Preview

Hunger By Maggie Helwig Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
317 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hunger By Maggie Helwig Analysis
Maggie Helwig’s short essay Hunger explores the idea of negative body imaging and how media within today’s society promotes an unhealthy view of one’s body through the use of models and celebrities. Helwig argues that if the world would learn how to approach women with issues before they have reached the point of potentially harming themselves than eating disorders would not be as common as they are. She has provided the reader with an overall convincing argument involving women and body image through the use of an intelligent voice, first-hand experiences, and information on the focus of industries. The essay Hunger focuses on the struggles women of all ages face when it comes to their body image. Media is constantly shoving pictures and
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Annotated Bibliography On Glassmeyer
    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Annotated Bibliography On Glassmeyer

    Thompson addresses how “thin-ideal-internalization,” the internalization of society’s definition of attractiveness (not just thinness), gravely affects women in Western culture. Thompson explains how this glorification of an ideal body image is unhealthy and unachievable for most women. This definition of a desirable body, Thomas illustrates, is encouraged by social reinforcement or approval of this definition by family, peers, and media. Despite these body types serving as a distorted reality, Thompson elaborates on how women engage in extreme dieting in attempt to satisfy media’s perception of a desirable body. Thompson continues by showing how these attempts to attain the nearly unattainable result in eating disorders such as…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Tough Guise Gender
    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tough Guise Gender

    The media has allowed others to expect that all women must have a perfect body. Young girls are seeing these messages and trying to mold themselves into these bodies. After this assignment, I was able to reflect how the media’s portrayal affects women’s self-esteem. We strive for unreachable expectations that aren’t real. They cause harm to a young girl’s self-image. I was also able to realize that ads and popular songs objectify women in a disgusting manner. It is upsetting to realize how many young girls listen and see these types of ads and songs. It is horrible that so many people are actually taking these fake images into consideration and striving for that type of body. By watching these films and applying them to real life examples, it has allowed me to understand that these issues are greater than we…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Summary Of Hunger By Richard Wright
    • 1599 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Summary Of Hunger By Richard Wright

    Wright grew up as an African American male in the south where he struggled through many problems. These issues that he faced persisted through his whole life and never seemed to improve even after moving up north hoping to build a better life. Wright fought through racism, poverty, abuse, and malnutrition. Some situations were worse than others, the worst being the hunger. The hunger made everything else worse not only for him, but also the rest of his family.…

    • 1599 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Does Media Construct The Representation Of Body Types?
    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Does Media Construct The Representation Of Body Types?

    One common consequence of the media’s representation of the body is that the audience (more particularly women) may turn to an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa. This eating disorder involves fasting; self-starvation; vomiting; fear of being overweight; an obsession with calories, nutrition and fat grams; and dieting, despite being thin. This is merely one of the ways in which the media impacts social ideologies of women and influence women’s perception of what constitutes the “perfect” physical body. Malson (1998)…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    What Effect Does The Media's Thin Ideal Have On Society?
    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages

    What Effect Does The Media's Thin Ideal Have On Society?

    According to Prah, there is a complicated combination of biological, psychological and social factors that cause eating disorders, and our culture continues to endorse thinness (3). Over time there has been a shift in the way that society views being thin. Starting at the end of the Middle Ages, “women who fasted were thought to possess evil spirits and were accused of being witches bent upon destroying the Catholic Church” (12). Next, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when women were too thin, they were thought of as being “victims of poor health” (12). Then in the 1940s and the 1950s, the full figured woman became the ideal (13). When Twiggy, a famous model who stood 5’9” and weighed 90 pounds, was growing up in the 1950s, she hated her body. She wanted to “look like Brenda Lee, very curvy and round” (Abagond), because that was the optimal body. But today, our society not only approves of being thin, but idealizes it. Before Twiggy, “the average fashion model weighed just 8 percent less than the average American woman, but today fashion models are thinner than 98 percent of American women” (13). The exposure starts at an early age; children are being exposed to the “thin ideal” with dolls such as Barbie, who “would stand 5’9” and weigh a mere 110 pounds” if she were a real person (13). This early introduction makes a big impact because as girls’ bodies develop, they become worried about the places that they are gaining weight where they didn’t have fat before (14). A sickening figure depicts that more than 50 percent of 9 and 10-year-olds say that “they feel better about themselves when they’re dieting” (33), and research found that girls who were as young as 7 years old thought that the thinner women in drawings were more popular and happier (34). These…

