Jessica Ranstead Source #5

Step 1:
A) How does media rather than social media influence body image?
B) Cole, Ellen, and Jessica Henderson. Daniel. Featuring Females: Feminist Analyses of Media. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005. Print.

Step 2: 

The book I chose is called Featuring Females, and it's all about women's perception of the media. The argument is that the media puts too much emphasis on the value of physical appearance and an unrealistically thin ideal. Evidence shows that tv shows and media purposely chooses women who are unrealistically thin or heavier than the ideal, they do not portray "normal sized" women. After looking at social media women start the self-comparison process, it is in our nature to naturally compare ourselves to others, and the media fuels that. There is also a strong connection between music video and soap opera viewing leads to more frequent dieting.

This source further proves my thinking that media does influence eating. It was also interesting to see the other side not of social media, but just plain media. I agree with the source about eating and body dissatisfaction, but I don't agree with the assumptions about sexual relationships. Yes this source completely answers my questions that social media does indeed influence body dissatisfaction. 

This source agrees with my other sources. This source does have a different spin than my other sources because this book is older and it is referring to traditional media rather than social media. Although they can both portray the same effects, I think social media can be worse because you are able to see your friends, and people you know, whereas traditional media is more celebrities and people you don't know. I would definitely put this source into conversation with my first source, because that source talks about how women purposely go seeking pictures and websites to knock themselves down, and here women start the comparison process once they see a picture that they think looks better than them. I agree with both sources because they both provide evidence that women feel dissatisfied about their bodies upon looking at media. 

This source has led me to ask and wonder about the timeline of media influence. Has media always influenced women negatively in regard to their body image? Or does social media spark this more than traditional women? The answers that I have so far are that media and social media have a heavy influence on the female body image. It leads women to compare themselves to others and lowers their self esteem. It often leads women to turn to disordered eating, and sometimes full-blown eating disorders.