How do we think our body should be ideal and presented?
Selfie perfection should be a concern. Most people taking selfies or group photos will alter the image first to look more appealing before sharing or saving it on the cloud. An article by James Purtill explains young people will consider surgery after image filters - 'Snapchat dysmorphia' cosmetic doctors received demands from their patients asking for body change to match celebrities' notions based on filtered selfies.
Adding selfies filters should be for the short entertaining moments, not keeping a record for later on what we should/hope to look like. This affects all ages when we get up, look in the mirror, or scroll at our photos and decide what to keep as a perfect picture and discard what we think is unappealing to share. what defines a perfect body? Everyone has looks that are different and being different does matter.
In the media and globally, everyone has excessively concern with body image and people's ideal body image change over time as we grow. The main concern of the ideal body image is that the majority of people can’t achieve today's standards. For example, most of the marvel cast will have to go through a long period of training and diet to match their comic characters' shape and ability. Society has set these standards of the “perfect body” for people as it deems a healthy look, especially women who are constantly trying to look and feel better. Some women will try working out, join a health and diet group, and subscribe to health news/apps which some will require a monthly payment. This can lead to a negative outcome, as to developing unhealthy habits such as fasting, skipping breakfast and sticking to one diet.
Society has put pressure on men and women on the weight they should have within the age group. People will grow more self-conscious, especially women about how much they eat and what to wear before leaving their homes. It's shocking how people get criticised for their physical appearance mainly because society has the idea of what a good-looking body should be.
How does media affect body image?
Society has impacted us to look a certain way that is the acceptable appearance which is lean and muscular, this is not the case. Organisations still advertise a “beach body” work routine as well as guidelines such as supplements and detox to take what to follow to ensure to lose weight, but this will only gain consumers for them. As long as you are healthy and comfortable with your body, then you should not concerned about anyone's say.
How representation is positively portrayed in media
TV and movies have a major role in body positivity, toward children including adults connecting to the characters. Everyone enjoys shows that relate to them or have a similar appearance. In recent years, the creator intends to create influential content to encourage realistic diversity and representation:
In 2013, a rebooted animated series on Netflix called 'She-ra: Princesses of power' showed body positivity for family entertainment, each character had a variety of body sizes and ethnicity. one of the characters that show strong female character is Glimmer who has a plump shape body, and who is sparkly.
In 2021, Disney released an animated movie 'Encanto' which has shown representation about a gifted family set in Colombia, to represent Colombia's culture and family conflict. one of the female characters is Luisa has a tall muscled body but demonstrates a strong and feminine personality.
Representation in media does provide a realistic representation, so seeing different people from different parts of the world is important that will increase a diverse audience and will prefer more diverse content. Having proper representation is important and helps to break down harmful stereotypes from the entertainment industry. Harmful stereotypes can negatively make the minority group viewed by others. Most diverse groups are under-represented, people who see properly decided minority groups will have a more confident attitude. As a result, it's important to have characters on the screen, in books and on other platforms that share their story and experiences that are relatable. Even if it's different, seeing your belief and culture being seen in the media, it does matter to see a hero that looks like you does bring out a positive outcome.