Hot or not?

It seems wherever we turn we are faced with various images of ‘the perfect body’.  But what IS the perfect body? Is it what the media portrays it as, or what society has formed it to be?  Body image has always been a concern with most girls and women, with statistics showing there are a higher percentage of women with negative body image issues.  The pressure of trying to live up to unrealistic cultural expectations of physical perfection can encourage people to feel bad about their bodies, if they believe they do not ‘measure up’. Various media forms present this issue, sometimes without knowing it they have affect on the portrayal of body image.

Not one ‘NW’, ‘Famous’ or ‘Who’ magazine has gone without articles on celebrities being either too thin or articles criticizing the evidently added kilos of celebs. The Y generation is growing up aspiring to be like these celebs with their perfect bodies. At any one point in time, one in three women is on a diet and one in five men. They aspire to get as far away from the fuller figured celeb ideals and inch closer toward the model thin body.

But we all know what we see isn’t always the truth. These perfect bodies seen in magazines and on various marketing campaigns are almost always airbrushed to enhance their body shape, glow and features.  We are all aware of the negative implications of poor body image and even knowing this, many people still aspire to have the ‘perfect look’ created by marketers and the media.

So why does the media have such an influence on body image?