Twitter

Twitter in the past couple years has become a mainstream social media website. It is largely made fun of for the meaningless constant updates one receives. People always say "I don't care what this person had for lunch" or "how this person feels about their break-up." It is true that most people don't care about "this person" but the majority of people do care about what celebrities have to say. Twitter gives celebrities an opportunity to shed their divine status and inform the world about their flaws.  They use twitter to connect with their fan base and sharing their problems makes them seem relatable. Kim Kardashian, who has over 14 million followers, recently tweeted "Decided to not eat the cake! This pic put me in check ! LOL" and then attached this photo: 

https://twitter.com/#!/KimKardashian

Without realising it, Kim is a sending a message that Wolf summarises as, "Women's self-denial where food is concerned is represented today as good for her mate and even better for herself" (200). Later Kim tweeted "Up early gonna hit the gym!!!" This is only one of many enthusiastic work out tweets, making 14.5 million people feel like they should be exercising if they want to look and be loved like Kim Kardashian. Popular culture revolves around celebrities and I agree with Wolf when she says, 

"The larger world never gives girls the message theta their bodies are valuable simply because they are inside them. Until our culture tells young girls that they are welcome in any shape - that women are valuable to it with or without the excuse of "beauty" - girls will continue to starve" (205)

There are other twitter accounts that make women feel like their beauty is everything. For example Mens Humor is followed by 1.7 million people. The account recently posted, "Big Sunglasses: An ugly chick's best friend." This is suggesting that women who are ugly should go into hiding. These feelings can be connected with eating disorders, where women physically want their hated bodies to disappear. Men are comfortable joking about eating because dieting and thinnes is not encouraged among them. Mens Humour tweeted, "If You Choose a Salad Over a Steak, Membership Lost" (membership referring to the one's man card). Picking a salad over a steak is a choice that majority of women on diets have to make. Wolf says, "On any day, 25 percent of women are on diets, with 50 percent finishing, breaking, or starting one" (185). Because this choice is so closely tied with the female majority, it is perceived as feminine and frowned upon for men. Consistently choosing a salad over a steak can lead to malnutrition, and weakness and men are pushed to be the antithesis of weak. I hope that one day women too can be valued for strength rather than frailty. Unfortunately however, as more mediums for sharing information are developed, popular culture will continue to shape the public's view on body image.