The Psychology Behind The Importance Of Media Representation On The Mental Health Of Girls

Trigger warning: this article discusses eating disorders using language that may be sensitive to some.

Since the release of the Printing Press in 1440, media has been a crucial factor in how we perceive the world. While it was initially used to spread information and knowledge to the masses, the media has evolved into what is arguably the most powerful weapon in our society. News outlets, magazines and television are able to influence what we know, think, and how we feel about most topics. Although it is only fair to acknowledge the revolutionary leaps that the media has enabled our society to take, it is also equally important to question the extent to which females are being conditioned to regard certain features as desirable and what the beauty standard is. This article questions the psychology behind media representation and how it affects young girls worldwide in order to gain an understanding of the impact this has, specifically on their mental health and eating habits.

Psychologically, our thought processes derive from the existence of schemas in our brain. These are essentially ‘shortcuts’ that influence the way we think. The things we see on a day to day basis are interpreted through schemas, which help the brain simplify and understand what it is seeing. Our way of thinking is composed of hundreds of schemas that help us categorize the information we take in. To illustrate, the word ‘house’ has certain connotations that allow one to instantly form a mental image; for example, of a red roof and a garden. This is a unit of understanding which is established throughout one’s life. As people experience and learn new things, their schemas become more complex.

This is relevant when discussing the topic of media as individuals are able to develop a unit of understanding on what is desirable and what is not. Therefore, with the rise of modern-day magazine culture, it has become increasingly clear that magazines have declared white bodies, thin bodies and able bodies to be the beauty standard. With our knowledge of schemas and how they influence our thinking, we are able to understand that, through constant media portrayal of caucasian, thin women as celebrities, models and fictional characters, the brain is able to subconsciously establish this as the definition of beauty. Thus, young girls across nations are being manipulated into believing that the colour of their skin does not align with the beauty standard. They are being shown that their curves, stretch marks and cellulite are something to hide. Young women with disabilities are left feeling like their wheelchairs are preventing them from being seen as pretty.

In fact, a study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that 69% of girls admit that ‘magazine pictures influence their idea of the perfect body shape’. Through this figure, the impact of media on one’s perception of beauty is evident; the media is a way for young girls to seek validation and through the constant portrayal of the same bodies types and features, females who don’t fit into the ‘beauty standard’ are being made to feel invalid. Through schemas, they are able to establish criteria for beauty and a lack of accordance with these criteria can lead to low self-esteem. Furthermore, bad self-image can result in negative self-schemas, which is a significant cause of depression and in many cases, can only be treated through medication or cognitive therapy.

Furthermore, size-shaming and the establishment of ideal features and body types are so deeply embedded in the media that it has become normalized. For a start, classic movies portray Cinderella’s evil step-sisters, the antagonists of the movie, to have large feet, or Snow White to have “skin, white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony.” Even diverse ‘representative’ characters, like Princess Jasmine or Mulan, are shown to have small waists, large breasts, clear skin, long legs and petite features. Children see these protagonists live happily ever after and automatically categorize the character’s features with happiness and beauty using schemas.

Additionally, ‘real-life’ media, like the shows broadcasted on television, lack diversity even in the year 2021. In fact, modern-day media is arguably even less inclusive than the movies created in the early 20th century. For example, the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show immerses people from around the world every year and even saw a record of 9.7 million viewers in 2013. The brand is associated with liberation, sexuality, beauty and glamour. However, the models chosen to represent the brand in the show showed a drop in size over the course of two decades. The average model’s dress size, for example, decreased from 5.2 in 1988 to 3.7 in 2018. The issue here lies in the fact that, on average, a female in America’s dress size is between a size 16 and 18. Therefore, the models chosen to walk in the show are not a representation of the general female population in terms of their body size, race, ethnicity and even height. When featuring tall, skinny, predominantly white females in the media, it is equally important to consider the fact that they are only representing a small fraction of women worldwide. This means that impressionable females watching the show are being influenced into believing that, due to their lack of depiction in the media, their bodies are inadequate and unworthy, which should not be the case.

