NEWS FEED

Extra weight influences teen confidence

Written by Rachel Shoemaker, Entertainment Editor

A commercial flashes on the television screen, streaming the image of a dazzling young woman — perfect in every way. Her skin is flawless, her hair is styled to perfection, and her lean figure has just the right hint of muscle tone, similar to that of a runway model.

As the viewer absorbs the information from the advertisement, she begins to think about all her perceived imperfections.

For sophomore Tuesday Sinclair the media’s portrayal of a “perfect” body is an unrealistic expectation.

“The media makes us believe it is normalcy to be rail-thin and that we’re not supposed to look anything but pretty and skinny. Not everyone is like that,” Sinclair said. “A huge amount of pressure is pushed on us from the media and society, and these standards are simply unrealistic.”

People in all age groups face societal pressures involving their appearance. For teenage girls, that can mean trying to squeeze themselves into a size zero pair of jeans.

According to the National Mental Health Information Center, females are three times more likely than males to have a negative image of their body. However, sophomore Brandon Burris siad although girls seem to receive the full brunt of pressure to be a certain weight, males still face the same circumstances, especially athletes who engage in sports such as wrestling.

“There are different weight classes, and if you weigh over a certain amount for your weight class, you can’t wrestle in a tournament. Some wrestlers are pressured into cutting weight in order to get in a certain weight class,” Burris said. “It can be difficult because you are forced to lose or maintain a specific weight. Guys are definitely concerned about their appearance, just not as much as girls.”

According to an article on body image on the CNN website, mass media portrays a message that influences individuals to look a certain way in order to be accepted in society.

A People magazine interview with Tyra Banks showed even the mega supermodel has doubts about herself. Upon Googling herself, she discovered numerous unflattering photos and alleged reports that she was being pressured to slim down.

That is when Banks decided to speak out.

“It was really hurtful to me; I get so much mail from young girls who say, ‘I look up to you, you’re not as skinny as everyone else, I think you’re beautiful’,” Banks said. “So when they say that my body is ‘ugly’ and ‘disgusting,’ what does that make those girls feel like?”