Final Essay

Jio Shin / 201020764
December 17,2015
Comp2 J058-1 : Argumentative essay
Professor Vincent Gilhooley : Sungho 103
Dangerous illusion, girls Perfect body
According to survey of Korean Ministry of Health & Welfare in 2003, 29.3% of girls who
are underweight and 64.9% of girls who are normal weight answered they have experience that trying
lose weight. The survey was conducted on teenager and their age was only 11 to 17. (Lim 165-166)
So, the reason of girls diet is not to treat obesity or health problem. On another survey, 65% of
women answered that the reason they want to go on a diet is skinny body is looks nice. Only 3.4%
answered because they have health problem. (Womenlink, 2003) Why they are eager to lose their
weight? Because there is too much pressure on girls to have perfect bodies. We should try to eliminate
this pressure for these following reasons.
First, they can have a wrong set of values. Think about typical TV shows in South Korea. A
girl who has slim body and pretty face always take the role of heroine. On the other hand, a heroines
friend or villainesss friend is often looks plump and foolish even they are normal weight or
underweight in reality. Sometimes the heroine is fat at the beginning of the story. But as time goes by,
she lose her weight and finally, meets the one and happy ending. These stereotypes can affects girls
having a wrong set of values. They force girls to adjust themselves to the standard of the ideal beauty.
For girls, looking good is more than just feeling good; it is to be good.
Secondly, it can cause physical and mental health problem. According to Samsung
Economic Research Institute, 95% of women in Korea think that they should lose weight. (Lee 6)
Even though Korea is one of the countries showing the lowest rate of obesity in the world. They
dissatisfied with their body and try to lose weight destroying their health. They lose not only fat but
also elasticity of skin, hair, etc. Some women go through menopause in so early age or mental disease
like Anorexia, Bulimia.
Lastly, they waste their time, money, and energy on diet too much. In case of American, they
are spending a startling $50 billion a year in the pursuit of weight loss. But more than 90 percent of
weight lost on diets in the US is regained.(Hesse-Biber 57) Koreas situation is not that different. In
Korea, Beauty-related industries, for example, diet, fitness, and plastic surgery, extends market size
more than 40% every year.(Moon 2003) So a lot of people spend their money on their perfect body.
But is it effective? Are they happy with their spending? No. Because most of dietary supplement or
surgery has slight effect or undesired side effect. Because the Perfect bodylong and lean legs, a
slim waist, big breast, etc. is unobtainable for most of Korean girls from the very beginning.
Because they can be happy until they love themselves the way they are.
Some people might say girls willingness of getting perfect body is a personal thing, not
related with media or society. However, more than half of womens answer that worrying their size
and body means its not just a personal problem. Its sure that they feel kind of pressure from media,
and their society. Needless to say, the society that a person is judged by appearance is not a healthy
society.
In conclusion, I would like to ask a question. Who standardized the Perfectness? Who can
judge you are perfect or not? Nobody can judge your body is perfect because nobody can be perfect.
At the same time, ironically, we all are perfect enough. You are perfect enough just the way you are.
We should keep this in mind and try to eliminate the lookism in our society together.
Worked Cited
Hesse-Biber, Sharlene N. The Cult of Thinness. New York & Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
Lim, In-suk. Sociocultural Context of Diet Focused on College Womens Look-Discriminatory

Experience and the Body Images of Mass Media Korean Journal of Sociology 38.2 (2014): 165-187.
Print.
Lee, Seoungchul. Obesitys Socioeconomic threat and opportunity SERI Business Management
Note, 139 (2012): 6. Print.
Moon, Kyungduk. Slimness in Korean Society. Focus on the body project of cultdiet
handicapped (2003) Print.
Womenlink. 2003. www.womenlink.or.kr

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Jio Shin / 201020764

Dangerous illusion, girls Perfect body

Lim, In-suk. Sociocultural Context of Diet Focused on College Womens Look-Discriminatory

Womenlink. 2003. www.womenlink.or.kr

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