Body dissatisfaction is a term used to express the feeling that people may have that their actual physical appearance is not how they would ideally like it to be. Grabe, Hyde, and Ward state that approximately 50% of girls and undergraduate women experience body dissatisfaction (2008). They also state that body dissatisfaction has been linked to “critical physical and mental health problems” and that a person experiencing body dissatisfaction is at great risk for developing an eating disorder. Having unrealistic expectation for one’s body image creates a greater chance for body dissatisfaction. The media may influence one’s body image in such a way through the constant portrayal of the “thin ideal”.
The media broadcasts the “thin ideal” in almost every way possible. Not only are the models on the covers of magazines and in advertisements embodying the “thin ideal”, but the fictional characters in television shows and movies are almost always portrayed and thin and beautiful. Movies like Shrek where the “ugly” princess is green, overweight, and more masculine and the “beautiful” princess is thin and extremely feminine influences kids at an early age that fat is bad and thin is good. Also, as stated by many researchers, the models of today are drastically thinner than the models of the past. As each year goes by, the front cover models and the A-List celebrities reach new levels in their thinness, even reaching a level thinner than the criteria for anorexia (Grabe, Hyde, Ward 2008). A relatively new media craze is the numerous “reality shows” that are constantly being played on major television networks. Shows like America’s Next Top Model, The Hills, and The Real Housewives of Orange County, have real life women, not actresses or models, symbolizing the “average woman” in America. These women are the prime examples of how our culture’s standard for attractiveness has reached an unhealthy level. Not only do these women possess the scarily thin bodies, but they constantly discuss dieting, exercise to lose weight, and how they aren’t thin enough. It wasn’t bad enough that supermodels were bombarding our culture with negative body image references, but now these “reality shows” with “real people” are portraying the same message.