Issue 4: Do Media Cause Individuals to Develop Negative Body Images?

I feel that media does in fact afftect society's description on the "ideal body type". For many women, it's ideal to be fit, with a small waist, long hair, and large female parts, if you will. For many men, it's ideal to be muscular and a "ladies man". There is also the notion of power because power is the key to success. In the text, we have Shari L. Dworkin and Faye Linda Wachs, that argue YES. We also have Michael P. Levine and Sarah K. Murnen who argue NO. Dworkin and Wachs argue that a healthy body is attainable if he/she buy the proper products and pamper themselves. Also, there is the issue of being "fat" and how it's something to fear. Levine and Murnen focus more on how girls who have developed negative body issues are influenced by social, cultural and behavorial issues. Yet, I question whether the points to this argument were done in an ethically correct manner. On page 84 of the text, it states: "Two recent experiments by Bardone-Cone and Cass examined the effects of a web site that they constructed to feature the protypical content of proana sites." The fact that the websites were constructed could call for errors in their results.

I feel that the arguments in the text didn't do a great job at answering the given question. Also, there are so many different aspects to the issue. In my opinion, media does have the ability to cause individuals to develop a negative body image. Although, the affect of media can only go so far. It's up to the individual to determine whether or not the media has a say in how he/she looks.