Therefore, the topic of representation must be discussed. Once again, through psychology, one is able to understand the significance of this. The Social Learning Theory states behavior can be learned through the imitation of role models in an environment. These role models are someone who a child must be able to identify with- they must possess similar characteristics to a child and generally be someone of higher status. Children then feel inclined to imitate this person. Consequently, when a role model demonstrates a behavior, this behavior is likely to be modeled by the child. Therefore, by having representation in magazines with which children are able to identify, they are being validated and encouraged to imitate the role model in their actions or personality traits, such as their confidence. By allowing a variety of women with different races, ethnicities, body sizes, features and heights the opportunity to be portrayed in the media, young girls are able to identify with people who can positively influence them and maybe even change their perception of life. They will also be able to associate their role model with beauty, which not only creates positive self-schemas, but also expands the definition of the word itself.

An eight-year longitudinal study conducted on eating disorders within young females followed a group of 496 adolescents from the age of 12. At the end of the eight years, researchers found that 13.2% of the girls had suffered from a DSM-5 eating disorder by the age of 20. This conveys the significance of eating disorders within impressionable young girls and allows us to understand that if females are not given media outlets that feature diversity and inclusivity, they could perhaps act upon their assumption of what beauty is. For example, if a girl sees a thin model and associates her with desirability, the schemas in her brain will enable her to find a solution in order for her to look like the model as she thinks this will make her ‘desirable’. This generally means that she will develop an eating disorder, like anorexia or bulimia. This allows us to understand the severity of the lack of media representation in the 21st century. The fact that it can lead to illnesses that can result in death should encourage media outlets to reassess the women that they feature. They should consider whether they are including a fair representation of a wide variety of bodies that all females can identify with.

However, with the rise of worldwide access to social media, along with people across the globe being more educated than ever, society is starting to question the beauty standards we are expected to follow. Plus-sized models, like Ashley Graham, who earns an estimated $5 million USD per year, are taking the modeling industry by storm. Various skin conditions are being publicly embraced and represented for the first time in history. Winnie Harlow, a black model with vitiligo, featured on the cover of magazines like ‘Vogue’ and ‘Harper’s Bazaar’. Jillian Mercado, a wheelchair user, is one of the first models in the industry to have a visible physical disability. Furthermore, clothing companies have begun acknowledging different body shapes and sizes. For example, ASOS, an online clothing website, offers a variety of selections for its shoppers, ranging from petite clothing to wide-fit shoes. Although this change is happening slowly and to a basic extent, it shows that the world is ready to start moving forward in terms of body acceptance, representation, and confidence. This is enough for us to understand that it is more important now than ever to start challenging the beauty standard.

Audrey Hepburn once said that ‘the beauty of a woman… is reflected in her soul’. By allowing girls the opportunity to feel validated, accepted and good about themselves, they are able to grow in confidence. This can be reflected in so many aspects of their lives, such as in their work or mannerisms. This generally leads to a feeling of pride and a redefinition of the self-schemas one creates about themselves, which could lead to a decrease in the depression rates of young girls. Therefore, it is easy to gather that the media still has a long way to go in terms of its representation of women. With an understanding of the negative consequences that can occur when adolescent girls are not offered role models with whom they can identify, it is important that as a society, we strive to encourage an environment in which women are actively being validated and made to feel beautiful. This can enable the millions of girls born a year to grow up not having to worry about whether the way they look is ‘normal’.

Therefore, the importance of media representation and the psychology behind it is crucial when looking at how the mental health and eating habits of young girls are impacted. The media is enshrined in the lives of everybody, but especially the youth and its effects on young girls are atrocious, and must be counteracted through inclusion and diversity: because that is true beauty.

By Tamara Almoayed 12F