Negative Body Image in Adolescent Girls

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One of the most significant realms in which anachronistic ideas hamper the attainment of full social equality for women is the continued objectification of the physical female form.  Unfortunately, this practice has become a pillar of American culture to such a degree that women and girls to a degree that equals or eclipses that of their male counterparts unwittingly sustain it.

• The cultural aspects of body image
• Historical factors that have led to where we are at regarding girl’s body image.
• The medical contexts in which negative female body image occurs
• The genesis, present status, and the grave danger the phenomenon poses to the future of gender equality will be demonstrated.

The positioning of the female as inferior and subservient to the male is a characteristic of Western culture that predates the creation of America by thousands of years. Although throughout history there have been prominent females who defied this hierarchy and the concomitant proscribed social roles, this type of success and independence was limited to sporadic cases that were by far the exception rather than the rule.

It was only the rapidly evolving political and social landscape of the twentieth century that finally allowed the galvanization of a critical mass of women who denied the age-old hegemony of patriarchy and banded together in order to rail against the injustices conferred upon their gender.

In this paper, you will examine the phenomenon of negative female body image that threaten to undermine the social and political gains achieved by women in recent years. Through a discussion of the following:

In other words, although the feminist movement achieved significant successes in changing policies and legislation that prevented gender equality, it is impossible to regulate longstanding gender biases perpetuated by the belief systems individuals.

When one assesses the cultural context of negative female body image, particularly amongst adolescent girls, the major force that must be considered is that of the mass media. In the current discussion, the term ‘media’ refers not only to journalism, but the total barrage of images and concepts that the average American is party to on a daily basis, including television, printed matter, advertisements, and the Internet.