Mr. Stickel
Eng. 10A, Per. 2
27 April 2015
Media’s dangerous impact on men and women Did you know that the introduction of TV on the island of Fiji caused the number of eating disorders in high schools to go from 0 to 2 out of every 5 students in just 10 years. The media has an effect on internal beauty standards and eating disorders on both men and women. In Toni Morrison’s book, The Bluest Eye, Pecola, a young black girl feels like the ugliest person in the world. “Adults, older girls, shops, magazines, newspapers, window signs--all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured”(Morrison 20). Everything around Pecola showed her that the ideal girl was white with …show more content…
They also did not have any recorded eating disorders until 1995. This was not a coincidence. 10 years after television was introduced 40% of young girls admitted to having eating disorders. This is a huge increase, and almost undeniable proof that media is the cause of eating disorders in women(Mascarelli). In The Bluest Eye, Pecola was regarded as the ugliest person in the neighborhood, her neighbors used her to lift themselves up, at least they weren't as ugly as her. She worked hard to try and be pretty but everything she did didn’t work, eventually driving her insane. She spent "Long hours she sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness, the ugliness that made her ignored or despised at school, by teachers and classmates alike"(Morrison 45). More than 75% of girls in Fiji said that western TV influenced how they felt about their …show more content…
Studies show that the easiest way to prevent the media affecting people is to encourage media literacy programs, so do it! Works Cited
Cutler, Ariel. "The Media's Effect on Womens Body Image." Hamilton College. N.p., 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Mascarelli, Amanda Leigh. "The Media's Dangerous Influence on Body Image." Student Science. N.p., 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
"Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders." National Eating Disorders Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume Book, 1994.