Case Of The Ugly Duckling

“The Case of the Ugly Ducking”: Gender Relation of Body Image
The twenty-first century has put forth a strong demand to be beautiful. With new technology and medicine, humans can simply remake parts they are unsatisfied with and create the body they have always dreamed of. For those who are without such luxuries, they turn to more dangerous ways to become the life-sized Barbie or Ken. Themedia and society sets it up so that the body should be flawless, even though everyone knows that no one is perfect the demand to be ideal is still present. Body image has picked young females as its victim. It takes the life of some girls who eventually become slaves to it.
Body image does affect both genders. Young and old, boys and girls are constantly being shown the way their bodyshould look. The way parents, peers, and the media have influenced body image is repulsive. Eating disorders, laxatives, and over exercising are some of the bad habits that have become popular habits because of the pressure to be perfect. Young girls, six and seven years old, see the skeletons that model their favorite clothes. When those clothes do not fit like they do on the model, they turn tostarvation to make themselves to look just like or similar to the model. The thought of becoming the ideal woman is always running through the mind of a woman. They lose self-confidence, self-worth, and become depressed because they know they will never be the perfect girl with the perfect body.
Parents appear to play an important role in relaying the societal message regarding the idealbody to adolescents. Both mothers and fathers contribute to the pressure that is put on their children to maintain or to achieve the goal of having the perfect body. Parents can become overly involved in a child’s exercise routine, athletic team, diet, or even encourage unhealthy eating habits to become thin. Mothers have a strong influence on their daughter’s attitudes and behaviors. Mothers whoover-emphasize body image issues are more likely to pass these attitudes to their children. Although mothers are not generally directly advising their children’s dieting; their own behaviors and attitudes affect their children more affectively. The way the mother feels about her own body image and her attitudes towards body image is more likely to be passed to female children. Girls whothought their mothers wanted them to be thin were two to three times more likely to worry about losing weight (Grabe).
Fathers also can influence the way their children view their own body image. Fathers who influence their daughters are seen more as a critic and those who influence their sons are seen more as a coach. The mother’s comments are most likely positive and encouraging whereas thefathers comments are most likely of criticism and demands. More female children report on gaining more feedback about weight and body image from their fathers. Fathers are seen more to influence of exercise and healthy eating where as mothers focus on body appearance. Interesting research shows that a father encourages exercise to change body shape and size to their sons whereas to their daughterseating little and staying thin was encouraged. Evolution and society play major roles in forming these ideas of how men and women achieve these ideal bodies. (Grabe).
Adolescent years and becoming aware of body image happen at the same time. During adolescence one becomes sensitive to the opposite sex and what is desired. Many young people take the opinions and comments of their peers verycritically. Peers therefore are the second most common reason for body dissatisfaction in females. Young girls who are dissatisfied with their body image will pass this negative attitude on to their other female friends. Groups of friends have been shown to compete and compare secretly between friends. These competitions typically do not include healthy ways to become the skinniest and...