Girls are portrayed as super thin and boys should be extremely muscular. At least, this is how the media makes people think. From the time we are young, everything around us tells us how we should look and what we should do. When a girl sees other girls who are very skinny and get lots of guys and attention, they assume that is how they have to look to be pretty and likeable. We also get an image in our heads from our families saying “Oh wow, you’re putting on some weight.” the day you start growing. Even if you are just naturally getting less thin because you are growing up and your metabolism is slowing down, people around you react instantly the second you start putting on pounds. It is a very negative thing, especially for children to be hearing from people who are supposed to be their support systems. We are all subjected to this. I can honestly say I’ve experienced the whole feeling of “maybe I should go to the gym more and eat less” because of what people have said to me since I’ve grown up and am not as stick thin as I was when I was 8.
http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_mediaeffect.shtml
I think it is such a terrible thing for people to be worrying about every day of their lives. Thankfully, the Dove campaign seems to be having a very positive effect on people. Their commercials just make people feel better about themselves and I think these commercials are a good thing to have around us today.
phiggnewton said,
August 23, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
amen! who hasn’t thought at least once in their life that a losing few more pounds would be like winning the lottery? >.< it can break anyone's self-esteem, but at least dove is trying to improve the damage
musicgal09 said,
August 24, 2009 @ 12:18 am
Yeah, I agree that everyone has thought that they don’t look like a “normal” person at least once in their life. The problem is that “normal” person really isn’t realistic.
jess1590 said,
August 24, 2009 @ 10:26 pm
yess! it is very normal to feel insecure. It’s so normal that being confident is a huge rarity. It is discomforting when your family or friends don’t support you, because if they don’t, you will. Surely not the marketing media.
rasputian said,
August 24, 2009 @ 10:47 pm
I personally have had to convince myself through constant thought, to believe that my self image was just perfect for me, and that what is seen on tv is not realistic nor desirable, though back several grades ago I probably was one of the most insecure person on the planet.
hickery said,
August 25, 2009 @ 1:52 am
I’ve went through the “go to the gym” stage! Too bad I’m unbelievably lazy and said “Screw it!” and grabbed a cookie after five minutes of the workout.
I should take up bollywood dancing. Follow the footsteps of my ANCESTORS. Or something like that.
The whole lack of support from your support system can really take a toll on kids, more than people realise. It’s so important for families to be on top of that! Like the Dove commercial says, talk to your daughter before the media does!
taylor490 said,
August 25, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Even though guys probably arent affected as often, it still happens to everyone, guy or girl and its definitly a problem in todays society. I think we can all say we’ve had “gym” phases or something similar
mnchkn said,
August 26, 2009 @ 11:30 pm
It’s really bad at our school if you think about it. The “popular guys” only like the super skinny gorgeous girls which I have to say we don’t have a large stock of so their worthless butts need to get over it and see the real person.