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Billie Thai
Professor Ditch
English 113A
2 November 2015
Standard Beauty in Media Today
In todays American society, media has affected both mens and womens
perspectives on what the ideal body type is for a man and woman. Because of the media and how
society views men and women, maintaining an appropriate ideal body type for both sexes is
seen as true beauty. In an Old Spice advertisement, the company persuades their audience to
purchase their new body wash by guaranteeing that one will smell like a man. Also, in a
Skechers advertisement, the company promotes their new shoes called Shapes Ups and
persuades their audience by having celebrity Kim Kardashian on the cover. Through the media,
these ideal body types that they display, lead men and women into believing that there are
certain standards in what beauty is in society. Gender construction defines men by their
muscularity and attractiveness, while women are defined as curvy and young. Gender
construction shown in the media has a huge effect on society because it can impact mens and
womens body image and behavior in a negative way. These negative effects could lead to
insecurity, changing diet habits, unnecessary surgery implants.
Old Spice is a well-known brand for male-grooming products that most men use
today. Their advertisement persuades their audience by stating smell like a man, man and
having a muscular and handsome man holding their product. The male is portrayed as a real man
from being shirtless, showing off his toned body, his facial hair, and his posture while sitting on
the horse. By having a well-built and attractive male, the advertisement shows that this ideal

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body type is what defines a man. This ideal image that most men believe, show that real men
are muscular, have facial and body hair," and have deeper voices (Collins 229). Real men also
have expansive postures and gestures [that] combine these qualities to insinuate that a position
of secure dominance is a masculine one (Devor 43). The physical attributes that are used to
describe a real man is shown everywhere in the advertisement which persuades their audience to
believe these gender-constructed norms. These attributes that define a man cause some men
today to be insecure and unhappy with their own bodies. This could result to men changing
themselves physically and mentally because they are not following these socially-constructed
norms.
Body image that is shown throughout the mass media can have a negative effect on
men today because of what they see and believe in. In media today, such as advertisements and
commercial, set the image of how a man should look like through physical appearances. For
instance, society view men to emphasize the size of [their] upper body musculature and to
show an illusion of physical power (Devor 43). The physical appearances that society expects
men to have today, cause men to alter themselves in different ways just to follow these
prescribed gender expectations. In a study that was published by Seed magazine that featured
184 students from San Francisco State University were researched on to see if the media had any
negative affects through body image. Study show that within these 184 students, the more
media [that] these young men consume, (especially music videos and prime-time TV) the worse
they felt about those real aspects of their bodies (Noveck). From viewing the media and its
direct messages towards men, Men are mentally affected because they do not feel like they are
following these gender expectations. Furthermore, research has concluded that such negative
feelings impacted [a mans] sexual well-being, in some cases leading to more aggressive and

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risky sexual behavior (Noveck). Due to the media, men today are concerned about their own
bodies, so they will do what is necessary to look like the ideal body image.
Behavior also plays a role on the ideal image of how a real man should act. In a
section of Patricia Collins Hegemonic Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology, she explains
how a man acts and behaves versus how a boy acts and behaves. For example, she mentions that
if a male engages in sexual intercourse with a woman, [it] initiates them into manhood (Collins
229). Society and the media today portray that in order to become like men, one must act and
behave like one. As for boys, they are financially dependent on others, do no hold jobs and are
not expected to support any dependents (Collins 229). By comparing boys to men, the author
portrays that real men should not perform boyish behaviors because society expects men to
behave more masculine.
Another advertisement that communicates in terms of gender expectation is a
Skechers advertisement for Shape Ups that features the celebrity, Kim Kardashian, as a model
for them. Shape Ups are a new type of shoe that supposedly helps with weight loss, toning of
muscles, and improvement on body posture. In the advertisement, Kim is shown to be doing
physical activities due to her outfit which brings out her beauty and body curves. By using Kim
Kardashians beauty and attractiveness, she has set the standard on what beautiful woman should
look like. Unfortunately, in study shown by the American Council of Exercise (ACE), Skechers
Shape Ups do not help you exercise more intensely, burn more calories, or improve your
muscle strength and tone (Mann). Even though the product is not effective, having an image of
a popular celebrity can persuade most women to purchase the item because they can have a body
like Kim Kardashian. An interesting part of the advertisement is where it says, Try these
Kardashian-approved Shape Ups. This message communicates to their audience by letting them

