Media representations: The health and beauty of the female body

This thesis examines the media representations of women in advertising through textual analysis. Discussed are the possible influences advertising and media have on obesity and health through the perceived pressures placed on women to maintain a body type and figure similar to the women in advertising, despite the unrealistic expectations and unhealthy measures it requires women to go to in order to reach extreme thinness. There are three focuses of this research. First is a focus on cultural representations of beauty within advertising. Discussed are the discrepancies between the average adult American women in comparison to the average model and the increased pressures placed on women to discipline themselves to achieve the "ideal" figure. Second is a focus on lifestyle choices represented in advertisements. Discussed is the function of advertisements to represent women in a singular way to suggest the products a women needs to purchase and consume to achieve the represented lifestyle. Third is a focus on the significance of advertisements and the positive and negative influences they have on the female body. Discussed are the measures that women go to in order to achieve the idealize body. In contrast to the negative impacts, discussed are the movements and campaigns started by companies and individuals to promote body acceptance and a focus on health rather than a focus on thinness.