According to Health magazine (2002) 32 percent of female TV network characters are underweight while only 5 percent of females in any TV audience are underweight. In contrast, men are portrayed by actors who are older, very unglamorous, even unkempt and often fat. Again according to Health magazine only 3 percent of female TV network characters are obese while over 25 percent of the American TV audience are obese.
And just in case you didn't get the message, the TV ads tell us that if we want to be attractive and successful we need to be thin with 6-pack abs. The message – you are not very good the way you are. To be acceptable buy our product so you can look like our model who is 6 feet tall and wears zero size jeans.
The differences between the media's concept of successful and happy men and women are interesting. The women are young and thin – no gray hair. The men are young or older, but strong and powerful in business and in the bedroom. Men are not seen as thin. Skinny men are perceived as weak and sick.
Think about it. When a man wants to improve how he looks he starts lifting weights and exercising. When a woman wants to improve how she looks she starts dieting which leaves her weak and thin. Yet women have the same needs for power and control as do males.
Maybe this explains why ninety percent of people with anorexic eating disorders are women and only 10 percent are men.
I welcome your opinion. Do you think the media plays an important role in our perceptions of what looks good and what does not. Share your thinking and type them in the blank window under comments.
Regards,
Ruthan Brodsky
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