03 September 2008
♥ i think there's something wrong with me
Today in my deviance class, we talked about how advertising inundates us with messages about how women are supposed to look, and that looks are really the only thing that matters. We learned about how only 5% of the population has the physically ideal female body, and yet that's all we ever see in the media. We are striving for something that virtually doesn't exist. And because the "norm" of ideal body type is something that's nearly impossible to achieve, those of us who don't fit the "norm"--all 95% of us--are, technically, deviants.
This is all pretty disturbing, especially when you consider that women are, more often than not, objectified by the media. Open any magazine or watch any channel on TV for a few minutes and you'll see what I mean. And, in most cases, the first step to abuse is the dehumanization of the victim. The number one cause of injury to women in this country is domestic violence. Do you see where I'm going with this?
And as I was watching the video and hearing the lecture, I realized that no matter how upsetting the concept is to me, I can't quite bring myself to believe that the media has such an effect on me personally. But everyone thinks that, don't they? Everyone thinks they're immune to media messages, and I'm no different.
But I think I must have been wrong all this time, because as I walked out of class, all I could think was that I hated how much bigger my thighs are than those models' and how I should probably skip lunch and go for a run.
9/03/2008
