The Media And Body Image

Drawing together literature from sociology, gender studies and psychology, this text offers a broad discussion of the topic in the context of socio-cultural change, gender politics and self-identity.

The Media and Body Image draws together literature from sociology, gender studies, and psychology; brings together new empirical work on both media representations and audience responses; and offers a broad discussion of this topic in the context of socio-cultural change, gender politics, and self-identity.

It is worrying to think that most girls feel dissatisfied with their bodies, and that this can lead to serious problems including depression and eating disorders. Can some of those body image worries be eased? Body image expert and psychology professor Dr Charlotte Markey helps girls aged 9-15 to understand, accept, and appreciate their bodies. She provides all the facts on puberty, mental health, self-care, why diets are bad news, dealing with social media, and everything in-between. Girls will find answers to questions they always wanted to ask, the truth behind many body image myths, and real-life stories from girls who share their own experiences. Through this easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated guide, Dr Markey teaches girls how to nurture both mental and physical health to improve their own body image, shows the positive impact they can have on others, and enables them to go out into the world feeling fearless!

Body image is a significant issue for the majority of adolescents. Anxieties relating to body image can be crippling across both genders, their debilitating effects sometimes leading to mental health problems. This important book is the first of its kind to focus specifically on adolescents, providing a comprehensive overview of the biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors relating to the development of body image. It also provides a detailed review of the measures which can be taken to address body dissatisfaction. Discussing the role of culture, family, peers, schools, sport and media in stimulating a negative body image, the book also examines the different challenges faced by girls and boys as they grow. Eating disorders and body change strategies are also addressed, as well as the challenges faced by youngsters affected by conditions causing visible differences, such as hair loss in cancer patients.The book also presents original research, including the results from a large Australian study of the body image and associated health behaviours of adolescent boys, and the results of a study of current teaching practices relating to body image. Adolescence and Body Image will be ideal reading for students and researchers from a variety of fields, including developmental, health, and social psychology, sociology, and cultural and health studies. Professionals working with young people, whether in education, health promotion or any other allied discipline will also find this book an invaluable resource.

Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children presents a review of what is presently known and the results of some new research on body image. It compares the effects of gender, sexuality, social class, age and ethnicity on satisfaction with the way we look and suggests how these differences arise. Why, for instance, are heterosexual men much happier with their body images than women or gay men? Sarah Grogan discusses the effect of media presentation of the ideal body and other cultural influences. Surprisingly, despite the almost exclusive media preference for very young female bodies, she finds that older women are not less satisfied with their bodies than younger women. Written for readers from a variety of disciplines, this clear and eclectic book will make the ideal text for students from psychology, sociology, gender and media studies.

"Our culture and what we see in the media heavily influence our views and opinions. They can even shape how we see ourselves. Using relatable examples, this timely title explores the body image messages we receive from movies, television, advertising, and social media, and how they affect our self-esteem. Helpful tips on how to boost self-esteem and combat the negative effects of body image messages are also included"--

The Weight of Images explores the ways in which media images can train their viewers’ bodies. Proposing a shift away from an understanding of spectatorship as being constituted by acts of the mind, this book favours a theorization of relations between bodies and images as visceral, affective engagements that shape our body image - with close attention to one particularly charged bodily characteristic in contemporary western culture: fat. The first mapping of the ways in which fat, gendered bodies are represented across a variety of media forms and genres, from reality television to Hollywood movies, from TV sitcoms to documentaries, from print magazine and news media to online pornography, The Weight of Images contends that media images of fat bodies are never only about fat; rather, they are about our relation to corporeal vulnerability overall. A ground-breaking volume, engaging with a rich variety of media and cultural texts, whilst examining the possibilities of critical auto-ethnography to unravel how body images take shape affectively between bodies and images, this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, media, cultural and gender studies, with interests in embodiment and affect.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a forceful reminder that education plays an important role in delivering not just academic learning, but also in supporting physical and emotional well-being. Balancing traditional “book learning” with broader social and personal development means new roles for schools and education more generally.