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know that there is credibility that the product works because of Kim Kardashians features that
makes her look beautiful and fit. The media has shaped women mentally and physically due to
their rules and standard of beauty. Kim Kardashian defines what beauty is and sets the image of
what the ideal body type is for woman. What is this ideal body image? In a section of
Hegemonic Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology, the author explains how certain behaviors
and physical attributes define a woman. For example, when Collins mentions how the presence
of breasts, hips, a round booty, and the absence of muscles and facial/body hair become
important indicators of womanhood (Collins 232). The author supports her claim by showing
that females need to have these features in order to follow standard beauty norms. If not, they are
seen as the outcasts of society which will cause these females to do whatever they can to change
themselves so that they can be accepted in societys gender expectations.
Although standard beauty norms focuses on physical appearances, behavior is
another important factor that defines how a women is supposed to act. In Becoming Members
of Society by Aaron Devor, he explains the difference between masculinity and femininity and
shows that these characteristics are what defines a man and a woman. In a section of the article,
women are clearly explained on how women are expected to act and behave due to the sociallyconstructed gender norms. For example, womens behavior in todays society is defined as
warm and continued relationships with men, a sense of maternity, interest in caring for children,
and the capacity to work productively and continuously in female occupations (Devor 40).
These behaviors that are created from society affects women today because they think this is how
a woman should act. What also defines a woman is through the action which communicates
[through] weakness, dependency, ineffectualness, availability for sexual or emotional service,

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and sensitivity to the needs of others (Devor 41). The media and society has become a negative
influence on womens behavior due to the expectations and roles that society places on them.
Women today are focused in the media by displaying what true beauty looks like and
what the ideal body image is. The media today emphasizes a womens body through their curves
and the size of their breast and butt. This can have a negative impact on women because there are
many ways to change a womens body image. Although women are too focused on trying to
change how they look, they do not realize the negative effects that could happen to their body.
For example, study shows that after women receive breast implants, there is an increased risk of
suicide among some women with implants (Davis). Even though women are satisfied with their
breast implants after receiving them, study also showed that after a couple of years, the
satisfaction just fades. Changing a body image can be easily done, but women do not notice the
negative effects that could appear later on in the future. Loren Lip worth, an assistant professor
of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, noticed that after receiving breast implants, the
reason for losing satisfaction is because it may be [a] psychiatric illness [that] gets worse later
on, or that it may develop later on (Davis). These negative effects will never appear on the
media because they want their audience to think that the ideal body type is to have bigger breasts
and a bigger butt. It is just a matter of time where most women will change their own bodies to
follow these gender-constructed norms.
Some may argue that the media can negatively influence a persons perspective on
the ideal body type, it can also serve as a motivational boost to achieve the ideal body they see in
the media. It is true that not all advertisements and commercial are a negative influence, there are
also reliable ones too. Yes, showing off these ideal body images can help motivate people to
work out, lose weight, set goals for the future, but there are obvious negative side effects. Some

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of these effects could be over-working the body, losing too much weight, side effects from
implants, sudden diet change, psychological problems and much more. The amount of negative
effects that comes from the media outweighs the possible positive effects that the media has.
Gender construction of men and women in todays society is being shown
everywhere especially the media itself. In both Old Spices and Skechers advertisement, gender
construction has played its part to portray the ideal body image for both men and women. The
media and its socially-constructed norms have negatively affected mens and womens body
image and behavior because of their perspective of the ideal image. Society today needs to stop
expecting these socially-constructed body images before everyone becomes effected.

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Works Cited
Collins, Patricia Hill. "Hegemonic Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology." By Rachel Groner
and John F. O'Hara. Composing Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2013. Print.
Davis, Jeanie. "Breast Implants: Psychological Affects and Self-Esteem." WebMD. WebMD, 12
May 2008. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
Devor, Aaron. ""Becoming Members of Society"" By Rachel Groner and John F. O'Hara. Rpt. of
"The Social Meanings of Gender." Composing Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. St.
Martin's: Bedford, 2013.
Mann, Denise. "Toning Shoes: Can Shoes Tone Your Butt and Legs?" WebMD. WebMD, 9 Sept.
2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.
Noveck, Jocelyn. "Experts: Men Have Body Image Worries Too." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 06 Oct. 2006. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.