Socio-cultural Issues and Eating Disorders

Socio-cultural Issues and Eating Disorders Name Institution Socio-cultural Issues and Eating Disorders The media has played a major role in promoting the western popular culture which has in turn affected body image positivity. This paper entails a media analysis and a subsequent examination of the relationship between the western culture and eating disorders, more so due to the high pressure to pursue the perfect body image. Media Analysis The first part of this section analyzes the Popchip print advertisement featuring Katy Perry, an American female celebrity. The advertisement shows popchips as healthier potato chips option that is neither cooked nor fried. The advertisement features statements such as “spare me the guilt chip” (Skeels, 2012), which is a way of saying that popchips, unlike other potato chips, would not make consumers feel guilty after eating them. In a way, this use of humor first shows that there is a negative attitude associated with eating potato chips, in this case, guilt. Second, it sends the message that this is not the case with popchips because they will not lead to weight gain, hence no need for a guilt trip. Another statement that really captures the attention of consumers is “ love. without the handles”. Under this statement falls the caption “ I curl popchips straight to my lips. good thing they don’t go straight to my hips” (Skeels, 2012). This specific caption is persuading to consumers because first, it features a female celebrity who has the “ideal” body image promoted by the media. Second, the female celebrity notes that despite eating those popchips, she does not add weight, which is quite desirable because people want to enjoy eating without worrying about gaining weight. As such, consumers are given the motivation to eat popchips because according to Katy Perry, they are healthy and do not cause weight gain. In addition, the design of this print advertisement is quite captivating. Popping colors are used and Katy wears clothes that reveal her attractive physique. Her facial expressions also reveal the joy she feels after consuming the popchips. Thus, it dispels any guilt that could be associated with consuming popchips. This print advertisement puts a lot of consideration into what is well-known; that eating certain types of food will result in weight gain. To dispell this idea, the advertisement uses humor and an attractive public figure. This second part analyzes Beyonce's music video titled “ Pretty Hurts”. The video features Beyonce and other models competing in beauty pageants and the struggles they all face, especially in terms of body image, in order to fit in. Beyonce’s character is first rejected to participate in the beauty pageant because she does not have the ideal weight and waistline (Beyonce, 2014). These are all parts of what makes the “perfect” body image and Beyonce’s character embarks on a journey in pursuit of the ideal body so that she can become a participant as well. First, she starts taking pills so that she can lose some of her weight. Following the scene of taking pills are some lyrics in the video that mentions “sugar-free” and “Vogue says thinner is better” (Beyonce, 2014). This reveals the pressure that is there for people to ...