The research question "Is the Media Really Hurting Body Image?" is a very controversial topic. The media has a huge influential effect on young women and men, but sometimes that influence can be negative. This is such an interesting topic for me because this society is consumed with technology and media. There is not a day that goes by that we do not see some form of the media, whether that be on a television ad or using social media on our phones. Many people are quick to say that the media is the best thing for us, but others do not know the effects it has on the bodies of girls and boys and I believe it should be known to everyone just how much it affects the body image of a middle school boy and a high school girl. 

Many factors can influence how someone perceives themselves, and usually their expectations do not measure up to what they actually look like. It is horrible to think that young adolescences commit suicide because they cannot live up to the expectations of themselves or others. Because of my personal beliefs, I know that every person is made in their own beautiful way and seeing that being taken away is heart breaking. 

 Every young girl has experienced self image problems because of the expectations you think you have to live up to. Seeing a picture on Instagram of a half naked model, might cause you to believe that you need to look that way as well. Young girls and boys will see their friends posting pictures of themselves on social media, craving to get attention in some form of affirmation of words. I personally have experienced many instances like those, which is why this is such an important topic to me. Because I have had firsthand experience with this topic and situation, it makes me qualified to write about it. Although I don't have bachelors, or master's degree, it does not mean that experience with the situation is any less important. 

The first source "The Fashion Industry May Be Linked to Poor Body Image and Eating Disorders" by Nanci Hellmich is an article arguing that the Fashion Industry as a whole, especially models, has warped women and young girls' body images. The fashion models have become extremely thin, which leads other women to believe that they need to look that way as well. The major values and interests in this article is that because of the way that fashion models present themselves, more and more women are developing eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and other weight behaviors. Hellmich also states that this problem of living up to these ultra thin supermodels beings in youth.  Hellmich develops a plan of awareness by saying that Women come in all sizes, and we should not define ourselves by a number on a scale. Nanci Hellmich works at USA today as a writer for the money section, covering retirement lifestyle and personal finance. Hellmich does not have huge credibility for this specific topic but was able to research very heavily on the statistics. Some bias she may have towards this specific topic is that fashion models are not the only reason young girls and women develop these eating disorders. It could be a combination of many things and not just the way supermodels appear. 

The second source "Behind the Shadows: Males with Eating Disorders" by Suzanne Koudsi, is an academic article that focuses on males who have eating disorders. Koudsi challenges that eating disorders are only problems for women, when in fact numerous men have self esteem and body image issues. She argues that young boys and men develop eating disorders because of a certain social pressure to look a certain way. The major values and interests that Koudsi focuses on is that one million men and seven million women suffer from eating disorders. The author is also interested in the resistance to treatment, because people generally associate men with eating disorders as homosexuals. Another major value mentioned in this article is that men have two categories of eating disorders; men with psychological problems and other athletics who are obsessed with looking fit and perfect. Suzanne Koudsi is a reporter and editor for Fortune Magazine, graduated with a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and received her Master's at Columbia University for Journalism. She has a great writing background which allows her to have a decent amount of credibility for creating such an article. A type of bias she may have is not giving all of the statistics for men and eating disorders.

The third source is "The Images of Beauty Are Unrealistic and Hurt Women" by Kirsten Anderberg, argues that "the unattainable standards of female beauty that are perpetuated by the modeling and beauty industries hurt women" (Anderberg, 1). The author states that women spend billions of dollars on weight loss programs because they hate the way they look. Anderberg wants awareness to the fact that people are spending so much money on beauty products that potentially hurt women's self esteem because they rely on these products to make themselves feel better. The major values and interests that the author reveals is that women are being brainwashed to hate their bodies the way they are, and end up buying useless and unnecessary beauty products to make them think they need it. Anderberg argues that people should not be buying into these products because it is hurting the economy because people are only focused on the way they look, so they will go to any extent to buy what makes them look better. Kirsten Anderberg was involved in the Women's body esteem movement in 1983, which allows her to have a great deal of credibility on this topic because she was very much involved. She also formed a protest against the Miss California Pageant. The author has creates bias because she believes buying beauty products and weight loss programs are only because women think a certain way about themselves, but some women do it for self ambition and to make their bodies feel better, by maybe working out and eating better. 

This research question is arguable because some people may believe that not just the media does not have that big of an impact on body image. They also may argue that the media is not the only reason why people develop eating disorders. The research question is a very controversial topic because for many years people have discussed both the positive effects of technology and the media and so there will be many arguments for and against it. Some agreements and disagreements I have found among these sources is that most people do agree that some type of media or technology has an effect on body image, whether it be advertisements of models, or beauty products sold everywhere. The different perspectives of these articles show me that there are so many other ways that the media and our society can affect body image, not just social media. I may need to revise my research question not just focusing on the body images of women but men as well, because from the research and sources I have done, men have just as much reason to develop body image problems and eating disorders as women. 
