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SororityWomenandBodyImage

Collegecancreatealotofchangeinastudentslifeandmediahasmade

acolossalimpactonthischange.Itisnosecretthatmodernmediahasbegantorule
theWorldandhasmadeahugeimpactonmygenerationspecifically.Asacollege
studentIhavenoticedthatmediaaffectsmesignificantly,explicitlyrelatingtobody
imageandIdontthinkIamalone,1225%ofcollegewomenareaffectedbyEating
Disorders.(Averett,Terrizzi,Wang,2013)Doestheuseofmassanddigital
communicationcreatenegativeselftalkandanunrealisticbodyimageforsorority
women?
A
bout11.5millionfemaleswillattendcollegeinFall2015.(IPEDS,2015)
.More
than4millionofthosefemalesareapartofasorority.(NPC,2011)Thatis34.78%of
thewomenthatareincollegethisyear.Thereareroughly9,720femalestudentsatthe
UniversityofUtah(cappex.com,2015)andalittleover820ofthem(estimatedbasedon
therequiredquotaofeachhouse)areapartofasororityoncampus.
Beingavery
activememberinmyGreekCommunityIknowthattherearealotofpeoplesuffering
frombodyimageissues.
Asmanyasoneintencollegewomensufferfromaclinicalor

nearlyclinicaleatingdisorder.(Washington.edu)Butwhatroledoesthemassmedia
communicationplayinthedevelopmentoftheseissues?AstudybytheAmerican
PsychologicalAssociationwasdoneon238femaleundergraduatestoseetherelation
ofmediaandeatingdisorders.DuringthisstudytheyfoundthatInsum,media

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exposurewasexpectedtodirectlypredicteatingpathology,genderroleendorsement,
andidealbodystereotypeinternalization.
Itwasrecordedthat74%ofcollegefemaleswereusingFacebookin2014,so
thismeansthatabout8.5millioncollegewomenwereusingFacebooklastyear,
meaningthathalfofthesewomenareaffiliatedinsomewaywithasorority.Social
mediaplaysahugeroleingreeklife.Weuseitformarketingourhouseandspreading
informationaboutourorganizations.Wealsouseittosharepictures,ofcourse.
Asa
women,andmorespecificallyasororitywomen,Ihavetotrytokeepupwiththemedia,
andsocietiesstandardsofbodyimage.
OnFacebookandallofmydigital

communicationtimelines(Twitter,Instagram)Iamconstantlyseeingpicturesofthe
perfectbody,andevenarticlesbeingsharedabouthowtogetthehottestbody.Inthe
greekcommunity,appearancehonestlymeansalottopeople.Thewayyouactandthe
wayyoupresentyourselfaswellasbeingintopshapetoimpresstheoppositesex.
Thesephotosthatarebeingsharedonsocialmediaplatformspreventmefrombeing
fullycomfortablewithmyself.Mostwomenunnecessarilycomparethemselveswiththe
changingstandardsofbeautythatarecommunicatedthroughdigitalplatforms.
Anotherdestructivewaythatsocialmediaaffectsbodyissueiswhenthethings
seenonthesewebsitesarediscussedwithfriends,fellowgreeks,andfamilymembers.
HearingtheglorificationofapopularlikedFacebookorInstagrampostofahalfnaked,
size0womenfrommypeersdefinitelyhasanegativeimpactonhowIseemyself.If
myfriendsandpeersarepraisingthesewomenitmakesmequestionhowIcanreceive
thissamepraisingfrommypeersandcreatespersonalbodydissatisfaction.Apopular

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greekpageisTotalFratMove.Everyweekonsocialmediaandallovertheirwebpages
theyhavehotgirlsandtheboysgocrazyoverit.TFMmindlesslysendsanegative
messagetoallsororitywomenabouttheexpectationsofwhatatrulyhotsororitygirl
shouldlooklike.Theendlessamountofbodyimagesonmediaplatforms,in
combinationwiththeworshipingoftheseimageshaveincreasedmyinsecuritiesabout
mybodyandgivenmeanunrealisticidealofwhatIshouldlooklike.

