects of media exposure, and the socio-cultural implications of digital body fragmentation.
What is the central research question?
The work seeks to understand how the constant influx of media-driven images influences how individuals, particularly children and young adults, perceive their bodies and their self-worth.
Which methodology is employed?
The author employs a qualitative approach, synthesizing historical, philosophical, and social science literature, alongside contemporary media case studies, to analyze the social construction of the body.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It traverses the transition from traditional concepts of the body to the modern "postfacial" era, specifically detailing how advertising technologies create impossible standards and fragment the human form.
Which keywords best characterize this text?
The core concepts include Body, Body-image, Beauty, Faciality, Media, Advertising, and the socio-technical impacts like body surveillance and fragmentation.
How does the author interpret the term "Organs without Body"?
The author uses this term to describe how digital media fragments the body into parts (e.g., specific muscles or skin texture) that are prioritized over the holistic human entity, essentially making the face or a whole body obsolete.
What is the author's critique of the Dove 'Real Beauty Campaign'?
While acknowledging its attempt to challenge beauty stereotypes, the author critiques the campaign for potentially creating new, polished stereotypes and for the inherent contradiction of using "real" images to sell beauty products.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Francis Arackal Thummy (Autor:in), 2015, The concept of beauty in the media, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/513236
