I want to do my research project on the connection between media marketing and eating disorders in adolescents, specifically females. I want to analyze photoshopping methods, the way that bodies are presented, the body types that are being engrained in girls as “perfect” or “ideal” or “beautiful” and how that plays into the way that they think about themselves. I also want to analyze how ads are presented, such as the increase in dieting or weight loss ads, and liposuction or other surgical ads for changing one’s body. Especially how women are targeted with these images or ads at a significantly higher rate then men are. It’s curious that the average sizes of supermodels, female actresses, Miss America contestants etc have been decreasing, while the average weight of North American women has been increasing. We have become a culture that teaches that any needed change can be fixed with a purchase, and body image is no exception. I will attempt to analyze marketing strategies that effect women specifically, and the connection that these strategies have to an increase in eating disorders.

article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2533817/

book: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=z3Z1AgAAQBAJ&source=productsearch&utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid=MKTAD0930BO1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2o_fBRC8ARIsAIOyQ-lqvcAknycoFa-9X2uDZ0JfpPKpoaWL0qo3APbuR7H1yqXunb99o_kaAt3kEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds