Image+Destroying+Female+Health+Status+-+Is+the+Media+Guilty?

** Image Destroying Female Health Status: Is the Media Guilty? **

 Globally, within society females find it difficult to be accepted and tend to receive limited media attention in regard to their involvement in sport. In the sporting context, greater attention seems to be placed on female appearance and perception as opposed to their performance and skill. According to Flamiano (2002) women rarely feature in sporting articles and of those that do, the majority are respresented in a sexualised manner. This results in an absence of genuine news articles relating to female sporting acheivement, as the focus is commonly directed towards their image.



** Artefact Analysis **

 The artefact presented shows seven females semi-nude with footballs covering their breasts.This symbolic artefact was retrieved from a common website that creates de-motivational posters, called Motifake. Many of the posters on the website are sketches for comedy purposes. This picture is astute as it gives a misinterpretation – showing that the media concentrates on the image of women rather than the sport.

 ** Public Health Issue Analysis **

 According to the Australian Bureau of statistics (2005) (ABS) more females are underweight in comparison to men as shown in statistics, 37.2% of which are females and 26.5% are males. The majority of females that are underweight could be caused from media attention. As content reveals women are judged on their sexual attractiveness, rather than on their physical abilities within a sporting context (Flamiano, 2002).  Another reason behind becoming underweight may be from having to fit in with society. Females playing sport at grass roots may try and look physically attractive, as there is a large amount of emphasis placed in the media. An additional consideration is that having to look physically attractive may well prevent females entering certain sports. Most sports require a lot of energy, which raises body temperature and causes sweat. As such effects may not be perceived as attractive, this may discourage some females from participating in sport. There are barriers that prevent women playing sport. This can consequently cause health issues for women in a psychological and physical way. Psychologically, sport and exercise plays a key role in creating positive feelings about oneself. There are various ways sport can promote increased self-esteem. An example may be through moving effectively in a sport that will enhance feelings of achievement. The physical aspect of not playing sport / physical activity can cause health implications, such as: cardiovascular disease, obesity and many more illnesses. These illnesses are detrimental to health and wellness so sport participation should increase in society to reduce such illnesses. Sport participation should be encouraged to create healthy productive people in society. This willdecrease deviance and disruptive actions and alleviate boredom and alienation in today’s culture (Coakley, 2011).

 ** Literature Review **

 The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that 300 million people will develop diabetes by 2025. In comparison with the current average (150 million) this indicates that this issue of inadequate eating and physical activity is getting worse worldwide (Iqbal et al, 2007). The government contributes substantial funding towards improving these public health issues. Funding ensures physical and mental health is maintained by communities. Regular physical activity is a contributing factor towards maintaining health and avoiding illness. Consistently performing physical activity reduces the likelihood of developing chronic diseases or physical ailments. Active lifestyles also lower the risk of psychological problems that may require therapeutic assistance (Australian Bureau of statistics, 2009). Societal perceptions create a divide as to whether a sport is viewed as masculine or feminine. The divide of sports being predominantly male or female orientated can affect women from a young age as they may not feel accepted in masculine sports. According to Kiovula (2001) masculine and feminine sports are categorised. This study reported that males are more suited to team sports with the intention of contact or heavy lifting. Such male dominated sports include ice hockey and football. On the other hand, sports that require grace and beauty are historically intended for females. This limitative factor of gender categorisation within sport may reduce females entering sports from a young age. It is imperative that females participate from a young age, so skill level and fitness is developed through to adolescence and adulthood. This will increase the standard of play in women’s sports, which may potentially place more importance on broadcasting their games live. It is important females participate in all sports, as those sports linked to being more masculine tend to benefit cardiovascular fitness more so than others.

 A problem that is widespread in western cultures leading to public health issues comes from body dissatisfaction, which is strongly related to depression (Neumark-Sztainer, //et al//., 2004). According to Presnell, Tristan and Stice, (2008) females tend to be significantly more dissatisfied with their bodies. This can lead from gaining perceptions of people in the media that have the ideal body; a natural instinct is to believe women with the ideal body are healthy. In actual fact they can have a diet that is less nutritious than another female that is overweight. This indicates how females shouldn’t focus primarily on image as consuming fewer nutrients leading to a lower BMI can increase the chance of infection or illness. Although from a young age women are bombarded with sexualised images of women with physics that are appealing on the eye (Evans, 2010). This also puts emphasis on the fact that in society today the majority of people are attracted to females that have a relatively low BMI and are aesthetically pleasing on the eye. Many females place more importance on their appearance than their own health. This can put a lot of pressure on the body, by trying to meet unrealistic body shapes and compositions. Women taking measures to achieve certain body types can lead to depression and anorexia, through placing stress to accomplish something which is not achievable.

