Rutgers University
http://psp.sagepub.com/content/22/11/1083.abstract
Abstract
A functional framework for the perception of female physical attractiveness suggests that, at the least, perceivers should differentiate sexual (sexy), youthful, nonsexual (cute), and up-to-date clothed and groomed (trendy) dimensions. Further, it was hypothesized that these content-specific varieties of good looks would covary with physical features (the stimulus cues used by perceivers to decode particular attractiveness continua) and also with psychological inferences (the stereotypic expectations linked to each appearance dimension). Using 96 photographs of female professional fashion models as stimuli, a free-sorting method coupled with a multidimensional scaling analysis provided support for both of these expectations. Also, the results suggest areas of both convergence and divergence in how college student males and females view physical attractiveness in women.
2.Body Image, Race, and Fashion Models social Distance and Social Identification in Third-Person Effects
Abstract
The perceived effects of advertising on body-image factors were tested in both Black and White college-age women. After seeing magazine ads that portrayed either Black fashion models or White fashion models, respondents rated perceived effects of these ads on body-image factors. The effects were rated on self, on other Black women on campus, and other White women on campus. When projecting perceived effects on others—of the same race or a different race—both Blacks and Whites indicated that media effects would be maximal when the race of the model matched the race of the respondent. However, when rating perceived effects on self, whereas Blacks identified strongly with Black models, there was no significant difference in the way Whites identified with fashion models of either race. The results are examined within the framework of social distance and social identification.
3.The Influence of Fashion Magazines on the Body Image Satisfaction of College Women: An Exploratory Analysishttp://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=FAAC1CA3E42EFE924545A5ACD9CC6CF9.inst3_2b?docId=5000574256
Many contemporary American women covet an unrealistically thin body build for themselves (Lamb, Jackson, Cassidy, & Priest, 1993; Mallick, Whipple, & Huerta, 1987; Silberstein, Striegel-Moore, Timko, & Rodin, 1988; Spillman & Everington, 1989), a phenomenon that could be detrimental to their emotional and physical health. The rising significance of the thin ideal is apparent from the changing perceptions of the ectomorphic body type. In the fifty years since Sheldon and Stevens (1942) conducted their somatotype research, the negative characteristics associated with the thin, or ectomorphic, body build have dwindled. In the early 1940s, Sheldon and Stevens found that ectomorphic individuals were perceived negatively by others as nervous, submissive, and socially withdrawn. By the late 1980s, however, this perception had changed. Compared to individuals with endomorphic and mesomorphic body types, ectomorphic individuals were rated most positively and considered to be the most sexually appealing (Spillman & Everington, 1989).
The emergence of the slender body type as a beauty standard for women is especially salient in the mass media, and several researchers have demonstrated how the female body depicted in the media has become increasingly thin (Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz, & Thompson, 1980; Ogletree, Williams, Raffeld, Mason, & Fricke, 1990; Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986; Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992). Assessing the height, weight, and body measurements of Playboy centerfolds and of Miss America Pageant contestants from 1960 to 1979, Garner et al. (1980) found that the percent of average weight of the models declined significantly.(1) For example, in 1960, the average weight of Playboy models was 91% of the population mean. By 1978, mean weight of the models has dropped to 84% of the population mean. A similar trend was apparent among the Miss America Pageant contestants: Prior to 1970, mean weight of the contestants was approximately 88% of the population norm. Following 1970, mean weight of the contestants had decreased to 85% of the population norm.(2)
Garner and colleagues also noted a trend toward noncurvaceousness from 1960 to 1979. The bust and hip measurements of Playboy models decreased and their waist measurements increased significantly. These findings are consistent with those reported by Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, and Kelly (1986) who examined the curvaceousness of models appearing in Vogue and Ladies Home Journal from 1901 to 1981 and of popular movie actresses from 1941 to 1979. The investigators found that among the models appearing in Ladies Home Journal and Vogue, the bust-to-waist ratio dropped significantly. Additionally, the average bust-to-waist ratio of actresses from the 1960s and 1970s was significantly smaller than that of actresses from the 1940s and 1950s. Similar results were reported by Morris, Cooper, and Cooper (1989) in their study of British fashion models.
