Op/Ed
18
Sept. 15, 2016
OURVIEW
Noelle Saluan
Editorial and Op/Ed Editor
As I have gotten further into my marketing studies at JCU, I have started to pay more attention to the marketing tactics companies use to capture their audience’s attention. The messages portrayed obviously have a strong impact on the target audience; that’s the whole point of a marketing ploy, right? However, as I looked more closely at the message companies are sending to their consumers, I realized it is all an intensely idealistic version of how people think they “should” look. Personally, I am not a fan of this trend, as each person is unique and wonderful in each beautiful “flaw” they think they may have. As individuals, we are deeply influenced by what mass media deems as acceptable and unacceptable, whether it be dietary trends, fashion do’s and don’ts or body image goals. According to theNational Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), body image is defined as how you perceive yourself when you look in the mirror in regards to what you believe about your own appearance, how you feel
Do you see what I see about your body and how you feel in your body. However, the manner in which you choose to view your body image can be perceived as positive or negative. A positive body image means that an individual has a clear and true perception of their shape and appreciates and values their body in a comfortable and confident manner. On the contrary, a negative body image deals with a distorted perception of an individual’s body, accompanied with being overly self-conscious, ashamed and uncomfortable with their body type. Relating back to these definitions, I was curious to look deeper into the facts surrounding forms of mass media clearly communicate a standard for an ideal body image: thinness, perfect straight white teeth, shiny luscious hair and essentially being “flawless.” However, as most individuals are aware, these expectations are usually unattainable and wholly unrealistic. According to livestrong.com, 80 percent of women are made insecure by images they see of women on television and more than 66 percent of women are influenced by underweight models in magazines. Individuals, both men and women, have a tendency to compare themselves to others which is referred to as social comparison theory. For example, when individuals compare themselves to idealized celebrities, the comparison can often cause feelings of lower self-worth and a drive to achieve the idealized state of thinness, which is more often than not unrealistic.
Wonderword:
Social media has grown to become an obsession for some individuals whom are constantly concerned and pressured to edit and alter photos to look like their “best self” as opposed to their “true self.”Individuals have become infatuated with the prospect of appearing perfect to the outside world through the lens of social media outlets. However, there are two sides to every story. Just as mass media can have a rather negative impact on the perception of one’s body image, it can also bring to light the aspect of a positive body image. Lately, there have been numerous campaigns in regards to body positivity and acceptance. Various social media platforms and magazines have reached out to the general public seeking a change in how media perceives the average individual, for the better. Recently, there has been a strong push in the mass media industry for a halt to photoshopped models. Personally, I think this promotes a standard of true beauty and self worth, which benefits both the consumer and the company. Essentially, the effects mass media have on society can greatly influence individuals, both negatively and positively, in regards to body image and how we perceive ourselves. However, the realm of mass media has made great progress in transitioning to a healthy outlook on body image.
Contact Noelle Saluan at nsaluan18@jcu.edu
Gabelle
“A person who talks a lot.”
Ross Martin, junior
The Carroll News
www.jcunews.com
“An animal that is found in the desert.”
Lisa Ramsey, Faculty
Gabelle: A tax on salt.
“Person who talks too much and to anyone.”
Nick Luchansky, junior
McGowan’s Manifesto: Stronger together
Mary Frances McGowan Editor-in-Chief
Every single day, I wake up and attempt to become the woman I hope my future daughter will be proud of. I think of her as I enter my senior year of undergrad with the hopes of pursuing a life devoted to political journalism. I think of her as I hold the hands of my grandmother and mother, for it was their firm but gentle fists that broke glass ceilings before me. I think of her as I watch my little cousin Kathryn transform from a freckled kiddo to an empowered and tenacious student of engineering. I will especially think of her when I firmly, proudly and lovingly cast my vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. It’s no secret that the 2016 presidential election is the most decisive race our nation has seen. The current face of the Republican party is the embodiment of hate: insulting, discrediting and dehumanizing the likes of immigrants, veterans, women, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community and really anyone whose humanity is not convenient for him that day. Many moderate Republicans are embarrassed and horrified, and I would be, too. As they say, misery loves company, and in their period of mourning for the Grand Old Party that once was, some tell themselves that democrats hate their nominee just as much as they hate theirs. I have had friends and professors make these assertions, saying that our choices have never been worse. Their assumptions don’t speak for me, though. And according to recent Pew Research data, those claims don’t represent 93 percent of registered democrats. I will not be spoken for anymore. I believe in my heart and in my bones that our only choice, the first female President of the United States, has never been better. I’m not writing to persuade you to vote for her, I’m writing to explain why I have so much to be proud of as a democrat. I was going to tell you that Hillary inspires me because after going to law school, she joined the Children’s Defense