    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media's Influence On Young Women
    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Media's Influence On Young Women

    Instead, they argue that the media talks about valuable information on health and people’s well being. They also discuss awareness of eating disorders, through magazines, articles, and television programs. Through the media, they educate people about the danger of abusing food and help them be aware that they are not alone in their journey. The media shows a variety of body shapes and sizes; it influences young people about accepting their weight, provides positive plus size role models. What actually affects the self-esteem of these girls’ stems from many causes that have nothing to do with the media’s influence. For example, internal issues, family pressure, and peer pressure can provoke an eating disorder. Not only do women feel pressure from the media to control their weight but also receive peer pressure from, their boyfriends, husbands, parents, family and from stores that carry clothes that only carry sizes that fit small petite girls. Also, if a girl is already lacks the necessary self-confidence that she needs, it would make it easier for these outside influences to make matters…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sociological Imagination Essay
    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sociological Imagination Essay

    In an article written by Colleen Thompson and Dr. Lauren Muhlheim, it is emphasized that more than just a few individuals in society struggle with the same issue of not being able to fit the ‘ideal figure’: “In North America, men and women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin and fit... Thousands of teenage girls are starving themselves trying to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the “ideal” figure.” An individual person with an eating disorder could be singled out and their specific case could be thought has a person problem but with applied sociological imagination, society would realize that it's the obsession for the fair skin and thin body, creating a widespread public issue, that has indirectly affected thousands of boys and girls in the United States alone. Cultural structures such as the media are not the only structures in society that have an influence on what constitutes the idea body size and figure. The sociological approach to what can be considered as the “ideal figure” is respected because it can explain how social and cultural values affect the individual's attitudes towards eating. Furthermore, a sociological approach is useful for understanding eating behavior because it can explain why eating disorders appear in…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Editing in the Media
    • 3411 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Editing in the Media

    The edited images of ideal bodies perpetrated by the media are a contributing factor to poor body image, low self-esteem, and eating disorders among females. According to numerous doctors and therapists, self-worth is established in relation to what is portrayed in the media, and when magazines and advertisements are Photoshopped, the expectations for average women are altered. In an attempt to reach this new standard for females, some girls develop eating disorders and obsess about losing weight and become thinner and more beautiful.…

    • 3411 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media's Negative Effect On Beauty Image For Women
    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Media's Negative Effect On Beauty Image For Women

    Several studies have shown that there are many ways in which a woman’s body image, eating patterns, and self-esteem is negatively affecting what audiences see and hear from the media. In 1996, an article titled, “Body Image: A Cognitive Self-Schema Construct, by Altabe and Thompson, indicates that “social endorsements” are inherent in how the media is portraying the “ideal body.” This has created a sense in women to examine the image of their body to determine if they need to radically alter their eating habits in order to offset that undesirable body. This, in turn, may have led to eating disorder. Also, Heinberg and Thompson (1995) indicated that females who were exposed to appearance-related media were less satisfied with their body shape than females who were exposed to non-appearance related…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Media's Influence On Body Image In Teenage Girls
    • 1894 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Media's Influence On Body Image In Teenage Girls

    Many things can affect one’s body perception such as peers and family but most importantly the influences within the media can have the biggest affect on how one sees themselves. In some ways people can control the social factors that negatively affect their body perception. However, the mass media is every where and can be hard to avoid. Past research indicates that by the time a girl turns 6 she is already dissatisfied with her body image (Hayes & Tantleff,2010). The social standards of today emphasizes the need for women to be thin and blemish free, setting a physical expectation of beauty that is beyond impossible to reach ( Tiggemann, 2003). It is said that media is the most influential…

    • 1894 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1668 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis

