A study exploring the influence of media consumption on body image and beauty among young corporate Ghanaian women in the Greater Accra Region

Abstract

The ubiquitous nature of the media in modern times makes it quite easy f or one to be unhappy with one‟s body as media portray all forms of “ideal” images through platforms such as movies, social media, advertisements, music videos, celebrity/gossip magazines, fashion programmes on TV. Contemporary trends in fashion, such as hairstyles, clothing, makeup and accessories have been popularized through both new and traditional media. It has been estimated that young women now see more images of exceptionally beautiful women in one day than their mothers saw throughout their entire adolescence. Through survey, this study seeks to find out if , among young Ghanaian corporate women, the media had influence on their beauty perceptions, beauty choices and their self -body image. The study gathers that the majority of respondents (88.4%) believed that beauty portrayals in the media are attainable with a lot of them comparing themselves with media ideals and more than half (54%) having attempted to create looks of media icons. Peer comparison was another influential factor, which 46 % of respondents engaged in. It was recommended that media influence should not be overlooked when deciding on media content so as not to project idealised images which may be typical of “foreign” culture

Keywords: Media Consumption, Mediated Beauty, Body image, Media influence, Social comparison, Media Portrayals, Ghanaian women, foreign culture