 As shown in a study males and females opinions as to what the most attractive female body is, was very similar by the perceptions made by both sex (Benninghoven, Raykowski , Solzbacher, Kunzendorf & Jantschek, 2007). According to Overstreet, Quinn & V. Bede Agocha (2010) many females have a tendency to overestimate there actual size, leading to an eating disorder. Females diagnosed underweight and anorexic are increasing, which can be an onset from having to look physically attractive.  Now to focus on the psychological problems that can be caused from females not having the same opportunities as males to exercise and play sport. There are many areas of wellness that contribute to someone feeling content, if certain factors are missing it can lead to feelings of low self esteem and depression. An area that is imperative to ensure low self esteem does not arise is to participate in exercise (Hart, 2007). According to Hart (2007) statistics suggested that if sport or physical activity is carried out regularly women are 33% more likely to have a higher social self perception and 44% more likely to have a greater athletic self perception. This indicates if an individual’s physical dimension of wellness is maintained the likelihood of negative feelings are less probable. In the western culture generally people are optimistic and strive for success ( Westerbeek and Mutsaers, 2008). An underlying problem is that females as a sex do not exercise and play sport to the same extent as males. Feelings of low self esteem are lower in males, so this indicates that females should participate in sport and physical activity to improve self esteem. It shows that our society focuses heavily on appearance, due to the majority of people having the choice of how much food is consumed and the amount of energy expended. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In comparison to other cultures that struggle due to living under circumstances of financial hardship. This hardship doesn’t pose the opportunity to eat when hungry, it is a matter of when food has been donated or found, which shows how greedy we are in western cultures.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> According to Kiovula (2001) in 1972 only 1 in 27 women participated in sport. The study was tested again in 1998 showing improvement with one in three women taking part in sport. This is an astonishing statistic and if awareness is constantly raised more will participate in sport and health issues will decrease in western cultures.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> Advertisement poses the opportunity for companies and individuals to sell and purchase products. In sport there are many ways to promote products through television, magazines and many more avenues. This forms a product / idea that need to make revenue and capture the interest of the general population. Through the media presenting females with the thin ideal body, image exposure ( Bissell & Zhou, 2004 ) can cause females too subsequently feel depressed or lose weight - two major health issues detailed previously. The focus showing females bodies make a standard for females to meet in relation with how they should look and if expectations are not met many public health issues can arise.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> The issue of women in sport and how they are portrayed in the media is not acceptable, due to focusing primarily on their body and not so much on the game or achievements. On the whole the limitations of the methodologies posed in the research articles were that there wasn’t any method or suggestion as to how we can overcome females being shown in the light of sexual appeal in sport instead of focusing on the actual athlete in the game. The answer is, a majority of the population are interested in seeing females partially naked so it won’t change, due to income being increased for this very reason. There was much evidence provided on the issue on how females are exposed in sport, and treated in the media, although a full understanding as to why women find it so compelling to compare themselves to others depicted in the media was not made clear. This evidence has allowed the opportunity to realise how many different aspects of not playing sport can affect public health, which widened the perspective on the topic as many factors contribute to causing health issues with females keeping active by the means of many different sports.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> ** Cultural and Social Analysis **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Traditionally, women did not have equal rights, even being denied the privilege to vote. Conversely, males dominated decision making within society. According to Andersson et. al (2011), in the nineteenth century males were visible and females were invisible. This statement is supported by the fact that women were not able to vote nor take predominant roles in society, regarding employment and family hierarchy. Men were put on a higher pedestal, indicating their importance and empowerment over women. An example of the power divide of this era was within the cattle industry. Males were perceived to be too important to work with cattle, so it was seen as the ‘female cattle industry’ (Andersson et. al (2011). In the late 1980’s- 1990’s it is apparent that females did not get the respect in society that they deserved. This trend has continued through to today’s society. This may be the result of many factors, including such attitudes toward women being past on through the generations and subsequently rubbing off on current society. There are many current examples that illustrate this traditional inequality; within sport, family, and various roles throughout society. As this essay focuses on women in sport, it is important to note that because a woman’s role was traditionally aligned with household chores they did have the same opportunity as men to participate in sport or physical activity. This indicates that the movement of females’ equal rights in sport in recent history has taken time to promote. Females have had to overcome many barriers and much criticism in order to break free from their traditional strict gender roles within society.