    In her article “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder; Body Image; Skinny on a Weighty Issue”, Meredith Baker points out that almost ten million Americans, mostly teenage and college-aged girls, are currently dealing with anorexia or bulimia. She blames the fashion and entertainment industries for contributing to the problem by showcasing celebrities and models that are unusually skinny. Baker then goes on to share her own experience with an eating disorder and how she overcame it. She believes the United States should follow France’s example and ban stick-thin models from all advertisements. She cites the fact that cultures that value full-figured women have fewer eating disorders and hopes that media outlets in the United States will also begin to provide more realistic role models in advertising. In Walter Vandereyckens article, “Media Influences and Body Dissatisfaction in Young Women”, he states that, “the influence of society and culture is putting young female adolescents at risk for developing an eating disorder”(Vandereycken 5). He discusses the cause-effect relationship between the idolization of celebrities with slim figures and low self-esteem and poor body images in teens. He emphasizes that with such unhealthy behavior, it is inevitable that adolescents would take necessary steps to achieve slim figures. Vandereycken argues that the mass media affects young adults differently based on sociocultural backgrounds and predisposed…

    • 1668 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media's Influence On Body Image And The Media
    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Media's Influence On Body Image And The Media

    Since media has spreaded their has been a broad situation on how it’s impacting people in their life. Media is the print and electronic vehicle for the mass dissemination of information or entertainment. Media includes magazines ,newspaper,and book publishing. Such as film, radio , television and recording industries. It's driving the public's perception of ideal body image has been influential since the early twentieth century,although the ideals themselves have evolved overtime.It gave rise to a boyishly,narrow hipped,and flat chested ideal feminine body image (Geraldine). Due to body image and media it’s been a widespread of people changing their body image in many factors. Some felt that being slim and narrow hipped was a style but it’s really just as everyone is walking around looking alike. According to critics of that trend is that "glamorization of gaunt" has led many girls and women to unhealthy and unrealistic body perseverance. Now in society many teenage girls of this current generation wants to be barbie dolls wearing weave different hair color finest outfits etc. Researchers have found out that many people suffer from starving themselves to have the…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Reflecting Body Images from American Culture
    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Reflecting Body Images from American Culture

    Currently in America Culture there is a prevailing desire to become thin. "Between five per cent and ten per cent of girls and women (i.e. five-ten million people) and one million boys and men suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other associated dietary conditions." (http://www.annecollins.com/eating-disorders/statistics.htm) So many people are influenced by the media that it transforms their own self image into unrealistic ideas leading many adolescent females and some males to eating disorders. Our society is driven for individual control thus forming the judgment that fatness is a loss of self-control which is a social value and a personal moral in our culture that is a boundless failure and the most feared among women. The definition of self control within the body image has changed throughout the last century, in the early eighteen hundred's corpulence was seen as strong and beautiful whereas now it is looked down upon. This desire to be thin contributes to eating disorders, low self esteem and continues the battle of acceptance into society. Beauty is acceptance which is defined by the time period and is enforced by the media.…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media Eating Disorders
    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Media Eating Disorders

    We are constantly surrounded and influenced by the media no matter where we go. With all of the great improvements the media has provided to our lives, it is hard to recognize how much the media has negatively impacted us as well. Media advertises body images that are deemed to be “perfect” which pressures individuals to change their appearance to meet the standards of society’s view of “perfection.” Not everyone can achieve self-satisfaction with his or her appearance. Body image is the mental image of one’s own body based on self-esteem. Since the media does not provide a realistic standard of beauty, it does not help self-esteem and can even worsen one’s body image. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), in the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men will suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life. Out of those men and women, low confidence and self-esteem are already a problem especially since research has shown that those individuals are the most influenced by the media and society. Exposure to the media can strongly contribute to the development of an eating disorder.…

    • 1935 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Current Student
    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Current Student

    One message young girls see and hear is that they should be skinny. Many of these girls will try to mimic the skinny models that they often see on TV and in magazines. It is unfortunate that these young girls are growing up in a society that puts such an influence on the way we look. Robin Givhan writes, “The Spring 2013 runway shows, which finished in Paris this month, were filled with impossibly skinny, extremely young gazelles. So were the fall glossies. Fashion as usual, perhaps-yet this was supposed to have changed” (Givhan 1). It is no wonder that young girls strive to be as thin as possible when all they see is skinny models around their age plastered all over the TV and magazines. I believe that this is one of the worst messages young girls can receive. Susan Bordo touches on this subject in her essay “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, in which she covers how young girls think and feel about their bodies. Bordo writes, “They are aware that virtually every advertisement, every magazine cover, has been digitally modified and that very little of what they see is ‘real’. That doesn’t stop them from hating their own bodies for…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More