Fund, where she went door to door gathering the stories of children with disabilities, changed the system that formerly kept teen boys in the jail with adult men and held schools legally accountable that refused to integrate. I was going to tell you that as First Lady of the U.S., she boldly took on healthcare reform and successfully improved healthcare for eight million children, myself included. I was going to tell you that she was Senator for only nine months when 9/11 occurred and later, as Secretary of State, was essential in capturing Bin Laden, bringing justice not only to her former New York constituents, but to the nation. She has been on the front lines her whole life. But you know this, don’t you? We all know this. So I won’t bore you with facts that we all seem to conveniently forget, and instead linger on bigger topics, like a bout of pneumonia. Instead, I’ll tell you a little story. This weekend, I started my training as Hillary for America fellow in downtown Cleveland. The group of folks was diverse in every single way, drawing people from a variety of communities, ages (the youngest in 8th grade, the oldest in her eighties), ethnicities, levels of income and education all rallied behind the idea that as a nation we are stronger together, when we build bridges and not walls. Part of our day was writing and then presenting what brought us to the room that day, what made us feel compelled to work for Hillary. A young man stood at the front of the room, shaking a little and talked about Nov. 26, 2016, the day that Donald Trump mocked a reporter with disabilities. He explained that he himself is living with a series of disabilities that Trump dehumanized, and when he saw and heard the disrespect radiating from the television screen, despite his immense hurt, he had never felt more confident that Hillary would serve and protect him in a way that no one else could because the grand majority of her young life was devoted to children with disabilities. His story, when joined with hundreds of others, make me proud to be voting for Hillary Clinton. She is motivated by love, and her actions prove it. So all of you Johnsonites and writer-in-ers out there who can’t conceptualize the thought of folks in this election cycle who are confident in their candidate, here I am to prove you wrong. Contact Mary Frances McGowan at
mmcgowan17@jcu.edu
How C.C. sees it: A girl walks down the street
Carly Cundiff Managing Editor
A girl walks down the street. It’s a street in a large campus. The campus is much larger than the one she is used to; in fact, her campus could probably fit inside the large football stadium that the girl is walking from. The girl and the friends that she is walking with just came from a fun night at a concert, one with many people. And many people drinking cheap beer. The girl and her friends walk down the street. Soon, they are approached by a couple asking for directions. They are young and holding hands, seemingly lost in their own world. The girl, her friends and the couple walk to-
gether, as they are heading towards the same destination. The girl sees them first. Three men, each about 25 years old. They are tripping over each other as they spill the cheap beer that they got from the concert all over themselves. Without saying a word, the girl and her friends know exactly what to do, even though they have never been taught. They immediately group together, like zebras in a herd trying to protect each other. They stop their amicable conversation and look down silently. Soon the whistles start, causing the girl and her friends to draw closer together and attempt to ignore them. Then the comments start. Various drunken slurs about their bodies and what they would like to do to those bodies flow from their mouths, unchecked and uncensored. No one taught the girls to ignore or stay silent. It was something that they just knew. Sure, they know deep down that it is wrong and that they should stand up for them-
selves, but what if something bad happened if they engaged the men? What if the men attacked them? But the man in the couple hadn’t learned how to be silent. Society hadn’t groomed him to wait quietly until it was over. “Hey guys,” he said. “That’s not cool.” The men stopped, looked at him for a second and then walked away, never saying another word to the girls. I never truly met you, sir, but I need to thank you. I need to thank you for stopping an injustice that you saw happening in front of your eyes. You said something when I remained silent. To the men who catcalled me, I was just a girl walking down the street, wearing an outfit that allowed me to be cool because the concert was outside. My friends were wearing similar outfits. Nothing about what we were wearing invited your comments. We could have been wearing nothing but clamshells, and we still would not have invited your comments.
We have grown up in a society that teaches young girls to remain silent as some men look at us like pieces of meat and judge us based solely on how we look or what we are wearing. That when a boy pushes us down on a playground or pulls our hair, he just likes us and doesn’t know how to express it, so that’s why he hurt us. We have grown up in a society that teaches young boys that catcalling is flattering and the girls enjoy it. That snapping a girls bra and chasing them around is just something that boys do, and is therefore okay. But there is hope. A man that I did not know more than three minutes defended my friends and me. He spoke only five words, but his actions were worthy of a whole novel. We can teach our young girls to stand up for themselves and not take catcalling. We can teach our young boys to values girls for their minds and senses of humor than for how short their skirts are and how well their dresses fit.
We can make a change. We can teach our children the right ways to act around the opposite sex and make positive change in the world. Ladies, I challenge you to stand up for yourselves the next time you get catcalled, because sometime this year you are probably going to get unwanted attention. Tell them that what they are doing is not okay. Ask them if they would say what they are saying to you to a daughter, a niece, a sister. Gentlemen, respect the women you see and do not catcall them. More than that, encourage your friends to do the same. Teach your sons to respect women and raise your daughters to be strong and stand up for themselves. I was defended by a stranger that night instead of by myself. I let another person tear me down when I should have been building myself up. The next times this happens, I will be sure to stand up for myself. I encourage you to do the same.
Contact Carly Cundiff at ccundiff18@jcu.edu