<span style="color: #131313; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> As well as the factors that have been mentioned regarding traditional values influencing modern ideals, other current societal norms have been shaped in more recent times. A key difference in western cultures is how people concentrate on their image. This is because there are new sources of media that were not available in early years which promote the important of image. In other countries, which struggle with poverty, the issue of body image would be of less concern as the media is not such an integral aspect of their lives. In deprived countries, the agenda of most people would be to survive, instead of placing importance on looking good. Media is impacting many females as they feel as though they have to fit in with society by looking thin and attractive. Making sure they fit in does not necessarily highlight the person’s ability in a sport or the individual’s health status through appearance. This is causing many females to compare themselves to others and attempt different ways to achieve the ideal image. This issue can also affect women in the public spotlight. An example presented at a professional level is female tennis player Serena Williams. She has been very successful in this domain winning many trophies, although recently Williams has lost a lot of weight and started using her body as a form of advertisement. In my opinion Williams has lost weight to look physically attractive to fit in with societal expectations and show the vast amount of people what they want, causing an influx in income and less criticism. <span style="color: #131313; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> In comparison to unhealthy examples, Williams’ weight loss is less dangerous considering she would have received professional advice from a qualified nutritionist. I believe the implementation of positive public health messages through the media would reinforce healthy weight lose practices and may result in the reduction of physical and psychological illness. This is an important issue as many females currently lose weight in an unhealthy fashion that increases the risk of health issues. Advertisement, involving health experts, that portrays healthy weight lose strategies may help to decrease the prevalence of such adverse health issues among women. <span style="color: #131313; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Males benefit from sport and media coverage more as a whole due to being more empowered in society, as shown by men’s sports being televised globally. Females on the other hand are raising more awareness to be in sport for the right reasons and subsequently games participated in are receiving more air time over recent years. To permanently improve this and have just as much of a role as men in sport they should focus more on the grass root aspect. This will improve basic skills from a young age giving women a better understanding of sport and improve the chance of personal athletic development. As an increased number of females participate in sport it should also make it more competitive and exciting to watch.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> ** Analysis of Artefact and Own Learning Reflections **

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> I believe the artefact chosen is an accurate representation of how females are currently being exposed in sport. It is reality that people are attracted to watch games because the women are aesthetically pleasing on the eye in some sports, so focus needs to be on the sport and not how they look that induces attention, because surely modelling is the purpose of flaunting to an audience to show attractiveness. Although showing women’s bodies creates more awareness and revenue for the game it needs to attract people through improving the skill level at games from the point of grass roots. An example where females’ bodies are presented to create attention is in American football. Females play in lingerie and males are padded head to toe only showing there face through there helmet. <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">To conclude this assessment piece I am going to explain key areas learnt and how it will be applicable to future learning and thinking processes. The key thing taken was that females are in the media frequently for achieving sporting achievements yet they focus on taking pictures of their bodies. Through the research undertaken in this essay I realise this causes many public health issues in society. Other females see these images and develop negative feelings through not being able to look as aesthetically pleasing themselves. This will help me tremendously as I work in a gym as a personal trainer. Within this role I interact with females on a regular basis regarding weight. My awareness of the side effects of not being satisfied within yourself will allow me to communicate better with my female clients, encouraging them to be healthy by losing weight for the right reasons.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Reference List **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Andersson, J., Elfwendahl, M., Gustafson, G., Hägerman, M-B., Lundqvist, R., Lönnquist, S, U., Ulfsdotter, J., & Welinder , S. (2011). Visible Men and Elusive Women. International journal of historical archaeology, 15(1), 10-29. doi: 10.1007/s10761-010-0127-5

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2005). 4719.0 - Overweight and Obesity in Adults, Australia, 2004-05. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4719.0Main%20Features52004-05?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4719.0&issue=2004-05&num=&view

