Body Image and Adolescents

“Given the overwhelming prevalence of thin and lean female images and strong and lean male images common to all westernized societies, body image concerns have become widespread among adolescents.”

Our current society definitely has some issues relating to body image and insecurity to do size. I wasn’t surprised by most of the statistics in this essay; it all seemed to be about what I would guess. 50-88% of adolescent girls feel negatively about their body shape or size. Almost half of teenage girls know someone with an eating disorder. At EIGHT YEARS OLD, girls believe that weight control is strongly associated with self-worth and view dieting as a means of improving self-worth. I knew a girl, 8 years old, that was going to be a flower girl in a wedding. A month or so before the wedding she decided, on her own, that she should diet so that she’d fit her dress. I’m sorry WHAT?! You’re 8, and hyper, you’ll run it off. There’s not a lot of weight fluctuation issues in 8 year-olds, you’re dress will be fine. More importantly, where did you even get that idea? I don’t think “diet” crossed my mind until my mid-teens.

I did not realize that the average American consumes 11.8 hours of media per day! That is crazy. The media, aside from the family concerns that Croll mentions, is the main cause for all of these self-worth issues. More than that, it is an issue that is almost impossible to avoid! “From childhood to adulthood, television, billboards, movies, music videos, video games, computer games, toys, the Internet, and magazines convey images of ideal attractiveness, beauty, shape, size, strength and weight.” There is so much now in magazines that is “touched up” by computers so that the subjects look “perfect”. Whatever happened to the general understanding that “everyone’s perfect”? Have we lost that entirely? Are we not teaching kids this anymore?

Croll says, “It is prudent to screen all adolescents for body image issues and work to foster a healthy body image among all youth...” Good luck screening everyone for body image issues. That’s a process that would be infinitely long. I do see some changes, if just a few, in media. More realistic sized women who don’t look starved. People that are able to embrace their shape rather than try and break it down into something it should never be. “The average female model is 5’10” and weighs 110 pounds.” I am 5’10” and far from 110 lbs. Though I think that I could shed a few pounds, I realize that 110 would be sick looking on my figure. Some people have legitimate struggles with weight, as some should. I’m not saying let’s embrace our weight no matter what it is because some people are unhealthy. I’m saying get back to where you are healthy for your bone structure. But until the media makes that change, we’ll continue to be mislead.

"The Hard Truth of Immigration"

Why is immigration currently such a complex and controversial issue in the United States?

"The stakes are simple: will immigration continue to foster national pride and strength or will it cause more and more weakness and anger?"


PROBLEM: Unable to accomodate and support the ongoing flow
"No society has a boundless capacity to accept newcomers, especially when many are poor and unskilled." (and majority uneducated)
Low-wage jobs (considerably lower than average US wages) = come poor, stay poor
"The more who arrive, the harder it will be for existing low-skilled workers to advance."
Overwhelmed school systems, social services, health insurance, federal benefits

SOLUTION: Samuelson does not end with a straightforward solution.
"Could do a better job of stopping illegal immigration...policing employers who hire illegals."
"Could provide legal status to (those already here)."
"Could make more sensible decisions about legal immigrants--skilled over unskilled."
"BUT the necessary steps are much tougher than most politicians have so far embraced, and their timidity reflects a lack of candor about the seriousness of the problem."

Do you agree with the essay’s conclusion?
I agree that the steps that we have taken/are taking are not going to solve the overall issue of the fact that our society does not have a "boundless capacity to accept newcomers". It is wearing down our stability as a nation. Personally though, I wish there were ways around it all because of the conditions that these people live in if they can't come to the United States. It's a line that's drawn between understanding the economical stress but still harboring human compassion. It makes me think of the situation in 1999 or 2000 (?) when Elián Gonzales was returned to Cuba after all he'd been through to make it to the states.

Provide any comments or reactions to the effectiveness of the introductory paragraph and the essay’s organization and language:
The intro is catching because the structure of the sentences are mind engaging--not something I would wizz through and space off because I got bored halfway through. The entire essay was something I had to read a couple times because there are so many statistics that jumble the flow. Overall is well supported and engaging.

How might this article be useful to your larger problem/solution research project?
Haven't yet decided what my topic will be in general, but I've always avoided the argument of illegal immigration because it's such a difficult issue and because it is personal for me--knowing that I have close friends whose parents were came as "illegals" and then became citizens. But I may decide not to shy away from this topic anymore...