Thursday, April 10, 2008
OK so I admit it. I stare into the mirror and start making a list in my head on what I could improve. Smaller butt, bigger chest, tighter abs…you know the list I’m talking about.
It’s hard not to think about these things when I stare at these skinny women in magazines and on TV all day. But I think we give the media too much credit, and we never stop to ask ourselves why these images are accepted in our society. Could it be that we create these images ourselves, endorse them, and that the media just reflects what we’ve already produced?
There is a new Web site called missbimbo.com, which is similar to The Sims except you control your own “bimbo.” The game is aimed at young girls between ages 9 to 15, and the “bimbos” resemble the dolls called Bratz. Girls can control their “bimbo,” and make their “bimbos” take diet pills and get plastic surgery. The site is currently shut down saying, “As a result of this rather surprising media attention we have decided to remove the option of purchasing diet pills from the game.”
Girls might be getting the wrong message about their bodies, but they will get this message somewhere else eventually. I think this game offers a sad, but realistic view of our society. Missbimbo.com isn’t the issue; it isn’t to blame for young girls receiving the wrong message about their bodies. Why are we so easy to point the finger at something new?
The real issue is that we (as a society) easily allow these products (diet pills, plastic surgery, etc.) to be within reach of our children. We create the products and then wonder why our children are obsessed with their bodies. We became obsessed with the human body, so we created ways to try and improve it, and then we tried to blame the media. It is not the media.
It is us. We are the ones who create the products and we are the ones who endorse them by buying them. By doing this, we are showing our children that these products are the answer.
We blame the media for everything. It is a cop-out. The media caused the Columbine shooting. Right. It had nothing to do with the two shooters’ upbringing. It had nothing to do with the fact that in this society, the boys were able to get a hold of two shotguns. No, it really was all those video games that made him do it. Please! The boys were 17-and-18-years-old and didn’t know the difference from reality and a video game? If that really was the case, then I would blame the parents for not teaching them better. These violent video games are just another product of ourselves and what we have made a reality in our society. Anyone remember World War II?
I’m just sick of everyone blaming the media for issues that we ourselves made. I’m not saying the media hasn’t played its part, but the majority of the problem is that we feed into the problem. Instead of understanding why we expect women to look model-like.
We actually create products that will allow women to get closer to this ideal. And then we turn around and say, “How dare you media! How dare you show us skinny women!” When the real problem is, why do we expect women to look like this?
Maybe if we pay attention to the images we’ve created, we can better understand why we continue to endorse these unrealistic images of women. We will stop placing the blame on the media and open our eyes to all the other influences that surround us daily. And maybe when I’m looking into the mirror, instead of making a list on what’s wrong with me, I can make a list on what’s wrong with society for making me think this.
Earles is an Olathe senior in journalism.
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Comments
Earles: Diet pills not to blame for women’s thin image
Here's the thing though..."we" don't create those images. A select few people have, and the result is a cyclical one. In order to fix body image issues en masse, you have to go through the media. When people make an effective argument regarding media shaping ideals, they are talking about everything from magazines to movies and television. A conscious effort has to be made to put positive images out there because like it or not, media is what shapes many young girls...
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