The Media s Influence On Women s Body - 1102 Words

One of the largest ethical problems of the 21st century is the way women’s bodies are portrayed in the media. This also brings about an even greater problem; the manipulation of photographs. The media have perpetuated what is the ideal weight for a woman thus creating pressures for women to be that ideal. Are the media acting ethically by inaccurately portraying women? Should pictures that are altered carry warning labels? One of the biggest media industries to blame for the thin ideal representation of women is the advertising industry. Unlike journalism, advertising has the ability to solely portray images that don’t have to be factual. According to author Patrick Lee Plaisance (2009), some of the advertising code of ethics are: â€Å"1. A†¦show more content†¦86). according to researcher Shelly Grabe at the University of Wisconsin, body dissatisfaction is very common affecting 50% of girls and young women (Grabe, Ward, and Shibley 479) is another example of advertising/the media not being responsible to community concerns or society. One last example of how unreal women’s image is explained by research from Cheryl Haas indicating that thin ideal portrayals lead to depression and lower self-esteem among women (Haas, 2012, p. 405). Again, this is a clear indicator that the media has a strong responsibility to society and should act accordingly. Another instance of these unrealistic images being unethical is when one applies the deontological theory. Deontology theory states that â€Å"no matter how much they [the images] might result in some â€Å"benefit,† some choices are simply morally wrong because they fail to reflect our duty to behave in a certain way† (Plaisance, 2009, p 28). If the media’s main goal is to do the right thing morally, the images wouldn’t be altered and the women portrayed would be realistic of the average American woman. The media is taking the Relativism approach to justify the altering of images. According to Plaisance, those who use relativism as their ethical compass â€Å"—you reject the possibility that there are