Bullock

What are we exposing our teenagers to?

Kirstie Bullock
There are media forms that we do and dont want to be exposed to. For as long as we can
remember, the media has always targeted their audiences well. However, the purpose is to sell
their products to make money. Whether its an idea, a product, entertainment, etc., marketers
study and understand their audiences in order to make sales. Typically, they sell their product or
idea with what will appeal to their audience. Usually it is at the expenditure of the human body
images that are currently in fashion usually. As far as our teenagers exposure, this notion
simmers: is it the medias responsibility, or is it mine? The best place to start is the background
and understanding of the issue.
To

go

into

further

details about the role in the

marketers job, their purpose is
to engage with customers
emotional or practical needs
(Marketing
How

to

Marketing

Made

Simple,

Cut

Through

Clutter.).

To

clarify, they state that you would need to learn how to reach out to your customer to make them
want to buy the product. Then you would need to use the media correctly because there is so
much mass media out there, which makes competition high and costly. They added, Fight dirty
try new approaches to promotion.
Of course it does get hard to fight for your business with more and more businesses
struggling for the spotlight. Roy H. Williams from entrepreneur.com explains that results are

Bullock 2

linked to the message more than the money spent. This gives some perception for their messages.
He continues to explain, When youve identified a message that generates a positive response
and you deliver that message consistently, business growth in year two will be approximately
twice the growth of year oneBut following year three, anything can happen. (Williams,
Selecting the Most Effective Advertising Media). He lists 8 advertising sources with a
reminder that it depends on what is needed for your business, where broadcast television and
magazines are the best places to earn money. Now you have to remember that its not just about
advertising on commercials. Models are hand picked for marketing and advertising products in
fashion shows and magazines. Actors, singers and every other celebrity star out there have also
been hand picked not only for their talents, but also for other marketing purposes. This isnt such
a bad thing, until its used inadequately.
During the 1950s,
Marilyn Monroes career
peaked. She was famous for
being a beautiful plus size
model. I have seen plenty of
pictures, posts and articles
going around claiming that
she were sizes 10-12, or
sometimes

higher,

and

included a picture of her in a bikini from a lower angle. Kathryn Darden summarized a
popularity of overweight women sizes 12, 14 and 16 justifying their own sizes being the same

Bullock 3

size as Marilyn Monroe (Darden, How big was Marilyn Monroe & what size dress did she
wear). In her article, she makes a powerful statement:
Google offers a page of links to this same quote: Her measurements were recorded by
her dressmaker as 36-23-37 and sometimes fluctuated between that and 36-2437.None of the websites had an official reference for this fact, but old photos of
Monroe backed this up.Snopes.com deflates the idea Marilyn Monroe was ever a 16 by
pointing out todays size 10 dress is smaller than the size 10 dress of 50 years ago
(vanity sizing).it is possible Marilyn Monroe was a size 12 in the 1950s. Todays
vanity sizing would make Monroes size 12 a healthy size 8...
After reading her article, this did spark my curiosity for vanity sizing. In fact, she wrote
another article to define vanity sizing. I was shocked to read that sizing has changed quite a bit.
A 155 pound woman should actually be wearing a size 16. Todays expectations show that a plus
size is anything over a size 10, but 2 out of 3 American women are a size 16 and are considered
overweight. (Peeke, Pondering the Plus-Size Phenomenon.)
Preceding Marilyn Monroe
was Lesley Hornby, mostly known as
Twiggy in the 1960s. This is the
debate on where the unhealthy body
images started. She was estimated to
be a size 0 (bodymeasurements.org,
Twiggy). She was interviewed and
quoted, I was very skinny, but that
was just my natural build, Hornby
said. I always ate sensibly being
thin was in my genes. (UPI News
Service, America's Next Top Model' judge Twiggy: Too thin models terrifying). To blame

Bullock 4

one woman for the choices of marketers is dodging the real reasons thin models are popular.
As a teenager, I remember the number one concern was social interactions and how you
fit in with your peers. So when you give a teenage girl a magazine, have you thought about the
contents in that magazine? These magazines include popular fashion designers who place an
importance on unreal expectations on women. Laura Beck writes, In the fashion industry, plus
size is a term for models who are size 8 and up. But in the real world, most people would never
think of a size 8 as a plus size most plus-size clothing doesnt even start until size 16. (Beck,
Is This What a Plus-Size Model Should Look Like?). So how can someone reach these
unrealistic expectations? In a lot
of cases, girls turn to eating
disorders such as anorexia and
bulimia.
I had hoped things might
have changed since I buried my
nose in magazines 10 years ago,
so when I suddenly started
receiving Glamour magazines in
my mailbox that I didnt request,
I decided to see the differences
between then and now. I wasnt
surprised to see that not much has
changed from 10 years ago.
While looking through Glamour,

Bullock 5

I did stumble across an alarming advertisement for Chanel perfume that disturbed me not too
long ago. The women in this ad look like they are at an unhealthy weight with how skinny they
were. If I were a teenage girl, I wouldnt be able to recognize that this is wrong and I might be
striving to look like this because this is what the fashion industry says is right.
This can lead to depression, eating disorders, suicide and many other mental issues. Now,
women arent just targeted in magazines. They are also targeted in commercials and movies. And
this is where boys and men see them. But the media doesnt just lay out the expectations of what
women should look and act like, they also target men as well.
Its time to take a step back and see the movies and television shows you own or watch.
They may not bother you, but
teenagers are more prone to
the unrealistic implications
lying within these media
types. Traditionally, most of
the concerns about media and
body image have revolved
around girls, but more and
more, researchers and health professionals are turning their attention to boys as well. A growing
body of research indicates that although boys are less likely to talk about their insecurities, they
too experience anxiety about their bodies. (Media Smarts, Body Image Boys). Its hard to
know when boys are feeling insecure.
The Representation Project originally filmed a documentary named Miss Representation
based around girls, which supports the statement that its focused on girls. So they filmed a