Taken together, the findings of Garner and colleagues and of Silverstein and colleagues show that from the turn of the century throughout the 1970s, the standard of physical attractiveness for women presented in the mass media became much thinner and less curvaceous. These findings were replicated in a recent update of the Garner et al. (1980) research. Using the same procedures employed in the Garner study, Wiseman et al. (1992) found that during the period from 1979 to 1988, Miss America contestants continued to decrease in body size and Playboy models maintained their already low body sizes. As did previous researchers, Wiseman et al. (1992) found that curvaceousness (i.e., hip measurements) continued to decline among Miss America contestants.
4.No longer just a pretty face: Fashion magazines' depictions of ideal female beauty from 1959 to 1999
Keywords:
- female ideal beauty;
- fashion magazines;
- body size;
- thin images
Abstract
Objective
The print media's depiction of the ideal of feminine beauty as presented to American women was examined for the years 1959–1999.
Method
Trends were investigated through an analysis of cover models appearing on the four most popular American fashion magazines.
Results
Body size for fashion models decreased significantly during the 1980s and 1990s. There was also a dramatic increase in the frequency with which the media depicted the entire bodies of the models from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Discussion
Both the increasingly thin images and the striking increase in full-body portrayals suggest an increase in the value placed by American society on a thin ideal for women, a change that is concurrent with the increase in disturbed eating patterns among American women. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 36: 342–347, 2004.
5.Are Fashion Models a Group at Risk for Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse?
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ProduktNr=223864&Ausgabe=228218&ArtikelNr=56285
Key Words
Background: Few studies to date have investigated whether in fact the prevalence of eating disorders (ED) and/or use of illicit drugs is higher among models than among other groups of females. Method: A group of 63 professional fashion models of various nationalities were studied by means of self-reported questionnaires. They were compared with a control group of 126 female subjects recruited from the general population. Results: Fashion models weigh significantly less than controls, but only a small percentage of them uses unhealthy methods to control their weight. The current frequency of full-syndrome ED did not differ between the groups, but partial-syndrome ED were significantly more common among fashion models than among controls. Current substance use or alcohol abuse was reported by 35% of fashion models and 12% of controls. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that fashion models are more at risk for partial ED and use of illicit drugs than females in the general population.
5.Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1098-108X(199201)11:1%3C85::AID-EAT2260110112%3E3.0.CO;2-T/abstract
5.Are Fashion Models a Group at Risk for Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse?
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ProduktNr=223864&Ausgabe=228218&ArtikelNr=56285
Key Words
- Anorexia nervosa
- Bulimia nervosa
- Eating disorders
- High-risk groups
- Fashion models
Background: Few studies to date have investigated whether in fact the prevalence of eating disorders (ED) and/or use of illicit drugs is higher among models than among other groups of females. Method: A group of 63 professional fashion models of various nationalities were studied by means of self-reported questionnaires. They were compared with a control group of 126 female subjects recruited from the general population. Results: Fashion models weigh significantly less than controls, but only a small percentage of them uses unhealthy methods to control their weight. The current frequency of full-syndrome ED did not differ between the groups, but partial-syndrome ED were significantly more common among fashion models than among controls. Current substance use or alcohol abuse was reported by 35% of fashion models and 12% of controls. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that fashion models are more at risk for partial ED and use of illicit drugs than females in the general population.
5.Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1098-108X(199201)11:1%3C85::AID-EAT2260110112%3E3.0.CO;2-T/abstract
Abstract
An investigation of current American society's depiction of the ideal female body was performed. Body measurements of Playboy magazine centerfolds and Miss America contestants for 1979–1988 indicated body weight 13–19% below expected weight for women in that age group. Miss America contestants showed a significant decrease in expected weight between 1979 and 1988. Comparisons were made with an earlier study which had demonstrated that body measurements of both groups had decreased during the period 1959–1978. Diet-for-weight-loss and exercise articles in six women's magazines were tabulated for 1959–1988. A significant increase in both diet articles and exercise articles occurred during this period. These findings suggest that the overvaluation of thinness continues and thinness is now sought through both dieting and exercise.
