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Cassie Tolhurst
Professor Nathan Cole
ENGL-2010
Position Paper Final Portfolio

A Push toward Body Positive

In a world where images of youth, thinness, and perfection are plastered on every television
screen, magazine page, and department store window its hard for young women to escape the never
ending chase of the ideal beauty. Womens fashion magazines are covered with headlines of how to
lose 5 pounds by next weekend, how to make your nose seem smaller, and 3 simple exercises for a
tighter toned butt. There is no shortage of messages that make young women feel inadequate, and that
they are on a constant chase for an image that they cannot seem to achieve. The cause for body positive
media is more important than ever. Because the incoming wave of these images are so strong, a push
equally as strong needs to be made against it. Pictures of women as leaders, celebrating diversity and
accomplishments beyond clear skin and a flat stomach need to make an appearance in main stream
media so they can teach young girls they are more than just their waist size.
Young women are being exposed to these beauty ideals, like perfect skin, teeth and hair, with a
flawless lengthy thin body, and it is impossible to ignore with constant advertisements, extreme photo
editing and even plastic surgery. But is this warped vision of aspiration produced and copulated by the
media? Some could argue that advertisements and magazines sell the clothes, not the body of the
model. There was a study done by Anne Becker, and Rebecca Burwell of the Harvard Eating Disorders
Center that studied women in part of Fiji where Western television hadnt yet reached. (Body Project)
The standard for beauty in that area was very different, the larger softer bodies were deemed most
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Figure 1 "NYC Girls Project"
attractive because that was indicative of wealth and high status. Once American programing was
introduced they studied them for three years. The results of that study were shocking. They started
wanting to emulate the actresses and models they saw. 74% of the girls reported feeling too fat, and
the amount who reported bulimic symptoms increased fivefold. (Body Project)
In modern times it is common knowledge that editing software is used throughout the media,
and that that perfect ideal might not be attainable. 63% of girls agree that the body image the fashion
industry represents is unrealistic, and 47% think it is unhealthy. (NYC Girls Project) In this day and age it
is easy to identify that, but even with knowing better it still has a negative effect emotionally because
60% still say that they compare themselves to those unrealistic or unhealthy women and 48% still wish
they were that skinny and even admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat to lose weight. (Body
Project) Coming down with body sickness can cause young women to have low self-esteem this can
lead to actual illnesses and harming their own body. The risk of teenage motherhood is raised by up
to 50 percent among teenage girls with lower self-esteem. (NYC Girls Project)
While no one can deny the benefit of working out and eating right, the obsession for instant and
drastic change drives these articles. As referenced earlier, this style of thinking can often lead young girls
and women alike to eating disorders. It can start out young. According to NEDA, National Eating Disorder
Association, said that by age 6, girls especially start to express concerns about their own weight or
shape. 40-60% of elementary school girls (ages 6-12) are concerned about their weight or about
becoming too fat. (Get the Facts on Eating Disorders) Although eating disorders and extreme body
dissatisfaction only increases with age, 86% report onset of eating disorder symptoms by age 20. (Eating
Disorder Statistics)
The effects of these media images can have some very dire
consequences on the young women of todays society. What needs to
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happen is a movement towards body positive media. Body positive media will reflect positivity and
reinforce and celebrate diversity in women of all ages. The footsteps of the New York City government
need to be followed. New York City is launching a self-esteem initiative to help girls believe their value
comes from their character, skills, and attributes not appearance. (NYC Girls Project) They have a
program that covers print ads on busses and subways and also have classes planned. Targeting girls at
such a young age will be very beneficial and instill positive thoughts and confidence in their life.
While the NYC Girls Project targets younger girls, teen girls and young women are still struggling
with similar issues. There are movements being made to target these girls as well. Aerie, a sub brand of
American Eagle, has opted for ads that dont include digital enhancement or retouching of the models.
The company says that it wants to promote more realistic standards for their teen and preteen
customers. (Dockterman, "American Eagle Stops Photoshopping Models for New Lingerie Campaign")
While this is a step in the right direction, the girls depicted in the ads are still models, and dont
necessarily represent the average girl.
There are websites popping up in response to this epidemic that also focus on teen girls. Proud 2
B Me is a website that offers help to those with eating disorders, and empowers other young women to
be confident and start the conversation about body image. Their slogan is building a nation where
confidence rules. This type of media needs to be more popularized and widespread. (Proud 2 B Me)

The need for body positive media is also very apparent in sports. In an era of feminist and
politically correct values, not to mention the closely held belief that all men and women are created
equal, the fact that all men and women are notand that some are more beautiful than others
disturbs, confuses, even angers. (Newman, 2000) In a field where women are judges more harshly on
their appearance than on their actual skill, you can see skiers or golfers posing in bikinis for publications
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because a sexier images sells more than actual merit. These efforts can earn sponsorshipsthough not
nearly as many as the men get. Even though most female athletes make the bulk of their money from
endorsements, Sports Illustrateds 2013 list of the 50 highest earning athletes didnt include a single
woman. (Dockterman, "Medals Arent Enough: Female Olympians Still Have to Sell Sexiness.")
Growing up in todays society as a young woman can be very hard and daunting. When you are
constantly judged and told to improve your looks it can hard to identify yourself by anything other than
your physical appearance. With an increase in body positive media we can unlock a whole new level of
female independence and growth without the chains of low self-esteem weighing them down. The need
for more body positive media is very prevalent in todays society and for the future of young women.







Works Cited

Dockterman, Eliana. "Medals Arent Enough: Female Olympians Still Have to Sell Sexiness." Time. 10 02
2014: n. page. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2014/02/10/medals-
arent-enough-female-olympians-still-have-to-sell-sexiness/>.
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Dockterman, Eliana. "American Eagle Stops Photoshopping Models for New Lingerie Campaign | TIME."
Time. Time, 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://time.com/1187/american-eagle-ditches-
photoshop-for-new-lingerie-campaign/
"Eating Disorder Statistics." Anad. ANAD, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
"The Issues." NYC Girls Project. The City of New York, 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
The Body Project. Bradly University, 2014. Web 4 Mar. 2014
"Proud2Bme." Proud2Bme. The National Eating Disorders Assoc., 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
<http://proud2bme.org/>.
Valentine, LaNae. "Beauty Extremes." Recapturing Beauty. N.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
<https://recapturingbeauty.byu.edu/topics/timeline.php>.
Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media And Body Image : If Looks Could Kill. London: Sage, 2005.
eBook.