Sam Colton

Comp. 2

Prof. McGrif

7/26/18

Ackerman, Felecia. “Fat and Personal Choices.” The New York Times,14 Oct. 2016, p. A26. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=News&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearch
Form&currentPosition=58&docId=GALE%7CA466503064&docType=Brief+article
%2C+Letter+to+the+editor&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE
%7CA466503064&searchId=R4&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true. Accessed 23 July 2018.
This article is rather short, yet the message behind it is important and was explained thoroughly. This
article is through the perspective of someone who, at one point in her life, was highly overweight, and
she was able to overcome it. The author's message in this article is that people should really give it a try
as far as weight loss goes, as the author was able to lose hundreds of pounds, with the exception of
those people who wouldn't be able to exercise for medical reasons. Her final message stated that people
should embrace who they are, whether they are athletic or find themselves eating a lot, but an efort
should at least be made.

I think that this information is reliable, due to the fact that this is coming from a person who had also
struggled with being overweight. Also, it is similar to some of the other sources that I am using because
it doesn't view body image issues as a negative thing. The goal of this source is to show the reader that
the author struggled with a problem that many people are faced with, and worked hard to turn their life
around.

Reading this source was helpful to me, and it helps me shape my argument because I can use it as far as
developing my reasoning behind why body image issues can sometimes be a good thing. It didn't change
the way I think about my topic, but I enjoyed reading the article, and understanding what the author was
able to overcome.

Klass, Perri. “Teenagers and False Body Images”. New York Times, 1 Aug 2016. Gale Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=FeaturedContent&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=
TopicSearchForm&currentPosition=3&docId=GALE
%7CA459693053&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=OVIC&contentSet
=GALE
%7CA459693053&topicId=00000000LVVJ&searchId=&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true.
Accessed 19 July 2018.
 This article states that teens have to face pressures everyday based on advertising from the media,
comparing themselves to their peers, and images on social media. It also brings up the actions that are
taken to improve body image, such as taking laxative to start weight loss, and using products designed to
improve muscle building. A study was taken on a group of men and women, and the author states that
“10.5 percent of women in the group reported using laxatives in the past year . . . use of a muscle-
building product in the past year, with the use increasing in adolescence”(1). This quote represents the
eforts of teens and young adults to try and fit the body images that are portrayed on social media and
shown of by the media in magazines. Rachel Rodgers states “The representations of ideal appearance in
society are very restrictive . . . unattainable by healthy means”, showing that body image is usually
altered and not healthy to try and imitate (1).

This is a very useful source for me, as it demonstrates the eforts of teenagers and adults as they try to
look like the portrayals shown in the media and online. This is similar to my other sources as it shows the
efect of the media's portrayal of body image, and how people try and alter their bodies to fit this
“image”. Again, it is a little biased because it doesn't state any possible positives that can come from this
situation, but the positives are minimal in this article. The goal of this source is to explain to the reader
the pressures put on teens to look their best and the eforts taken to improve body image. Overall, the
points made in this article are reliable and will work well for my research.

This is going to fit my research perfectly, as it represents my viewpoint on the standards on body image
that are portrayed by the media. Reading this article gave me some statistics that demonstrated what
teens go through to change their bodies, and the number of teens that attempt this is alarmingly high.
As far as shaping my argument, this will work well because I can include how this afects a younger
generation, and how the media's portrayal of body image changes the mindset for many people in this
generation. It didn't change my viewpoint on the topic, but it definitely supported it, and it will be
utilized in my research.

Angier, Natalie. “Drugs, Sports, Body Image, and G. I. Joe”. New York Times, 22 Dec 1998. Academic One

File, http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?
tabID=T004&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSe
archForm&currentPosition=6&docId=GALE
%7CA150094036&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=AONE&contentSe
t=GALE%7CA150094036&searchId=R1&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true. Accessed 24
July 2018.
This article starts of with addressing the image portrayed by a Barbie doll, and a G. I. Joe doll, both
signifying two people that are in “perfect shape”, although the proportions of their bodies and the
overall look of them is essentially unrealistic by normal standards. The author states the efect of these
on younger individuals, but mainly focusing on the efect of G. I. Joe on males. The author also brings up
the statement “Dr. Pope said the dolls might be . . . hormone, testosterone”, meaning that exposure to
these dolls that possess this certain physique could lead to boys feeling they need to also have this
physique, and then doing whatever is needed to reach that goal (1). Some of the steps that may be taken
could be steroids and human growth hormone, which both have negative side efects for the human
body.

