Thursday, November 20, 2008

The Perfect Body... Does it truly exist?

            As teenagers we are always worried about our self image. The thoughts arise; do I look good today, am I fat, do I look big in these pants? As these thoughts come into our head we imagine our bodies perfected to the “t”. But, is our level of perfection truly attainable?

            Our level of perfection has been altered through the years by the media. The media has desensitized us to the point that we hate to even look in a mirror. They have altered our images of the perfect body to that of a big-chested, toned arms and legs, cute butted, six-packed abs, and bleached blond hair for women, and for men having six-pack abs, ripped arms, and bright-white teeth. Daily the media is showing us pictures of who’s hot or not. T.V. stations are dedicated to tearing down celebrities for not looking perfect one day of their hectic lives. Along with these shows, T.V. stations also display commercials about diet pills or exercise equipment hourly. There is not one channel on T.V. that doesn’t play one of these commercials at some point during their commercial break. It consumes most of the air time on television. How can young adults truly know what their perfect body is, if daily they are shown what someone else’s perfect body is? We will never know what is truly right for us, because of how much influence the media has on our daily lives.

            As we look at how much the media has an impact in our daily lives several questions arise. Does technology truly have that much of an impact on us? And if it does will this great influence affect our lives more than it already is? And does the perfect body truly exist? We may never know, for the shear fact that we don’t even know what the perfect body really is.


peace.to.all

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

the perfect body belongs to that person who believes he or she has it. That's all.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Jesus Fish. The perfect body exist only within the eyes of the person.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Jesus Fish. People should not be influenced on what they see on tv to how they think they should look. It should be up to each indidvidual to decide what they think is the perfect body for them. They shouldn't let other people decide for them what the perfect body for them is.

Anonymous said...

i believe that the word perfect is just about the same as the word normal. every person has their own version of it.
and i do agree. the media is altering everyone's version of a perfect body. it is making us more aware of everything we eat and do. its to the point where our parents are being corrupted by it as well. i mean its hard enough to be staring at all of these really thin and muscular people in magazines. then you add your parents breathing down your neck about losing weight and having that "perfect" healthy body also.
soceity is just so wierd anymore.

Anonymous said...

Let's all agree with Jesus Fish. Have you seen that t-shirt that says, "I'm in shape....Round is a shape" As the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Anonymous said...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Anonymous said...

Very rarely do the "perfect bodies" on TV seem all that appealing to me. I really don't care what the media says, if I think someone is attractive then that's the way it is (in my mind) and nothing will change that. Don't go on blaming the media again for something that isn't their fault.

jumbo hippo said...

I think if someone finds themself getting to caught up in what media thinks they need to look like...then they need to stop watching it, or looking at it. Media shouldn't have an influence on people's lives, it only does when that person lets it.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand how this article has anything to do with government or politics? Even if this were a serious problem, the government would never ban diet pill commercials or ones that promote excercise and the perfect body. Nothing will ever change, media will always try to tell people what to be, and people (not all) will be influenced by it. We just have to get used to it.

P.S-I've never seen any of these commercials on the Disney Channel.... :)

Anonymous said...

It is very true that no one knows the "perfect" body simply because no one actually knows what perfect is. And people continue to say how someone has to believe that they are perfect in his or her own eyes. As easy as that sounds, many people can't find the strength to do this.

I'm not saying people shouldn't believe that they are handsome or beautiful the was they are because i wish they would. I'm just saying that after what we see on T.V. it becomes very difficult to be happy with ourselves.

And as society continues to be corrupted by these images of the "perfect body", some people who see THEMSELVES as perfect may not be seen the same by other people. This is sad to say but is true. This results in them not being accepted because they may not look like the people on T.V.

Its simple to say that media plays a big role in the way people present themselves. Without media, people would only know what was "perfect" by their own thoughts or atttractions.

I believe its safe to say that society can be depressing.

Anonymous said...

It shows through the celebrities. We look up to them , but how many are changing their own appearance to make themselves look better.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Jesus Fish. People shouldn't listen to what everyone else thinks the perfect body is, if they are satisfied with theirs, their opinion is the only one that matters.

Anonymous said...

Many people blame the media for showing only "perfect" or unattainable bodies, but the public is the one supporting it. Shows promoting superficial qualities are popular, therefore, why would the media fail to give the people what they want? Most likely, a show with beautiful people is going to be more successful than one with normal or even ugly people. The only way the media is going to change what is being broadcasted, is if we change what we watch.

Anonymous said...

as what the world describes as the perfect body? no. i does not exist. even on models. the prettiest, most perfect woman of like 2005 or something had her face on a magazine and someone got a hold of the notes that were sent to the editor to tell the fixer-upper people what needed to change about her. i dont remember them all but her cheekbones were softened and the creases on her forehead were taken out. prety crazy stuff.


"Let us stop trying to be pretty girls, and start trying to be beautiful people"