Kirk S. Pineda
Dr. Mace
English 201
May 4th, 2015
Body Image The idea and concept of body image is a topic that is continuously reviewed as to what is acceptable, what is attractive, and what is abhorrent. In the article “Kate Winslet, Please Save Us” by Terrence Rafferty, Rafferty discusses how his own views of proper body image is not congruent with the standards that appear on movie screens. From voluptuous, fuller figured women to the bare-boned, almost-anorexic women, the image of beauty when it comes to women—and men, too—is of fickle nature. While many celebrities and people do their best to capture it, I find that the idea of body image is the media’s legal, yet cruel way of taking control of the public. In Laura Fraser’s article, “The Inner Corset: A Brief History of Fat in the U.S.,” Fraser discusses the changing standards of beauty since the 1800s to the postmodern age. As Fraser and Rafferty describe, it is clear that the change in bodies that are acceptable is frequent and drastically changes with time. However, in the past it seems as though fuller, heavier figures were more sought after due to the belief that with more weight you carried, the more food you had. And the more food one had, the richer one had to be. Although once the years at carried forward and food became more plentiful and thus, cheaper, being overweight was seen as a lack of self-control. In the array of pictures on Blackboard I have come to see that women like Marilyn Monroe to Diana Rigg are more “fuller figured” and are the iconic women of the mid-1900s. As it goes down to Rihanna all the way to Kate Upton (excluding Sofia Vergara), it is clear that women are skinner compared to the “accepted” females of the mid-1900s. In this sense, the admired women set the standard for how women should look if they want to be idolized. The changes in body image for men does not change as drastically as women, however the appearance of more musculature seems to be the desired body type. In Rafferty’s article, I have taken into account that health and the body types of celebrities that appear most often (or get the most attention) on the screens are what cause the public to aspire for that particular body type. While it may seem that being of a lower body weight is admirable and healthy, it slowly falls out of the realm of healthy once an individual drops too low. Celebrities like Kristen Stewart (actress) and Kendall Jenner (American television personality) are one of the many women that are idolized due to their expansive time in the spotlight. Because of their fame and the inherently humane desire for attention and belongingness (usually in effect during adolescent years), it is common for teenage females to seek a body image close to this. However, this sort of body image is not easy to achieve and might be easier for those that are genetically pre-disposed. As for those who are not so genetically fortunate, there are individuals who starve themselves or become bulimic to achieve that particular body image. I find that the media’s ability to snag anyone and make them famous (think “Alex from Target”) is a cruel yet legal tool that can be used to control the public. While the male body image has not changed and is rather safe to achieve (Channing Tatum, Tyler Lautner), a changing female body image is something that can be an indirect risk to the public not just for aspiring females, but males as well.