Please finish this phrase:
“Hearts, stars, and horshoes. Clovers, and blue moons, ___ __ ____ _____, __ __ __ ______!”
If you know this jingle word for word, then you probably watched cartoons as a child. If you missed that first one, here’s a chance to redeem yourself:
“Now this is a story, all about how, my life got flipped-turned upside down…..”
Remember that one? Now before we get into an argument that TV and the media have no lasting effect, I would like to point out that you just proved that there is a connection, so don’t start with me.
The claim that society is not driven by visual images in the media is a bunch of bull. There is no way that Zubaz would have been popular had it not been for the media. (Why is he talking about Zubaz?) Zubaz were originally intended for work-out shorts, but they caught on as a trend and became popular in the early 90’s. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zubas)
Ok, so Zubaz were a trend, what’s the point? Visual images in the media can dictate how we dress, act, look, and feel. The problem can come when images start to affect people’s health. The idea that women need to be as skinny as possible is redonkulous! The media has been projecting that image for years; popular movie star is skinny, and HOT! So, the message was “skinny=hot”. That is okay for women that naturally have small and slender bodies, but everyone has a different metabolism, which means, a different shape, AND A DIFFERENT BODY!
Now the media is starting to shift, because they have begun to target “the norm”. The average size of women in America is a 12, so the free-market has decided that that is where the money is. But don’t go applauding America’s maturity just yet, because it isn’t accepting of everyone, it’s accepting a larger portion (the majority), but not everyone. Now it’s dangerous to be skinny.
I have a friend that is a world-class track athlete. She is in fantastic shape, and works extremely hard. She is constantly in debates with people about her health, however, because she weighs slightly less than average. Her coach has approached her, her teammates have talked with her, and she was even asked to see a nutrionist. Why? Because America’s views changed overnight, and skinny is out! The nutritionist said that she was eating healthy, but she asked the important question that no one else had asked:
“What is your family history? Has everyone been slender in your family?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well then I don’t see the problem,” the nutritionist said, “you eat healthy, exercise regularly, and you are perfectly normal. Compared with all of America, you are slightly lighter, but all of America isn’t related to you.”
That’s right! You don’t have to be like everyone else to be “normal”. The media’s definition of normal is “whatever section of the population that will rake in the most money”. It’s sick, but true. The media isn’t looking at your eating habits, your exercise habits, or your family history. They want to find the largest group of people that they can advertise to. It’s why men are constantly hit with images that six-packs are sexy, because most men don’t have”rock-hard abs”. But if more American’s bought the AbSlide, or the Total Gym, or even the Ab Loung Ultra, WE STILL WOULDN’T HAVE ROCK-HARD ABS! Logically that doesn’t make sense, they want people to be healthier with their exercise machines, right? Not even close. The media could not give a rat’s ass if the machines work, they just have to look like they work, so people buy them. It has nothing to do with health, but it’s a good defense. “We’re trying to make America healthier!” With abs?…. That’s how America will get healthier? Sit-ups?!
The main point is that no matter what the message is supposed to be, the underlying message is always the same: “BUY MORE STUFF!” You’re fat? Buy diet pills! You’re too thin? Eat at KFC! You can’t get a date? Viagra! Total Gym! BOTOX! Boob job! Anything you can do (make sure it costs money) will do! What a load of crap…
We can all take a stand against the media, and it’s just like Sir Mix-a-lot said:
“Shake that healthy butt! Baby got back!”
