i really liked you stats..very eye opening...my only advice is to watch your wording a bit
--caitlin
i really liked your speech, esp the video you showed all the way at the end. i htought they would have been awesome if it worked when you needed it to!!
-brielle
Kara, I thought your last speech was good but your delivery today was so relaxed and more natural for you, it was excellent! You had a lot of good points.
natalie.
Advertisements and body image.
Introduction
I. How many of you looked at me for the first time and thought “Wow that girl looks like a model!”
a. I’m sure none of you because the fact is I don’t look like the models on the covers of magazines, no one in this class does, and no one can, because the fact is not even the models look like themselves.
b. Everyday I hear people saying “I’m on a diet,” or watching girls fill up next to nothing on their tray in the cafeteria. This goes for me as well I’m no saint and I feel insecure just like everyone else. Why?
II. Americans are constantly shown unrealistic portrayals of what beauty is, through magazines, commercials, and even billboards.
a. Children are beginning at a very young age to question their body, because this is what they hear from adults, is that being bigger isn’t ok.
III. Advertisements affect the way our body image is seen, by the amount of advertisements we see daily and the retouching of photographs seen on magazine covers.
IV. Our goal is to eliminate this control the media and to become stronger and more self assured.
(Transition) How many advertisements do you think you see a day? On average would you say maybe 10 or 15? Did you count every commercial you saw during that hour you were watching television? The ads in the magazine you were casually flipping through at lunch? How about the billboards you pass everyday? All of this start to add up after awhile and it can really take a toll on how you view yourself in the mirror everyday.
I. The average person sees about 200-400 advertisements per day, says healthyplace.com and by the age of 17 an average person will see about 250,000 commercial messages.
A. Although only 9% of these advertisements have to do with beauty but an astonishing 50% of advertisements in magazines, and 56% of television commercials directed at women have to do with beauty.
1. Even 9% of advertisements is still 22,4500 advertisements
2. When you look at numbers like these its kind of hard to ignore what is directly in your face. This is what’s beautiful if you want to be beautiful you have to look like this.
B. While men also have body image problems as well, they don’t seem to be bred to have them like women. In a study done on Saturday morning toy commercials, 50% of the commercials aimed at girls had to do with beauty while 0% of the commercials directed at boys have anything to do with physical appearance, according to healthyplace.com
1. Despite the advantage that men have 45% of them still feel pressured or want to become more muscular and masculine.
2. It’s not only women it is everyone.
C. Thin might be what’s popular now but even being skinny isn’t being ideal.
1. You have to be tall, you have to have breasts (even small ones)
2. There was a time when people were trying to gain weight
3. Advertisements from a 1891 advertisement for a weight gain product from missourifamilies.com states, "Don’t look like the poor unfortunate on the left who tries to cover her poor thin body.” And another says, “Don’t suffer from the tortures of inferior devices that artificially fatten with inflationary devices and pads.”
4. No matter what you look like the media always tries to change you.
(Transition) With all of the people who have body image problems you have to wonder, where do all of the advertisements come from, and why are they causing such controversy.
I. The answer is pretty clear, photo retouching has become routine for all major magazines.
A. (show slide) photo retouching is where a person will go and digitally fix any imperfections seen on a photograph, whether it be extra fat, a misplaced hair, or acne.
1. This act causes major controversy, because when the picture doesn’t even look like the model, we know we’ve hit unrealistic expectations.
B. Probably one of the most well known controversies about retouching, is the enormous 22 inch biceps on famous tennis player, Andy Roddick. (show Slide)
1. According to New York Times Roddick said He also wrote in his blog, "If you can manage to stop laughing at tpretty sure I'm not as fit as the Men's Fitness cover suggests and little did I know I have 22-inch guns,he cover long enough, check out the article inside."
2. According to ABC news.com Roddick is not the only celebrity to have problems with retouching. Others have been Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston, and Martha Stuart.
C. Photo retouching can be very extreme (show slide)
1. Notice Hair made lighter and fuller
2. Notice eye color change
3. Notice breasts are enlarged
4. Notice shirt color changed
5. Notice lines erased and jaw resized.
(Transition) With all this deception what can we do to help change how advertisements take old of our lives?
I. The problem with solving body image problems is it is so subjective.
a. However, there are techniques that are starting to be used to help women start to cope with body image problems.
A. An article in The Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology discusses how many psychologists are trying to make most women become “Media Literate,” to try and understand the media and their unrealistic expectations of women. They also try to make women understand the images seen are “unrealistic or unhealthy distortions of the female body.”
B. Many people, both men and women, understand that the media’s portrayal of what is attractive is not what is reality, however it doesn’t change most people’s perspective.
1. There are websites like Bodypositive.com, devoted to empowerment and positive body image.
C. What people really have to do is stand up strong and say “yes, I’m beautiful.”
1. Protesting unfair and unrealistic portraits of people will help limit the unjustice.
D. I think mixing with other cultures and making friends with people of different races will help.
1. African Americans have the most positive body image out of any race, because they appreciate a woman for her curves.
2. Latinos have strong body images as well.
3. The more we become integrated the more positive we may feel about ourselves.
(Transition) Both men and women can stay strong. Even when the advertisements enter subconsciously, remember, no one looks like the people on magazine covers, NO ONE.
Conclusion
I. Despite the media’s attempt to control body image by bombarding the public with advertisements, and retouching photographs, we can overcome
1. Stay strong, become educated.
2. Not even Barbie is perfect.
II. I’m trying to make myself more confident and more comfortable with myself. I have curves, and hips, and I’m starting to love them.
a. So whether you’re naturally skinny or have all the curves in the world appreciate yourself. I’m starting to.
Engeln-Maddox, Renee (2005).Cognitive responses to idealized media images of women: The relationship of social comparison and critical processing to boday image disturbance in college women. The Journal of Social and Clinical Psycology. 25, 3.
Newman, A.A (2007, May 28). 3 Magazines are accused of retouching celebrity photos to excess. New York Times, p. C4.
Hey Kara! I just wanted to say how impressed I was with your speech. I really give you credit for making it personal at points. You seemed very passionate about the subject matter! -Jen
Kara, good work today wtih your presentation. Your delivery was very good
-mark
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