I find this information to be reliable and usable for my research. It relates to some of the other articles I
have used because it drills down to a specific gender that could have body issues due to certain
pressures, being unrealistic body portrayal in toys for this article. The goal of this article was to discuss
the efect of unrealistic body looks for men in toys, and also the steps that would be taken if an
individual wished to also sport these looks.

I will use this document in my research paper because it specifically gives details on how men can fall
victim to body image portrayal, plus how they may take dangerous steps to have these looks. Next, I did
learn some new information from this article, specifically on how body portrayal afects men, as I had
first come to the conclusion that it afected mainly women and maybe some males. Lastly, I believe that
there is a little bias in this, as not all men would take these dangerous steps to look as muscular as a doll,
but it does provide insight on an important issue.

“Body Image.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale Opposing Views In Context,

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?
tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=TopicS
earchForm&currentPosition=3&docId=GALE
%7CEJ3010659211&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=OVIC
&contentSet=GALE
%7CEJ3010659211&topicId=00000000LVVJ&searchId=&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true.
Accessed 19 July 2018.
The author states that “body image refers to the way . . . self worth”(1). This means that someone is
likely to ponder the thought of changing the way they look based on their peers or what is advertised to
them. Also, the actions of someone reflect how they feel about themselves, basically their self esteem is
afected by how they think about their looks. This article states that people tend to develop body image
issues during teenage years, so essentially they are vulnerable to portrayals of ideal body looks during
this time. This could mean that during this time, teens will tend to think more about changing their body,
possibly in the form of using products that are designed to make you look better, in order to improve
their self confidence. A study was done with males and females about body confidence, and the author
states that “13.4-31.8 percent of women and 9-28.4 percent of men experienced dissatisfaction with
their bodies”(1). This shows that self confidence is afected when it comes to media body portrayal.

This article will be a useful source for me for a few reasons. First, it gives insight on how teens are
turning to certain measures to improve their bodies, which then improves their self confidence. This
article demonstrates that self confidence is a huge factor in body image, and there is a direct correlation
between the two. This is a little diferent than my other sources, because this one mentions self
confidence, along with pressure from peers and observations from family. Also, it talks about disorders
that can come from viewing your body negatively, with some afecting someone physically and mentally
in terrible ways. The goal of this source is to show the factors that make up someone's decision to
change the way they look, and the outcomes from doing so. I will be using this source, and it contains
information that represents my stance perfectly.

Overall, this source was very helpful to me, and I did learn some new information by reading it. Some of
the statistics and facts that were presented in it were new to my ears, and I can use that information to
develop my argument in my research paper. It didn't change the way I perceived my topic, but it helped
develop it further. I will be using this to develop one of my narrow topics, which will refer to how the
media's portrayal of the ideal body afects the younger generation. Also, learning about some of the
disorders that can come with excessive hate for the body was interesting to me, as I was unaware about
most of them, and I will be using them as examples in my research.

Anderberg, Kirsten. “The Images of Beauty are Unrealistic and Hurt Women”. The Culture of Beauty,

Greenhaven Press, 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?
tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=TopicS
earchForm&currentPosition=3&docId=GALE
%7CEJ3010659211&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=OVIC
&contentSet=GALE
%7CEJ3010659211&topicId=00000000LVVJ&searchId=&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true.
Accessed 19 July 2018.
The industry that sells and markets products designed to make women “look prettier” exist essentially
because women want to change the way they look. Yet, the main reason they feel this way is due to the
pressure put on them from society and the media to either look thin, wear lots of makeup, and just to
adhere to the modern standards of “beauty”. The article uses the “Miss California” event to bring these
problems to the light. For example, the author states that “The women were all complaining about
diferent parts of their bodies. Their necks, their thighs . . . not good enough”(1). This illustrated the
unfortunately sad fact that the beauty standard of society was represented in these women, yet they still
felt as if they still were required to make a change.

The goal of this source is to point out the standard of beauty that is set for women, based on the views
of the media and society. Next, the information is reliable, because the author gave examples about
what a former cover model for Sports Illustrated said about the Miss California pageant, as she states
what she saw during the event. This is a useful source, because it points out the pressure put on women
to focus entirely on representing the view of “beauty”. This source is a little biased, as it doesn't explain
both sides to the story, for example showing the dedication and hard work put behind being a model.
Although it could be biased, I would consider this a reliable source.

