When commercials are advertising for weight loss programs the usually show a before and after picture. The before picture is usually a picture of an unhappy "over-weight" person in an unflattering outfit in an awkward position that makes the person look larger than they actually are. The after picture is the same person either in a revealing bathing suit or a flattering outfit in an appealing pose that shows off the skinnier waste line. But is this really what dieting is about? Are all "over-weight" people that unhappy and feel like that have to get the tiny waste line?
I feel like these commercials and advertisements are offensive and very generalizing. Some over-weight people love who they are and what there bodies look like, but when these commercials come on saying that over-weight is unattractive and here is "what you should look like" can make them look at themselves differently and worry that other people are looking at them differently. The commercials may also make them decide on poor health decisions to try to get to these perfect body ideals and be able to be called beautiful by the public.
Some people look at these commercials in disgust and say "I love what I look like and what my weight is" and I will not change who I am just because these people on TV tell me I should. This is how, I believe, most people should react when seeing these types of commercials that tell you that only skinny is pretty. Honestly, if you are happy with the way you look, then why should you be told differently.
Another thing that really bothers me about these commercials is that most of the time it is women portrayed as over-weight and needing to lose weight to be attractive to men. I believe they target women because the know that many women are very sensitive about this topic and are willing to try as many different work out programs and diet regimes that are broadcasted to them. Some people are even willing to pay the outrageous prices that some ridiculous diet pills cost just to try to be that ideal figure.
Speaking of the ideal figure, what even is it? It seems to change almost daily about what the ideal female body should look like (how thin should her waist be, how big should her breasts be, etc.). How can anyone ever be able to be happy with what their body looks like when it is ever changing ? What happens if one day that obese is attractive, will everyone start packing on weight to be as big as they can be? (I don't see people actually doing that). But what is the difference, health wise, from gaining a lot of weight to losing a lot of weight?
I know I have asked a lot of questions, but I just want to know if anyone else feels the same way about the ridiculousness of these weight loss commercials and how they portray women (and men) as being unattractive and disgusting. The before and after pictures still frustrate me in the way that the women are shown with no makeup and basically as ugly as possible, but then all dolled up after and as pretty as possible with a handsome man on your arm. Lets get real, that is unrealistic. Just because you lose some weight does not mean you are magically engaged to an attractive body builder and look great all the time now.
Commercials and media really make me mad. Someone help me to understand and answer some of the questions I have presented.
I completely agree with you that weight loss commercials are ridiculous. It is upsetting that a person’s worth in society is base on how thin they look rather than their overall personality or accomplishments. I believe that it is not only women who are targeted in weight lose commercials, but men are victims as well. Men are expected to be big and muscular to look attractive to women. Weight loss commercials play on men's fears and insecurities about looking attractive to women and having self worth. In these commercials men are shown to be alone, overweight, and unhappy as a before shot. Then after they go through their transformation using the weight loss product that is being sold, they are shown ripped, happy and with an attractive woman at their side. These commercials mess with men’s minds that you must look muscular and big to be happy, attractive and worthy of having a attractive woman. Weight loss commercials are all lies and these products will most likely do more harm to the body than good. It is infuriating to watch because these commercials and products are not made to help people but rather earn a profit by exploiting people’s fears and insecurities.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some very good points here regarding women's desire to loose wieght and how health has been more geared toward attraction and appearance. I believe that physcial fitness is certainly apart of being healthy, but health is definitley more than just what you look like. It is not exceptional for these commercials and advertisements to promote physcial fitness as the only part of health to be concerned about, and then to also encourage, women in particular that they should want to become more "physically" healthy, so that they can be more desireable or attractive to men. This completley misconstrues the true meaning of what being an healthy individual means. You have mentioned some things which I myself have touched on in my own blog for this weel; expressing the wrongful associations with health. The goal to look skinny, look sexy and look attractive are all things that now a days encourage good health. This sucks! and needs to change.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way when I see these ads. What also makes me angry is how they portray the woman in the “before” stage as unhappy and typically without make up, and frumpy clothes. But in the “after” stage she is made up, in new pretty clothes, with a new haircut.
ReplyDeleteThey play with our emotions, as most ads do. They are trying to sell "skinny”, and if they make us believe that we are unhappy even if we are happy with our “fat" selves, because they are trying to sell us the idea of skinny being sexy and desirable for our own self-esteem and to find a romantic partner. If they continue to sell to us the idea that we are not happy, and they have the product that will make us happy, they stay in business. So even though these ads disgust me, and are terrible...in the marketing sense of it, they know what works.
Umm thank god you brought up diet commercials! I just want to say that I saw one recently that was for a type of salt that you sprinkle of food that is supposed to make you lose weight. Really, I sprinkle some smelly salt stuff on my food and I lose weight? They get more ridiculous every time I see them! Really though, as ridiculously funny as I think they are, it's also really sad because people are obviously buying into them! If people weren't calling the numbers and going online to order the pills, salts, juice, etc. then the commercials would not still be on television. What's sad is that somehow women (and I do say women, as that is who the commercials are mostly aimed towards) all over the country are so ready to pop a pill or down a concoction of which they know nothing about in order to fit into a certain jean size. These commercials often portray themselves as legitimate, as more often than not there is a "doctor" in a white coat approving the product.
ReplyDeleteWhat's so sad, to me, as that so many people (and even myself have at times considered it, so I cannot remove my younger self from this blame) are so willing to down crazy drugs and undergo horrible surgeries to look a certain way, when it would be so much easier to just accept their bodies and feel comfortable as themselves. We all buy into these unreachable dreams of perfection, and sooner or later I think it's really going to have enormously disastrous results.
Briana, I really love your blog this week! Diet commercials blow my mind as well. Think we can all agree with each other and say we will never understand why the diet world is so corrupt. Here's the sad thing, we are educated of the corruption and I'm sure we all have fallen a victim to the system. I have an average feeling about my body but I still compare it to images in the media and since I fall short of perfect I still buy into the diets. I've probably been on three different fad diets in my weigh loss endeavor and I can garuntee they were not all healthy. I do not know how to change my idea of myself to be more positive because I am surrounded by images that show me otherwise. You said in your blog, how can you be happy with your body if the ideal body is forever changing? We can't be out to make our bodies satisfy others or the media, but we can strive to be pleased with ourselves. I know it's hard but until then we cannot be happy.
ReplyDeleteYou brought up some really good points in this blog. The ideal figure is a definition that changes with the time period and the trends that are present during that time. Self-beauty has to come from within, it has to be something that a person comes to terms with on their own conditions. Its sad that some people base their body image on the media. But can you blame them with how prevalent the media is in how society? As far as health goes, gaining weight can be just as unhealthy as losing a significant amount of weight. I completely agree, weight loss commercials piss me off as well. They are not realistic AT ALL. You know whats really frustrating to me? The pill advertisements that feature this beautiful ideally shaped woman or a 6 packed man telling you “Take this pill. I did! And look at me now!” I just sit back and think, “Now you now damn well you worked your ass off AT THE GYM, or you were just “blessed” with that body. That pill had nothing to do with it.” Oh the lies of the media.
ReplyDelete