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Australian Bureau of statistics. (2009). 4156.0.55.001 - Perspectives on Sport, Dec 2009. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/4156.0.55.001~Dec+2009~Main+Features~Participation+in+Sport+by+People+with+a+Disability?OpenDocument

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Benninghoven, D., Raykowski, L., Solzbacher., S, Kunzendorf., & Jantschek, G. (2007). Body images of patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and female control subjects: A comparison with male ideals of female attractiveness. //Body Image// //4//(1), 51–59. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.12.002 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Coakley, J. (2011). Youth sports: what counts as positive development?. //Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 35,// 306-324. doi: 10.1177/0193723511417311

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Evans, A, M. (2010). Unattainable beauty: an analysis of the role of body shame and self-objectification in hopelessness depression among college-age women. //University of Massachusetts Boston,// 6-12. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/839131864/previewPDF?accountid=13380

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Flamiano, D. (2002). The (nearly) naked truth: gender, race and nudity in life, 1937. //Journalism History, 28//(8), 116-121. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=0&sid=1&srchmode=1&vinst=PROD&fmt=3&startpage=-1&vname=PQD&did=259572491&scaling=FULL&pmid=18698&vtype=PQD fileinfoindex=%2Fshare4%2Fpqimage%2Fpqirs101v%2F201110260818%2F16367%2F769%2Fout.pdf&source=%24source&rqt=309&TS=1319631501&clientId=14394#indexing

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Hart, A. (2007). Exercise and self-esteem. //Community Care,// 28-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/223282371/fulltextPDF/132C4983BA66C8364FA/1?accountid=13380

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Iqbal, R., Rafique, G., Badruddin., S., Qureshi, R., Cue, R., & Gray-Donald, K. (2007). Increased body fat percentage and physical inactivity are independent predictors of gestational diabetes mellitus in south asian women.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 61(6), 736-742. Retrieved from (0954-3007)http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?sid=67321587-4e43-42ac-8380-b3b2ccd2b5f1%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=127&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=25264987

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Koivula, N. (2001). Perceived characteristics of sports categorized as gender-neutral, feminine and masculine. //Journal of Sport Behavior, 23//(4), 377-393//.// Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?sid=5da87f4d-fb88-4124-b9fa7f8fce302c21%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=5483716

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Meredith A. E. (2010). Unattainable beauty: an analysis of the role of body shame and self-objectification in hopelessness depression among college-age women. women, 12-1-2010. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/839131864

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Neumark-Sztainer, D., Story, M., Hannan, P. J., Perry, C.L., & Irving, L. M. (2004). Weight-control behaviors among adolescent girls and boys: implications for dietary intake. // Journal of the American Dietetic Association //**//, //**// 104 // (6) ** , ** 913-920. doi**:** 10.1016/j.jada.2004.03.021 = = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Overstreet, M, N., Quinn, M, D., & Agocha, B, V. (2010). "Beyond thinness: the influence of a curvaceous body ideal on body dissatisfaction in black and white women". //Sex Roles, 63(//1), 91-103. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9792-4

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Presnell, K., Stice., & Tristan, J. (2008). Experimental investigation of the effects of naturalistic dieting on bulimic symptoms: moderating effects of depressive symptoms. //Research report, 50//(1), 91-101. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2007.06.002

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Westerbeek, J., & Mutsaers, K. (2008). Depression narratives: how the self became as problem. //Literature and Medicine, 27//(1), 25-55. doi: 10.1353/lm.0.0017

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Zhou, P., & Bissel, L, K. (2004). Must-see tv or espn: entertainment and sports media exposure and body-image distortion in college women. // Journal of Communication, 54 // (1), 5-21. doi**:** 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02610.x


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> Learning Reflections/ Discussions **

1. Megan, congratulations! The arguments you made relating to your topic were interesting and very relevant. Physical activity can be a great influence on confidence and self esteem, which was clearly illustrated within the report presented. Taking the approach of looking at the effects of physical activity as opposed to sport was different to others and worked well with the use of real life examples. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">2. Sarah, the awareness you brought to this public health issue was impressive. The emphasis that was placed on females having to be raised so they are equal to males in regards to sport and society had many valid points. The artefact used was interesting, as it had many examples of the topic you displayed. The collage showed many females that were partially naked or making out, which was a key area that you focused on. Execution overall was of a high standard, well done