6.Effects of fashion magazines on body dissatisfaction and eating psychopathology in adolescent and adult females
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/erv.2400030105/abstract
6.Effects of fashion magazines on body dissatisfaction and eating psychopathology in adolescent and adult females
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/erv.2400030105/abstract
Abstract
It has been shown that fashion magazines have an age- and stimulus-specific effect on the body size estimation of non-eating-disordered adolescent and adult females. This study examines whether photographs of thin fashion models have similar effects on female body dissatisfaction. The results indicate that adolescent girls tend to respond to fashion images by showing greater body dissatisfaction than adults, and that both groups respond more to pictures of adults than to those of adolescents. Greater adolescent dissatisfaction was related to increased age, weight and bulimic tendencies. Theoretical implications are considered.
7.Weight and Shape Ideals: Thin Is Dangerously In
Abstract
Thinness as an ideal of feminine beauty is nowhere more evident than in the popular media. The trend toward an increasingly thinner standard and a more tubular body shape has been documented in Playboy centerfolds from the 1960s to the 1980s. The present study provides information about body standards into the 1990s. Body measurements of two groups of models were compared: contemporary Playboy centerfolds and ready-towear and commercial print models advertising on the Intemet. Results revealed that thinness is increasing for centerfolds, many of whom meet weight criteria for anorexia. Results also showed unhealthy levels of thinness in the Internet models. Body shape for both cohorts is curvaceous, results which do not support prior research indicating an increase in the tubular body. Discussion focuses on the role that both the media and the health industry play in contributing to Western culture's adoption of an unhealthy body ideal.
8.Influence of Age, Body Type, Fashion, and Garment Type on Women's Professional Image
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/1077727X9001900204/abstract
The purpose of this research was to extend implicit personality theory in an attempt to explain further the inferred relationship between a person's physical characteristics and personal traits. Specifically, this study examined business and professional men's and women's perceptions of the professional image of women as a function of the women's physical characteristics, the type of garment worn, and the fashion detail of the garment. Participants (N = 207) viewed six black-and-white photographs of females wearing either suits or dresses. Re sponses to six 7-point, unipolar adjective checklists were then summed to obtain a score indicating the degree of professional image perceived. A 3 (age of model) × 3 (body type of model) × 3 (fashion detail) incomplete randomized block design was used. Men's and women's responses to models in suits and dresses were analyzed separately using analysis of variance. Results indicate that (a) suits convey a stronger professional image than dresses for women of any age or body type; (b) when judged by business and professional men, older women convey a stronger professional image than younger women when wearing dresses; (c) gar ments with innovative fashion detail contribute to a weaker professional image than garments with contemporary or classic fashion detail; and (d) thin women convey a stronger professional image than larger women.
8.Influence of Age, Body Type, Fashion, and Garment Type on Women's Professional Image
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/1077727X9001900204/abstract
The purpose of this research was to extend implicit personality theory in an attempt to explain further the inferred relationship between a person's physical characteristics and personal traits. Specifically, this study examined business and professional men's and women's perceptions of the professional image of women as a function of the women's physical characteristics, the type of garment worn, and the fashion detail of the garment. Participants (N = 207) viewed six black-and-white photographs of females wearing either suits or dresses. Re sponses to six 7-point, unipolar adjective checklists were then summed to obtain a score indicating the degree of professional image perceived. A 3 (age of model) × 3 (body type of model) × 3 (fashion detail) incomplete randomized block design was used. Men's and women's responses to models in suits and dresses were analyzed separately using analysis of variance. Results indicate that (a) suits convey a stronger professional image than dresses for women of any age or body type; (b) when judged by business and professional men, older women convey a stronger professional image than younger women when wearing dresses; (c) gar ments with innovative fashion detail contribute to a weaker professional image than garments with contemporary or classic fashion detail; and (d) thin women convey a stronger professional image than larger women.
