Group Objectives

Historical Overview- Angelina
Angelina will be tackling this topic and presenting information along this time line to discuss thoughts and views upon body and gender differences and how they compare to today's ideas about body size and image. Angelina's research will come from scientific journals which show past research on body image and health in relation to historical views. She will also be including a survey, using images of how bodies were depicted in the past, to illustrate any changes that might be present in current opinions.
View Blog Here: http://historical1.blogspot.com/

Literature Review- Angelina/Chelsea/Collin
Angelina/Chelsea/Collin will each articles, two of them which are anthropology related and find information on body image. They will also be discussing the possible causes and onsets of eating disorders including ideas pertaining to the origin of present societal norms in relation to body size and shape.
View Blog Here: http://empiricalresearch0.blogspot.com/

Media/Popular Culture Analysis- Chelsea/Collin
Collin Chiu will be discussing how the media depicts and manipulates the body image of men and its effects. Specifically, he will be looking into magazines that are designed for men, such as Men's Fitness and GQ, and analyzing the articles and advertisements targeted at men's body image.
Chelsea Vosough will investigate what impact the amount and types of advertisements an adolescent in relation to how he/she views themselves, and thus affect the important task of identity formation. She will be doing this by examining several magazine articles, from a variety of magazines. For example, she will be looking at Shape and Cosmopolitan. Furthermore, Chelsea will be analyzing past research and drawing conclusions on whether a relationship is shown between media exposure and its representation of the thin body-image as an ideal of women in relation to a negative effect on the person's self-image that lead to body dissatisfaction.
View Blog Here: http://mediapopculture0.blogspot.com/

Empirical Research- Chelsea/Collin
Collin will conduct a survey based on the thoughts of male students on campus about a specific article on men's body image and how it affects them in a few sentences. Taking the information from the survey and applying it to his analysis of the magazines, he will write a cohesive paper with his thoughts on the current and long-term effects of these magazines. Chelsea will also be doing a survey to examine if media affects body image
View Blog Here: http://empiricalresearch1.blogspot.com/


GRADE SCALE- 10 %
Participation 0-5
*How much time and effort each group member contributed to the weblog.
*How each member communicated throughout the project.
*How much work each member put into their topics.

Performance 5-10
*Each member completed their assignment on time.
* Each member covered their specific topics.
* Each member put quality effort into the assignment and conducted their research properly


Group Discussion
Describe: For women, to be considered attractive they must meet a certain criteria that is heavily influenced by the media and is unrepresentative of the general population. Requirements include but are not limited to a stick thin figure with large breasts. For men, there are similar requirements which include large muscles, and they are expected to be in tip top physical condition. In comparison, a healthy body varies depending on the person.

Discussions: While the media may mediate what is acceptable for body types, it negatively affects the public. In encourages people to pursue bodies that may not be healthy for their lifestyle. Achieving the "Perfect" body is not always possible without starvation, surgery, and/or excessive workout habits. Trying to achieve the perfect body, is mentally and physically straining on a person and can cause serious health issues. The media contributes to the desire for the perfect body by using images that are heavily photo shopped and by refusing to use images on an average body type. However, the media does this especially for magazine sales, based on demand. In general, people want to view someone who is considered attractive based on the media's standards. There isn't demand for "Average" looking people. Unfortunately, because average looking aren't present in television shows, movies and magazines, it can also lead to the unhealthy pursuit for the perfect body, which can lead to eating disorders and body dysmorphia. The concerns over achieving what people believe are the perfect weight and size relation to the media are blind to the healthier and more realistic goals using tools such as Body Mass Index (BMI) calculators. Using the BMI is a more reliable way to find out what a healthy size and weight is for your height an age. People comparing themselves to images of people that look "perfect" in the media may drive them to the end trying to attain the exact image if not beyond.