The pressure to look "better" is a very old social problem that is a result of imposed standards mostly spearheaded by media, fashion, and entertainment. Some people are affected by this pressure much more than others, as proven by this video.
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 689 Location: Hell on earth
sad story... however stupid people are stupid... i cant really feel sorry for people who are too incompetent to think for themselves... fact is she thought she was ugly and tryed to make herself look beautiful, unfortunately for her she was already beautiful and simply made herself ugly... oh well, hopefully someone will learn from her mistake and her disfigurement wont be a complete tragedy
According to scientific studies, men in general are also negatively affected by media influence and are very much concerned about their looks and how they view themselves when exposed to pictures of attractive women.
Everyone knows that the way women are portrayed in our culture - sexy, skinny, tall - makes the average woman feel a bit like the gum I had to peel off my shoe this morning. When we look at magazine ads or watch TV shows, we women feel inadequate - and it's no wonder, when the average woman model weighs up to 25% less than the typical woman and maintains a weight at about 15 to 20% below what is considered healthy for her age and height. But the 40,000 or so ads the average American is exposed to a year aren't just affecting the girls. A new study coming out of the University of Missouri found that men react negatively to unrealistic ads, too. What's interesting is it wasn't images of hot men that got the guys feeling self conscious - it was images of hot women.
The research began by trying to see if men were as negatively affected by men's magazines as women are by Cosmo and the like. Men that were given men's magazines like Maxim had lower self image, which got the researchers to question exactly what about the magazines cause the drop in self esteem. So they showed men just the pictures of objectified women, men, and the articles and again checked their esteem levels. They found that, surprisingly, it wasn't the images of idealized men that made the guys feel inadequate - it was the women. Even more surprising was that the male fashion group reported the least amount of body self-consciousness among the three groups - the guys couldn't care less what the other men looked like.
If you've ever been in high school, it's obvious why seeing a hot woman would make a less than ideal looking guy feel bad. I mean, what guy hasn't choked when trying to talk to the head cheerleader? Attractive women are intimidating, and the mere sight of one is enough to cause any average joe to give themselves a quick once-over.
The theory is that a beautiful women makes a man self conscious because the he's reminded that he's not in her league - that is, they take one look at a hot girl and quickly realize there's no way they're good-looking enough to bang her. Since women have the larger investment in offspring, they tend to be considered the 'picky' ones, evolutionarily speaking. The men and their billions of sperm have to compete with other guys to convince a girl that they've got the genes to be worth it.
To test this theory, the researchers performed one more experiment. They broke the men into two groups - one received magazine layouts of sexually idealized females and the other received the same layouts with average-looking 'boyfriends' added to the photos, with captions about how the female models are attracted to the average-looking men. The men who looked at just the model were more self-conscious, presumably because when the other men saw the bombshells liked 'normal guys,' they no longer felt she was out of reach.
64% of women say trying clothing on in the store lowers their self esteem, according to a new survey by Fitness Magazine.
"I feel trying on clothes is like, personal, very personal," says Tulane Barnes.
The survey found 28% of shoppers preferred to do their fittings at home. That doesn’t surprise Keidra Hatchett, who works in the ladies department at Dillard's Lynnhaven Mall.
“Sometimes, something won't fit and you'll be like ‘Well, let me go a size up for you’ and they'll be like ‘No, I just, I don't want it at all,” she says.
That’s a big fitting room confession. 14 percent of survey respondents admitted to refusing help so they didn't have to reveal their size.
That’s a normal issue, says clinical psychologist Barbara Cubic.
"We sadly live in a society where we still equate beauty with thinness," she says. "If you think about it, our body image is a combination of two things. It's our own self-appraisal and it's how we've integrated all the messages we've gotten from other people about the way we look as we grew up. So when we go into the fitting room, we're doing the same thing. We're making a self-appraisal saying 'Gosh, I think this looks good on me' and then we're wanting outside information to confirm or deny that appraisal that we've made."
That affirmation can come from people who aren’t even with you.
We're all familiar with the studies that show heavier women feel worse after seeing images of the "thin-ideal" women portrayed on television and in magazines. However, a new study published in this month's Sex Roles: A Journal of Research shows that even women at low weights are affected.
Eighty-one European-American women were measured on feelings of body and appearance satisfaction. Some of the women then viewed neutral images while the rest looked at magazine ads featuring models for one to three minutes. They were then re-evaluated on feelings of body satisfaction, with results showing that all women who were exposed to magazine ads reported lower levels of body satisfaction.
At the root of plastic surgery is the desire to improve or secure one's self-esteem
Originally, plastic surgery was conducted to repair injury. Nowadays, the surgery corrects more than just noticeable wounds. It is seen as a cure-all for deeper issues, namely lack of self-esteem. In a society that worships perfection and beauty, plastic surgery can be seen as a remedy for aesthetic woes.
"Looks are not the only factor in the development of self-esteem," according to Vicki Stark, a Montreal-based psychotherapist. "There is a lot of emphasis in today's culture on having perfect looks. In my opinion, it is a misconception when people relate physical perfection to happiness."
