Body Image - How are Jounalists Affecting People's Opinions?

Body Image - How are Jounalists Affecting People's Opinions? It's no news to any of us that the press care a little too much about which celebrity's fat this month or which one had undergone a new crash diet and I'm sure it doesn't come as a shock to you to see it splattered across numerous magazine and newspaper covers. Most of us read these articles, purely out of interest, but what most of us don't know, is that these articles are probably affecting our original opinions about this subject without us even knowing it. How do we know who's giving us the correct information? Or who's feeding us their own views on an invisible spoon? The truth is - we don't.

Every journalist has their own personal opinion, and most journalists try not to let this affect their work too much. However, some journalists want their opinion to get across in their work. Some journalists consciously force their opinions to the foreground of their articles in order for people to recognize their stances and this, is what can affect our own personal opinions. This is what can make us change our minds.

Let's look at the topic of eating disorders first of all. Keira Knightley - need I say more? The press had a field day with her back in 2006, after her appearance at the Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest premiere, where rumors of her having an eating disorder were being discussed in magazines, on the television, over the internet - everywhere. She has constantly denied such rumors and eventually, three years later, they seem to have ceased. However, she sued the Daily Mail for suggesting in a magazine that a teenage girl's death, due to anorexia, was caused due to influence from her.

When it comes to bikini season, pictures upon pictures are published in countless magazines, comparing who has the best body and who's too thin. Is it this obsessive need of the media to keep reporting on stories like this that is really affecting the mind frame of impressionable teenagers? Haven't you every wondered, if there was no coverage of these celebrities, how would anyone know about their so-called eating disorders? How could anyone be influenced?

Eating disorders, however, are not the only issue coming from the media, there is another - obesity. It's extremely rare that an article or report is published in a mainstream magazine about obesity and it is often expressed that 'curvy' women are the healthier and more womanly than the thin ones. Is this a fair assumption? And are some people taking the term 'curvy' the wrong way and believing that a dangerous amount of fat is 'curves'. And are the dangers of obesity really being informed to the public?

Celebrities such as Beth Ditto are rarely criticized for their weight, yet praised and congratulated on showing that women can have 'curves' and still be confident. Are impressionable teenagers also affected by this? Is this showing them that it's okay to become dangerously obese as long as they believe they have 'curves'. Surely, if that's the case, then being dangerously thin and being confident and content is also acceptable?

Obesity levels in Britain have reached a dangerous level and are still increasing. Is this due to lack of media coverage in these magazines that people make sure they read every week? Facts need to be seen and heard. People need to be aware. Not to the point that they develop and eating disorder for believing they are too fat, but so that they know what's good for them and what's not. Can we count on the journalists of these magazines to give us these facts and publish those articles? Can we rely on them to give this generation's younger adults and teenagers the correct information, instead of just filling their heads with a load of over-exposed garbage that 90% of the time isn't relevant? All I can say is that I wouldn't count on it and encourage you to put down that magazine and go and get some real facts!

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