Body Image in Music

In the song "that sexy body" FatManScoop raps about what he considers to be a sexy body saying that if your butt is larger than your waist you have a sexy body. Songs like this promote body images that only a minority of women actually have. This song is only a limited example of the many others like it that promote the same type of body. In urban culture for many people it is more appealing if your butt is of large proportion to the rest of your body which is not realistic for the average everyday women. If some music promotes only this limited view of a "sexy" body what is it saying about everyone who doesn't have that shape. Songs like this can affect women negatively if they don't look like that. 

~Alexis

Jennifer Hudson

 

Jennifer Hudson started out as an amateur singer on American Idol. She quickly moved up the latter to fame after taking a leading role in the movie Dream Girls. Her taking part in the movie did have to do with the fact that she was a “bigger” woman in comparison to her fellow actresses Beyoncé and Anika. After all this newly earned fame Jennifer Hudson had a drastic change in body image dropping more than a couple sizes and become what many would consider slender. The fact that Jennifer Hudson lost weight is not the issue at hand though it is what pushed her to change. Losing weight didn’t boost her career it made her look like everyone else in Hollywood. One can only wonder if the pressure that society exerts on individuals to look a certain way is becoming too strong. The “it” Body image is something that shouldn’t be defined by strict measurements or a specific size it should be judged in terms of how it affects your health.

~Alexis

Body Image in Society

Appearance is something that is treasured by society. Your appearance defines your value in society. It is easy to judge someone by their appearance. Society should focus more on being healthy, as opposed to looking good. On television there are more shows that focus on looking the best, than feeling the best. When it comes down to it,  the only things that should matter are how you feel about yourself and your health. It is okay to be thin and healthy, as it is okay to be thick and healthy. Looking good is great, but if you are not healthy, there's a chance that you won't be around for very long. The media values appearance over health, which makes it hard for people to think about themselves and their health. People are more worried about the appearance of their body than the health of their body. 

~Auttume

Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah is the perfect example of a full-figured women who embraces her curves and promotes being healthy. She is the face of Jenny Craig a dieting system that lets you eat real food, but in healthy proportions that fit into your daily schedule. Queen Latifah doesn't talk about fitting into swimwear from her youth, or becoming super skinny. She completely stands for the notion of feeling good about yourself! In an article from examiner.com Queen Latifah was quoted saying, "Beauty really does start on the inside. It’s like a state of mind, a state of love, if you will." She believes in positive body image, which will help achieve your future dreams. She stands for all the right things! I truly believe she is a great role model for younger women who are trying to become comfortable in their own skin.

Paige Harrington

Doctor J-Curves

Plastic Surgery is something very popular in today's society. However, Plastic surgery is very pricey which makes it only available to people who can afford it. Most of Hollywood's most popular stars have all gotten plastic surgery in order to appear "perfect." Rap star Nicki Minaj is a figure that has a body that is desirable by women. A surgeon in Atlanta is fulfilling these women's desires and making it possible for them to obtain a body similar to Nicki Minaj's body. 

Andrew Jimerson, also known as "Doctor J-Curves" is "making dreams come true." Today, women believe that the only way that they can be labeled as beautiful is if they have bodies that are only possible if they alter their natural assets by getting plastic surgery. Not only is plastic surgery expensive, it is also painful. Women are willing to take dangerous risk to look a certain way that is appealing to society. 

~Auttume

Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks was subject to a lot of criticism and hate after a picture of her looking quite big in a bathing suit was published in a tabloid. The tabloid was making fun of her recent weight gain at the time. Tyra dedicated a whole show to this event in order to get back at the tabloid and send a strong message about body image to women everywhere.  She wore the same swimsuit that was in the picture to prove that she did not gain as much weight as was stated in the tabloid and to prove that she is human and that it’s natural to gain and lose weight. She sent a strong message to women that no one is perfect and that even if she was that big that she is still beautiful. Tyra went on to explain that real women’s weight naturally fluctuates and that there is nothing wrong with that even though society seems to say otherwise especially when it comes to media.

~Alexis

The Ideal Body

The image raps up everything that we are talking about in one. It shows what women think is beautiful, what men see as beautiful, and what actually is beautiful. Although this may not apply to all, there is something about this photo that really captures the thought process behind losing weight. The women's ideal body is super thin, and for many women unattainable. I wonder what makes women think that this is the only type of beauty? Striving to be that skinny is unrealistic, and we should embrace a healthy body. The National Average photo is beautiful, and she is a healthy, strong, confident woman. The Men's Ideal size although bigger than the Women's ideal size is still below average. Lindsey talked about BMI and how most of the women that are publicized and seen as role models today are actually underweight. As a society lets embrace our bodies, whatever shape they may be!

Paige Harrington