Gender Stereotypes in the Australian Media Essay

Gender Stereotypes in the Australian Media - Essay Example Women become over-zealous in their attempt to mirror the body image of the fashion models seen on television and in advertisements. The consumer is literally caught inside a media pinball machine as they are sold the latest 'fat-burger' and are left with a guilty conscious. Fashion, sports, entertainment, advertising, and society all conspire to push our ideal of the perfect body to an unobtainable position. There has been a substantial amount of research concerning the media's unrealistic and stereotypical portrayal of the body image. While much of the research has taken place in the US, other Western cultures including Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the Netherlands have noted similar results and have found women "living with near constant exposure to narrowly defined and highly unrealistic beauty ideals".1 Television and print advertising are at the core of the drive to sustain a connection between the public and a structure that is acceptable to the members of an in-group. Verri et al. (1997) and Tiggermann (1996) found a direct correlation between the amount of, and the dependence upon, television viewing and the vulnerability to developing an eating disorder.2 In addition, Sanders et al. (1995) found a direct correlation between the numbers of magazines read by 12-year-old girls and the probability that they would consider themselves overweight.3 However, this p henomenon is not unique to females, as men also suffer from poor body image. Bergstrom and Neighbors state, "Body dissatisfaction among men is influenced by many of the same factors as that among women. Significant research has focused on various sociocultural influences on the male ideal body figure, which may contribute to body dissatisfaction" and an unrealistic obsession with muscularity.4 Likewise, the research has also shown that this problem is pervasive from a very young age on through adulthood. Children as young as six are affected by the stereotyping of ideal body image, as are the elderly, though the effect is mediated by older age.5, 6 The media's influence on body image begins early in childhood and continues through the later stages of life for both genders. Most people are dissatisfied with some aspect of their body, and many people have a distorted view of it or an unrealistic evaluation. There are two types of body image distortions that lead to dissatisfaction. The first, known as body-size distortion, is a perception that is distorted where the individual "misperceives his or her body size, or the size of various body parts, as being larger than they objectively are".7 This distortion is often a precursor and a marker for the eating disorders of anorexia or bulimia. According to Bergstrom and Neighbors, "The second type of body image disturbance, termed body dissatisfaction, refers to the cognitive, affective, or attitudinal nature of negative body image".8 This dissatisfaction is more likely to lead to unhealthy dieting practices, extreme bodybuilding, or cosmetic surgery that may be unnecessary and have long lasting negative effects. Whether people have a distorted image or are simply dissatisfied with their body, the media fuels the problem and people are motivated to take actions that may have negative consequences. This research will focus on the attention that the media places on a

Incident for Aids Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incident for Aids - Case Study Example However, the scope ought to be widened to include other men from other races and social classes. The level of diversity among the minority groups such as the Hispanics presented a major challenge for the agency, as it could not replicate the initiatives that had been successful with the original group. This was a dire phenomenon because the epidemic was rising among gay and bisexual males from these minority groups. For instance, the level of acculturation to the American ways has a huge impact on how a man would face the stigma associated with AIDS and homosexuality. Therefore, there was need to develop different sensitive programs that would target the different groups such as the youth, recent migrants and the acculturated. Consensus building entails seeking the consent of all participants in a situation where there were differences in opinion. In formulating a Latino-oriented program, the agency consulted an expert who proposed six barriers for adoption of safer behaviour. The barriers were reduced to four after lengthy discussions, but the agency representatives still hold different opinions about the number that should be used. In order to develop consensus I would appeal to the representatives to focus on the common interest and not their agencies’ position. In this case, the common interest will be identification of the major possible barriers. The focus group must incorporate members from all the segments of the target group. Since there are many members, it is imperative that the stakeholders command respect from the other members, who must exhibit their confidence in them. It is important to select people who have a similar perception of the issues and not those who will undermine each other. A focus group should work towards creating a lasting solution for the issues. Therefore, they should provide this information: what they have learnt from other segments; what each group should do to achieve the goals; and