I started off my research project with the topic body image: The media and the portrayal of the ‘perfect body image’: Does the media affect the way people view themselves, causing dissatisfaction?

 

As young child, I have always had a passion for sports - especially football. I participated in many sports, such as cycling, cricket and swimming. However, when I went swimming with my friends, I always felt uncomfortable.

First, I didn’t know why. I would wonder all the time why I was different. Then I looked at my friends and realised that I was overweight. I was not like the other children. Through my adolescent years, I got more self-conscious about my body image and this lead me to the world of bodybuilding.

 

There are many reasons as to why people feel that they don’t fit into the society norm. Body image remains a common factor contributing to this problematic issue. The ‘perfect body’ in today’s society, is deemed to be attractive and slender, muscular or toned. As long as the individual is not considered overweight, will make one feel comfortable in society. As technology and social media advanced, the use of systems such as Photoshop have played a key role in endeavoring to fit in.

 

Body appearance carries tremendous importance to adolescents, whose bodies are undergoing changes. This is why they feel the pressure of today’s society. Analysis of social problems ranging from obesity to anorexia displays how far people are willing to go to succeed the ‘normal’ body. aBodybuilding has become a popular sport in recent years as this sport is not only about building muscle, but to lose weight and gain lean muscle to achieve the toned appearance for both men and women.

 

Hypothesis: The media and the portrayal of the ‘perfect body image’: Does the media affect the way people view themselves, causing dissatisfaction?

 

The main two aims I will focus on:

 

• The Intention to find out whether people are dissatisfied with their current body image and what the cause is.

• To discover how body image has changed throughout history and if the media has played a role in influencing people's judgments on themselves and others.

 

Method:

 

• I shall gather this information through questionnaires.

• I shall also be interviewing people to expand my knowledge of people’s feelings towards the media and portrayal of the ‘perfect body image’.

• To read through books, journals, forums, blogs, social networking websites and the worldwide web.

• To expand my further understanding, I have chosen to conduct interviews as I feel this allows the interviewee to express their own agendas and highlight issues that are important to them. By using this method, it offers flexibility and allows the interviewee to elaborate on their answer than a questionnaire shall allow.

 

Scopes and limitations:

 

As body image is a broad topic, there are many issues it can lead to. Issues such as nutrition, anorexia, obesity and plastic surgery. My main focus is to examine the historical portrayal of the male and female ideal body trends and how this has changed through time and also to examine the media portrayal of body image.