Credit: Bruno Nasimento on unsplash
In 1960, 500 people gathered in Central Park to protest bias against overweight people. They protested the negative stigma that was associated with being overweight, claiming they were not being fairly represented in the media.
50 years later, what has come to be known as the ‘body positivity’ movement has grown exponentially, and media representation is as widespread as ever. The question seems to beg itself: are unrealistic body standards really that bad?
The entertainment industry is the propellor behind setting ‘unrealistic body standards’, with companies like Marvel being slammed for content that actively encourages people to go to extreme measures to attain the so called ‘perfect body’.
But, shouldn’t every sensible adult know that the body image portrayed in the media is truly unattainable without unfathomable dieting, exercise, and cosmetic surgery? Surely those who are unable to exercise such prudence have experienced the consequences of this line of thinking far before Marvel or any form of media got involved.
While this may be regarded as true, a more problematic area for debate is regarding children. Children lack the maturity or the knowledge to be able to understand what’s good for them, they need their parents and other adults to outline boundaries for them. When parents hand their kids an iPad and let them roam loose amongst the perpetual stream of harmful children’s content that’s out there, whatever characters that populate on that screen take the mantle of being a role model to those children. So, for the sake of the children, what kind of characteristics should these characters inhibit instead?
For a while, especially in the Superhero genre, it’s been the case that most, if not all, protagonists would bear a toned physique, often looking exaggeratingly lean or buff. But people now claim that exposing children to these figures is wrong.
I disagree.
Firstly, in a genre of media involving people that fly, shoot lasers out of their eyes, and lift trucks like it’s nothing, is their physique really the body standard that we complain about being unrealistic? These figures aren’t body standards, or any standards, but rather fictionalised characters in nearly every respect, including health.
Sometimes children don’t need an ultra-realistic humanoid reflection of the real world, but instead ought to be given figures that aren’t real, that aren’t possible, but that inspire them, because they’re children, and it’s not the media’s job to tell them to be realistic, it’s their parents’.
However, even if this were a standard that was forced upon children (somehow), is it better that we eliminate all standards and have our flying protagonists have beer bellies and double chins? What does that teach children?
Regardless, children from an early age need to be educated on the reality of health. This is not to bully or degrade others who can’t meet it (especially those who suffer from issues beyond their control), but to prevent them from not ending up in that situation themselves. We should not be promoting a physically degrading body standard simply to not offend those who exhibit it.
We need standards. It just can’t be the ‘bulging biceps, 6-pack’ standard, because having something to aspire to, that isn’t you, doesn’t feed narcissism very well. If not for the literally perfect character of Jesus for everyone to aspire to, would there be as much good in the world?
If we begin to stop teaching kids what and what not to do, what is healthy, and what to aspire to, they will become hedonistic and soulless beings with no self-discipline or morality.
It’s not a bad thing that people tend to be more attracted to a skinnier physique, not because we are to promote shallow and appearance-based attractiveness (and it certainly isn’t the only factor in attractiveness), but because caring for your body indicates virtue within a person, it shows others that they are disciplined and hard-working. This is a quality that seems to be diminishing, in favour of celebrating others the way they are regardless of their flaws.
It is better that we tell children they are flawed beings who need to work hard to better themselves, rather than affirm whoever they are now simply to avoid hurting their feelings.
We need the figures that reach these high body standards, maybe even the unrealistic body standards, because these characters become figures of virtue and excellence that no human can attain, but every human should strive to attain. We need to strive to attain the impossible, because if we strive towards what is possible, then we will become satisfied with ourselves as flawed beings.
So, do we need ‘unrealistic body standards’? Yes, in my opinion.
Standards not to be held to, but to aspire to.