Yet, the popularity of plastic surgery has soared in recent years.
Wed Dec 03, 2008 6:41 pm
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imamonstertruck VIP
Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 532 Location: Louisville KY
see, I do not know what to say about this. I feel bad, but then, I really dont.
She was beautiful, so what?, now she isnt, well... who the fakk cares.
it is sad that everyday people hurt themselves due to insecurities based on celebrity shmucks.
Honestly, it is hard to care, even when I want to.
I saw a show the other day about young girls being anorexic at the ages of 7 and up.
Parents need to sit and explain to these children that what they see on the tv and mags is not reality. These parents need to help these kids find their own beauty they possess.
I don't feel bad at all. The woman clearly has self-esteem issues which should have been taken care of before her vanity issues. Yes the media influence was there but no one coerced her into doing that.
See signature below.
Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:49 pm
alexclaton VIP
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 689 Location: Hell on earth
edisme wrote:
I don't feel bad at all. The woman clearly has self-esteem issues which should have been taken care of before her vanity issues. Yes the media influence was there but no one coerced her into doing that.
See signature below.
precisely
Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:43 pm
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madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8249 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
I don't feel bad at all. The woman clearly has self-esteem issues which should have been taken care of before her vanity issues. Yes the media influence was there but no one coerced her into doing that.
See signature below.
Yeah, I mean, that sucks and all, but come on, have a little common sense.
I understand people wouldn't "feel bad" for her because it was her decision to do so and she was / is responsible for her actions. However, I try to preserve a natural sense of compassion in me towards others that is transcendental of any situation. I try to preserve it even in the sick society we are in today. It's very easy in our modern culture to be desensitized to others' situations and towards society itself. That desensitization is in a way, the result from the awareness of the problematic times we live in. So by losing one's innate compassion in one form or another, is, in my opinion, inadvertently allowing oneself to be a victim of these times. Cynics on many levels, are usually a product of the negative world they are in.
Yes, it is somewhat accurate to say that "nobody coerced" her into doing it. But in reality, everything is actually relative to each other. On a personal level, she alone is responsible for her actions. On the level of a social macrocosm, there are things she is unconscious of that directly and indirectly affect her. Any serious sociologist will tell you this. It is in fact, careless to think that an individual is in complete control of his or her own life without any outside influence at all. Every decision we make is actually a response to something else. That is the true definition of "responsibility". It is a response to something. So her actions, both on a conscious and unconscious level are her responsibilities (which are in turn, relative to her surroundings and her desires -- desires of which, are heavily shaped and influenced by mass media, etc.).
That is why it is imperative to study and expose these factors and continue to investigate other probable ones which increase the chances of the collective decline of self-esteem levels in modern society.
Cynics on many levels, are usually a product of the negative world they are in.
Guilty as charged. You can't adopt "radical" ideologies and not become a cynic. My lack of empathy to her situation is due to my strong belief in personal responsibility. I am just assuming here but chances are her emotional problems are more due to problems in her upbringing than the external factors such as the media. The media is just the catalyst to this type of self-destructive behavior. Parents and guardians are the shapers of society. I guess its just a bottom up perspective.
I am just assuming here but chances are her emotional problems are more due to problems in her upbringing than the external factors such as the media. The media is just the catalyst to this type of self-destructive behavior. Parents and guardians are the shapers of society. I guess its just a bottom up perspective.
The condition of her upbringing is largely influenced by conditioned previous generations. When there is media influence that is increasingly pervasive, its ability to shape social perceptions and establish unconscious standards increases from generation to generation. Personal responsibility isn't absent in this. It is exploited.
The condition of her upbringing is largely influenced by conditioned previous generations. When there is media influence that is increasingly pervasive, its ability to shape social perceptions and establish unconscious standards increases from generation to generation. Personal responsibility isn't absent in this. It is exploited.
Media is a double edged sword. Without it you and I would not be having this conversation. It is simply a means of communication with one another. Choice though limited has not been eliminated.
Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:52 am
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madthumbs
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8249 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
It always goes back to money. Money is the problem. Media is shaped by it, Models and hoes yearn for it. Without it, it would be harder to fund or support wars, or tax and oppress people. We need barter.
Media is a double edged sword. Without it you and I would not be having this conversation. It is simply a means of communication with one another.
I never said media was bad. I'm simply addressing the specific pervasive factors the media plays in heavily shaping the perceptions of general society. That response of your's is redundant, to be honest. Anyways, I have no desire to debate with you here (maybe you do, but I don't). I'm simply trying to share these scientific studies with everyone.
It always goes back to money. Money is the problem. Media is shaped by it, Models and hoes yearn for it. Without it, it would be harder to fund or support wars, or tax and oppress people. We need barter.
I've learned to accept money as of late. In current society it actually provides more freedom to have money. However one can make the same argument for food. The corny old saying of moderation seems to ring a bell here. Perhaps in some distant future when we are dead money won't be necessary but only economics can really decide that. Though I'm not against barter it is far too cumbersome to have barter only transactions.
