|
|
Body Image
|
|
Untitled Document
|
|
Causes and influences
As clearly evidenced by literature around the world, poor body images have existed at least since the widespread availability of mirrors, but one of the reasons most often cited for this continuing body dissatisfaction among young women is modern media influence, including that from compact disc covers, advertisements, movies, music videos, television, video games, and magazines.
|
Media representatives often reply that they are merely reflecting the ideals of the current generation or using whatever image best sells their products. However, research has shown that the media play a large role in reinforcing, if not actually shaping, rather than simply reflecting, perceptions of the human body. The circular logic introduced by this phenomenon illustrates the difficulty of placing the blame of negative body image on a single source.
The pre-occupation with skinniness is largely, although not entirely, a development of the latter part of the twentieth century, as the perception of women's body shapes has changed significantly over the past decades. In the early 1940's it was found that people with thin, ectomorphic bodies were perceived by others as nervous, submissive and socially withdrawn. |
At that time, the ideal female body was curvy or hourglass-shaped. Before that, in the 1920s, being flat-chested and straight-hipped (a "boyish" figure), although not necessarily particularly thin, was fashionable. By the late 1980's, this perception had changed, and thin people were considered to be the most appealing. Several researchers have found that the female body depicted in the media has become increasingly thin. Research using bust and hip measurements of Playboy models has shown that between 1960 and 1979, there was a trend towards non-curvaceousness. Fashion in body shape also tracks closely with attitudes about child-bearing: it is less desirable during 'thin' eras and more desirable during 'curvy' eras.
Changing media and society ideals regarding men and ideal body images can be seen when observing mainstream American films. In the 1960s and 1970s when a man appeared without a shirt (and when the film was not the beach culture), a man appeared skinny: with a less-developed chest and with less musculature in the upper arms. By the 2000s, after the onset of the gym culture the actors in the same sort of roles are well developed upper body musculature.
As the ideal body shape for women became thinner, the dissatisfaction that women have with their body shape increased. In recent years, a number of researchers have found that females are more likely to judge themselves overweight than males. This tendency was strongest in adolescent and young adult women.
|
|
|
|