Overall, this article would be good for my research, as it provides details about the standard of beauty in
society for women, and how they are expected to conform to these standards. It fits my research, as I am
looking for information that proves how the media and society portray an “ideal” body image that men
and women strive to look like. As for using this as a source, I would bring this in when I talk about how
body imaging portrayed by the media afects women, because as stated by this article, the efect is huge,
and also devastating. It didn't change how I thought about my topic, but reading this made me support
my stance on the issue even more, as I was unaware of some of the things that the article stated.

Penny, Laurie. “The Media Foster Misplaced Concern About Anorexia”. The Culture of Beauty,

Vol. 1, Jan. 2013. Gale Opposing Views in Context,

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/aboutJournal.do?
contentModuleId=OVIC&resultClickType=AboutThisPublication&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOU
T_PAGE&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE
%7C6CYK&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true&rcDocId=GALE
%7CEJ3010659247&prodId=OVIC&pubDate=120130101. Accessed 19 July 2018.
This article starts of with the author saying “Another day, another dainty dead girl” (1). This quote is
extremely important because it demonstrates how serious of an issue anorexia is on the body. Anorexia
can be caused by wanting to make a quick change to the body, by completely starving yourself to lose
unwanted body fat. Isabelle Caro had started a campaign to show the negative side efects of anorexia
on the body, but after she did this, she was requested for talk show appearances and modeling
opportunities. She is an example of how bad attempting extreme measures for changing your body is for
you. This article also states that the industry, more importantly the media, is using anorexia as a look
that will sell magazines and represent societies standards of a “beautiful woman”.

This article is similar and yet very diferent to my other sources. It is similar because it brings up
anorexia, which can be caused by wanting to alter body image to fit a social image of an ideal human
body. However, this article also brings up the fact that the anorexia industry is expanding, that people
are trying to publicize and market this terrible disorder. This information is reliable, and I will use this
because it dives deep into the argument of anorexia, like what causes it and its efect on the body. The
goal of this source was to take a look at the life of a model that had passed away due to complications
from anorexia, and to examine its truly harmful nature, and why it is an unsafe option as far as altering
body appearance.

This source was helpful to me because it demonstrated how the media can publicize a certain look, and
that people will follow the trend so they too can fit the “social standard”. It will go great with my
research as I am looking to back up my argument on the media's portrayal of body imaging, and this can
fully explain the downsides to it. Although it hasn't changed my view on the topic, I did learn some new
information from it, and I can apply what I took away from this article into my research paper. Overall,
this is a great source for me to use.

“Should Body Shaming Ads be Banned?” Choices/Current Health, Jan 2013,

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/aboutJournal.do?
 contentModuleId=OVIC&resultClickType=AboutThisPublication&actionString=DO_DISPLAY_ABOU
T_PAGE&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=GALE
%7C6CBS&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true&rcDocId=GALE
%7CA492539111&prodId=OVIC&pubDate=120161101.
The main point that is illustrated in this article is the fact that advertisements often, if not always portray
the ideal body as skinny yet toned for women, and muscular for men. The question that this article is
asking is if “fat shaming” advertisements should be banned, while also pointing out that people in this
country will never be able to accept who they are and love what they look like with these
advertisements still being portrayed. Next, the article states that “celebs and models post positive body
messages on social media, yet are on magazines looking thin and toned”, so the assumption is made that
you are beautiful the way you are, but there also is an “ideal look”, so there are mixed signals as far as
advertisements and fat shaming goes (1).

This article will be important for my research because it first discusses how celebrities will try to promote
“acceptance of your body”, yet will still pose with a thin body and tight clothes for a magazine, so
essentially what they say isn't helping motivate people to love themselves the way they are. The goal of
this source was to point out that the idea of banning advertisements that showed of the “ideal body”
would allow people to focus on either accepting who they are and to love their body type, or putting in
hard work to change their body type. Keeping the advertisements only cause people to hate who they
are because of the way that they look.

This source was important and I will be using it in my research, mainly because it's diferent from the
other articles in saying that although people try and spread the word that “you should love yourself”,
celebrities and models will continue to look the way that they do for the sake of publicity or a magazine
cover, and that the ideal body probably will not change. I believe that there is not that much bias in this
article, because it covers both sides of the issue.

