"I'm not the average girl from your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen
I'm not the average girl from your video
My worth is not determined by the price of my clothes
No matter what I'm wearing I will always be the india arie"
- India Arie
The average girl in your video, on your magazine cover, or in your advertisement, is far from average. We live in a media age and are bombarded with information. Much of this information is about how we are supposed to view ourselves. For females, the difficulty is especially tricky. Females are under siege with advertisements, movies, toys and magazine ads that all create an unrealistic, unnatural and unhealthy body image. This can lead to self-esteem problems, unhappiness, eating disorders and a desire to seek self-worth in material possessions. Here are some websites worth exploring:
These pictures show the digital enhancement of models like Britney Spears. The picture you see in the magazine is not of a real person.
Love your body from the NOW foundation
Includes offensive ads, positive ads, a presentation of sex and stereotypes
Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty
Includes some short films and articles and online workshops for girls and their families.
Here are examples of offensive ads from the NOW Foundation. These ads generally objectify women as sex objects.
Commonsense Media
a compilation of the latest articles on self image and resources to combat it.
Negative effects that media has had on teens, especially young girls and their body image.
Excellent article on our assumptions about our bodies is shaped by the media and even doctors and is not always correct, for example these women all are "average" weight but have vastly different sizes because of their body type:
"I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations (no)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am the soul that lives within"
- India Arie
I definately agree that females today are told by the media to look and act a certain way. And although so many girls acknowledge this "brainwashing" they proceed to do nothing about it. Thats why I think the only way girls will become comfortable with themselves is if the media turns the tables and makes loving yourself the "in" thing. People like India Arie an amazing R&B artist inspires me personally and Im sure so many other girls to love the skin their in.
ReplyDeleteI love this song Sal! ;) But the other day in class, I think it was very interesting to see all of the ads and it opened my eyes even more to the fact that women are portrayed in such a way that makes every girl, young women, and women that they will never be perfect. However, there are those people like India Arie that I think are great role models to girls that don't look like the supermodels in the ads (so, basically every girl). I hope that one day more and more famous women will take after women like India Arie and allow girls to feel more comfortable with who they are.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this is 100%. It seems like now you here more about anorexic teens or bulimic teens. This is caused by the media becasue woman are told how they should look and things like that. When all you see is digitally enhanced people on tv you think that is the way you should look when it isn't no one is that perfect and I think the media needs to make young teens and woman like their body not hate it.
ReplyDeleteI think that the media shaping females to look a certain way is really sad. It makes me somtimes angry to think that some people would do anything to look like that, act like that,or have that. In media, we have been looking at advertizments and I have realized how badly women are portrayed and how they are supposed to look. I think that the media has lead to more people being self concous and wanting to chang themselves. I think that everyine should accept eachother and if everyone did, we would have such a better world.
ReplyDeletei love the song " i am not my hair"!
ReplyDeleteWatching the video clips today in class, really proved that not anyone person is perfect. We are all human, with our own imperfections. However, what we need to learn is how to change those imperfections into something beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe media portrays a "woman" that is not necessarily real. It gets in many people's heads that they should do anything they can to look that way. And in the clip we watched in class, the media researches ways to do this and purposely do this so people will go buy a certain product to look that way. I think it's really sad, but I'm happy we're learning all of this information to apply to our own lives now!
ReplyDeleteThe media sure has a big impact on women. In magazines, the first thing that catches our eye is the cover. We see these beautiful flawless girls who look perfect and wish more than anything to be like that. But actually, the "woman" we see on the cover isn't real - it's a fake. Girls want nothing more than to be called beautiful, hot, or sexy by a guy and they'll go to great lengths to please them. Most of the girls I've met or used to be friends with were like that, but it's people like India Arie who don't care what other people think of her. She's just happy with the way she is and I think more girls should follow her example.
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