Ontopoftheuseofsocialmedia,thereisalsotelevisionmediathatis

communicatingamessagetoyoungwomenabouttheirappearances.Advertisements
targetingyoungwomenfeaturethinandbeautifulmodelsindesirablecircumstancesin
ordertosellclothing,accessories,andotherproducts.(Vonderen/Kinnally,2012)By
usingthinandbeautifulwomenincommercials,advertisersarecommunicatinga
messagethattosuccessfullyusetheirproductsandlookgoodintheirclothes,women
needtolooklikethepeoplethatarerepresentingtheirproducts.Onemajorclothing
industryIfeelisguiltyofthisis,VictoriasSecret.ThisDecemberistheinfamous
VictoriasSecretFashionShow.Thisiswheresupermodelscometogethertostrut
theirstuffdowntherunwayinnothingbutitsybitsylingeriepieces,andtheoccasional
pairofwingsbecausetheyreangels,ofcourse!Dontgetmewrong,IloveVictorias
SecretandIwillbewatchingtheshowthisyear,butthatdoesntmeanthatthe
messagetheyaresendingwontnegativelyaffectmybodyimage.Oncampuswehave
VictoriasSecretPINKcampusrepswhohostaviewingpartyandgiveoutfreegifts.
TheypromotePINKthroughouttheyearbyhandingoutendlesscouponsandflyersthat
featurePINKmodelsinthePINKunderwearline.Thoughthesewomenareonly

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promotingthecompanyIfeelasthoughthesecollegewomenaresettingaprecedent
forwhatunderwearcollegewomenshouldbuy,wearandhowtheyshouldlookwhile
doingso.Iseemyfellowgreeksisterslookingattheflyersandwatchingtheshowand
theybegintoexpresstheirfeelingsabouttheirbodyimages.Throughtwitter,theytweet
commentssuchas,WatchingtheVictoriasSecretShow,guessIllstopeatingnow.or
apopularcommentwasVictoriasSecretModelsare#BODYGOALS.Thesekindof
tweetscanaffectpeoplemorethanthetweetersrealize.Seeingthesetweetsmademe
moreinsecurebecauseIthoughtthegirlswhoweresendingthesetweetswerealready
beautifulanddefinitelyhadbetterbodiesthanyouraveragesororitygirl,sowhatdoes
thissayaboutthewaytheypersonallyfeelaboutthemselvesaswellasmyself?Even
themostbeautifulgirlscanhavebodyimageissuesandthemediafailstoshowall
typesofbeauty.
Collegewomencanfacealotofstressthroughouttheiryearsinschoolwhether
itbehomework,finalsweek,sororitylifeorjusttryingtogetstartedonthenextchapter
intheirlife.Theonethingthatawomenshouldnthavetoworryaboutisthewaytheir
bodylooksandwhatotherpeoplethinkoftheirbody.Mediahasalwayshadastrong
effectonourlives,andratherthanitbeinganegativeinfluencewomenshouldlookto
massmediaandsocialmediaasaplacetocommunicatewithothers.Mediashould
sendpositivemessagesratherthanposeathreattoourbodyimage.

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References:
SelfImageMediaInfluencesJustSayYes.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember14,2015,from
https://www.justsayyes.org/topics/selfimagemediainfluences/

IntegratedPostsecondaryEducationDataSystem(IPEDS),"FallEnrollmentSurvey"
(IPEDSEF:9099)

Averett,S.,Wang,Y.,&Terrizzi,S.(2013).
TheEffectofSororityMembershiponEating
DisordersandBodyMassIndex,
3434.

Stice,E.,SchupakNeuberg,E.,Shaw,H.,&Stein,R.(1994).Relationofmediaexposureto
eatingdisordersymptomatology:Anexaminationofmediatingmechanisms.
Journalof
AbnormalPsychology,

103,
836840.

Sypeck,M.,Gray,J.,&Ahrens,A.(1999).Nolongerjustaprettyface:Fashionmagazines'
depictionsofidealfemalebeautyfrom1959to1999.
Int.J.Eat.Disord.InternationalJournalof
EatingDisorders,
342347.

Facebookusers.(2015,January9).RetrievedDecember14,2015,from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/socialmediaupdate2014/pi_20150109_socialmedia
new_04/

TeenHealthandtheMedia.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember14,2015,from
http://depts.washington.edu/thmedia/view.cgi?section=bodyimage&page=fastfacts

MeetNPC.(2011).RetrievedDecember10,2015,fromhttps://www.npcwomen.org/about.aspx