Suhay, Lisa. “Fat Jokes: How often do Hollywood movies body shame?” Christian Science Monitor, 2 Feb

2016. Opposing Views in Context. http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=News&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearch
Form&currentPosition=2&docId=GALE
%7CA442107063&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=OVIC&contentSet
=GALE%7CA442107063&searchId=R6&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true. Accessed 23 July
2018
This articles states that body shaming, more importantly fat shaming is incorporated into many
Hollywood movies. This usage of fat shaming, from “Groundhog Day” to “Pitch Perfect” is turning heads
because people are realizing that actors either are representing, or using lines that can be considered
body shaming. For example, the author states “It’s kinda sad when you have characters with names like
‘Fat Amy’ who calls herself that so people don’t call her that first”, which shows that the movie has a
character that is making fun of her own body to make people laugh (1). The article also states that
“people become funny to overcome pain”, signifying that the reason someone will joke about their
image would possibly be to help themselves feel better, or to avoid having someone else make fun of
them.
Overall, this document will be a useful source for me to use in my research. It is useful because it gives a
stance on how fat shaming is evident in movies, and how people viewing these movies may feel
targeted. The goal of this source was to take a look at how some characters are portrayed in movies, and
to illustrate how these portrayals can lead to unneeded fat shaming.

This source was helpful to me because I can use the information in this to back up one of my narrow
topics. I can provide details on how portrayals in movies can lead to someone wanting to change their
body image, which is essentially the general topic for the paper. It hasn’t changed what I think about the
topic, but I did learn some new information.

White, Philip. “Muscles don't make the man . . . powerlessness”. Globe and Mail(Toronto, Canada), 25

Nov. 1992, p. A28, Gale Opposing Views in Context,

http://go.galegroup.com.db23.linccweb.org/ps/retrieve.do?
tabID=News&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearch
Form&currentPosition=8&docId=GALE
%7CA163995501&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=OVIC&contentSe t
=GALE%7CA163995501&searchId=R4&userGroupName=lincclin_sjrcc&inPS=true. Accessed 19
July 2018.
This article essentially discusses the advertising behind men's magazines, those showing of bulky
bodybuilders next to beautiful women. The author explains that “The current popularity of bodybuilding
is best explained as a response to contemporary male feelings of uncertainty and powerlessness”(1).
This means that men will turn to exercise to improve their self image. Yet, this isn't really a negative
efect, as although there are some negative aspects of bodybuilding, motivation and hard work is
required to build a good physique. This article goes to explain that a muscular body is one that men
admire and want to have, and essentially is the image that the media advertises to men, either through
magazines or selling products.

This source is very useful to me, because it gives a diferent look than the other articles as far as the
media portraying a specific body image. This article demonstrates that the ideal male image is one who
is muscular, but this portrayal can be a motivational tool for men as far as exercising and changing their
lifestyle to mimic one of a bodybuilder. The information in this article is reliable, and it does have just a
little bias, due to explaining one side to bodybuilding. The goal of this source is to show the reader that
the media wishes to portray strong, beautiful people in order to properly advertise.

This article fits my research, because it provides me with some information that the other sources did
not, which makes it diferent from the other articles. Next, I can use this in my research as far as
explaining how the media portraying an ideal body image afects men, which important as far as
developing my topic goes. Also, this has changed my view of my topic a little bit. It didn't change my
stance on it, but I did learn that there are some positives that come from media portrayal, so that also
diferentiated from the other sources I gathered.
 Vilhjalmsson, Runar et al. “Bodily Deviations and Body Image in Adolescence.” Youth and Society,
Volume 44, Issue 3. Sage Journals,
http://journals.sagepub.com.db23.linccweb.org/doi/10.1177/0044118X11402850. Accessed 25
July 2018.
This article sums up the point that individuals that have a diferent body than others, whether it be
visually unappealing to people or overweight, face ridicule from their peers, and this ridicule causes the
individual to view themselves in a certain light, which usually isn't positive. They may lose their self
esteem, possess negative thoughts about their body image, wish to change their body, the list goes on
and on. A study was done on male and female students from ages 14 to 16, and the article states that
“Girls had a considerably lower body image . . . body image among girls”, meaning that both girls and
boys can have doubts and negative feelings about the way they look (1). The article also states that
“Body image pertains to . . . anxiety, and depression”, meaning that there is a direct correlation between
the physical and mental states of an individual based on how they view their body.

I found this information to be reliable, and that the information discussed in this document was well
researched and got the point across. It is similar to some of the other sources that I will be using because
it brings up the point of ridicule afecting the individual as far as viewing their body image. The goal of
this document would be to show the forces/pressures that cause people to have a positive/negative
viewpoint of their body image.

I definitely will be using this document in my research because it has a ton of details that will help
support my stance on the issue. It backs its information up with studies that were performed, and it
describes the pressures of body image from ridicule from peers, media portrayal, and also states the
correlation between these factors and individual's feelings for the way they appear to others. Overall, I
did learn some new information from reading this article, and I definitely will be using parts of it in my
research paper.