Behind the Perfect Body

Abstract

Our relationship and perspective on food goes far beyond hunger in Lebanon, with an alarming number of reported eating disorders showcasing that. In fact, untreated eating disorders, and if aggravated with irrational perspectives on body image and food, can cause serious harm to the physiological and psychological making of an individual. However, the Lebanese media has shown to act as a perpetuator to eating disorders on multiple occasions, setting unattainable rules for beauty standards. This journalism capstone project analyzes and showcases the role of Lebanese media in triggering eating disorders. Through reviewing literature about media and body image, including feminist studies, and relevant media on this issue as well as producing a short documentary, this project investigated several research questions that include: what is the role of Lebanese media is in promoting harmful body images? The short documentary is 11 minutes long and was released on social media through IGTV.