Bullock 6

second documentary named The Mask You Live In. In their trailer, they showed their interview
with Joe Ehrmann, a Coach and Former NFL Player. He stated, The three most destructive
words that every man receives when
hes a boy is when hes told to be a
man. (Siebel, The Mask You Live
In). Within this sentence, he says
everything. In our media-filled world,
everyone, including their own fathers,
tell them to be a man. Its no wonder
its harder to find research and
documentation on boys.
Additionally in their trailer,
they interviewed Ashanti Branch, an
Educator and Youth Advocate. He
stated, Our kids get up every morning.
They have to prepare the mask for how theyre going to walk to school. A lot of us just dont
know how to take the mask off. The film then shows him talking to a group of boys, What is it
that you dont let people see? 90% of you have pain and anger on the back of that paper.
(Siebel, The Mask You Live In). The Mask You Live In was completely sold out at the
Sundance Film Festival, and has not yet been given a release date for viewers outside of a
classroom. Jennifer Siebel has introduced a few teenaged boys interviews within her trailer. It
would be enlightening as to what we dont understand because boys dont speak their minds.

started

Bullock 7

to

evaluate some media

boys

may

attempting

see,
to

understand what they

may be exposed to.
Generally I still found it
hard

to

even

understand, but I do empathize for boys and men. I normally dont watch my cable television
channels, so I started by playing more television to see the commercials. I cared more about the
men than the women. The first model is a real man, athletic, successful, professional, seducer
with a beautiful woman by his side. He also has a branded car and a smartphone. The other type
is less popular and presents men devoted to their families who can save enough time for them
(Wolska, Gender Stereotypes in Mass Media. Case Study: Analysis of the Gender Stereotyping
Phenomenon in TV Commercials.) Watching these commercials do represent exactly these
stereotypes, and some different. So it raised more questions in my head for what they think in
their heads when they see these.
Children are sensitive to what they are surrounded by, and its harder to control the world
itself. Teenagers are more susceptible to the dangers of the media that flows into their lives. I
have personally watched Miss Representation, which is specifically filmed for girls and is for
media. I feel her message is very powerful, but we are at the feet of the mass media. We are not
able to change what they can control entirely. We focus on whom to blame first, in the instance

Bullock 8

of Twiggy. Society wants to blame her for starting the phase of skinny and unhealthy models, but
she was naturally this skinny.
Which way would you interpret the outcome of Twiggys take off in her modeling
career? Most people I have met (and Im guilty myself) are quick to judge. This is how most
girls may think they need to starve to look like Twiggy, when she naturally looked like this. So
the blame can go many ways. It can be the readers interpretation, the marketers targeted
audience, or even the society that surrounds the teenagers that makes all of this okay. This is
such a sensitive topic, and it can only be controlled at home. Do you know how to see the signs
of a teenager impacted by any influences of the media? This could save your relationship with
your child and how they perform in the adult world, and in some cases, it could save your childs
life.

Bullock 9

Works Cited
"Body Image Boys." Mediasmarts.ca. n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2015. <http://mediasmarts.ca/bodyimage/body-image-boys>.
"Twiggy." Body Measurements. 28 Nov. 2014. Web. 3 Apr. 2015.
Beck, Laura. "Is This What a Plus-Size Model Should Look Like?" Cosmopolitan. 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 3
Apr. 2015.
Peeke, Pamela. "Pondering the Plus-Size Phenomenon." WebMD. 24 June 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Siebel, Jennifer. "The Mask You Live In - Trailer." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 3 Apr.
2015.
UPI News Service. "'America's Next Top Model' Judge Twiggy: Too Thin Models "terrifying"" Reality
TV Wt89orld. 19 Nov. 2006. Web. 3 Apr. 2015.
Wolska, Malgorzata. "Gender Stereotypes in Mass Media. Case Study: Analysis of the Gender
Stereotyping Phenomenon in TV Commercials." 9 Jan. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Pictures In Order:
A List of the Different Types of Marketing Strategies. Digital image. Typesofmarketing.net. n.d. Web.
Nichol, Maria. Saluting the Curvy Women: Marilyn Monroe Tops Poll for Best Celebrity Curves. Digital
image. 22 Apr. 2013. Web.
Wigg, David. Twiggy Goes to War on Obesity: She Was the First Superskinny Model and Claims She
Ate like a Horse, but Here She Says Our Bulging Waistlines Are a National Tragedy. Digital
image. 17 Oct. 2014. Web.
"Chanel Chance." Glamour 1 Feb. 2015: 5. Print.
James, Daniel. Why Sit-ups Might Actually Be Making You Appear Fatter. Digital image.

Bullock 10

Http://danieljamesfitnessblog.com/tag/abs/. 22 Feb. 2015. Web.

Men's Health. Digital image. Http://shauntfitness.com/about/. n.d. Web.
Man Is Least Himself When He Talks in His Own Person. Give Him a Mask, and He Will Tell You the
Truth. -Oscar Wilde. Digital image. Http://quotes2explore.blogspot.com. n.d. Web.