Page 73 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

| Body Image

the 1970s, researchers began testing whether dissatisfaction with one’s body
image encouraged women to develop eating disorders (especially anorexia and
bulimia) in an effort to attain the “thin ideal.” More recently, researchers have
been concerned with a seemingly opposite problem: a rise in overweight and
obesity in the United States. Both problems appear to have strong roots in media
images, whether of dangerously unhealthy “ideals” for women in particular, or
of the pleasures offered by yet another sugary treat.
Body image is a person’s perception of his or her own body size, shape, and
attractiveness. It is our mental image of our physical self, and it is not necessarily
accurate or consistent. Our body image is “elastic,” changing in response to dif-
ferent moods or to external stimuli. Many researchers have examined the ways
in which body image may be influenced by exposure to images of others, such
as models in fashion magazines or advertising, or television and movie stars.
Because American media have presented the “thin ideal” almost exclusively as
the most desirable body type for women, researchers have tried to discover how
repeated exposure to such images affects women’s self-perception and satisfac-
tion with their own bodies.
Most high-fashion models are severely underweight, as measured by the Body
Mass Index (BMI). The average model is 5’9” and weighs 110 pounds, which
translates into a BMI of 17. (A BMI of 19–23 is considered normal weight.)
Although ultrathin, waif-like models were banned from the catwalk in Madrid’s
September 2006 fashion show, the industry still demands very thin models (with
a desired figure of 34”-24”-34”) who can wear clothing in size 2 or 4. This is the
body type found almost exclusively in fashion magazines in the United States.
Many film and television stars, singers, and other celebrities also struggle to
match the “thin ideal,” and popular magazines are filled with photos and news
stories tracking their weight gains and losses. The images of women found in
American film, television, and advertising reinforce the desirability of the “thin
ideal” with very little exception.
Most of the research conducted on body image has employed empirical or
quantitative methods. These have included asking women to complete self-report
surveys or to use psychological assessment scales such as the Stunkard Body
Figure Rating Scale or the Body Cathexis Scale to indicate their body image and
body satisfaction. These assessment scales consist of a series of body outlines
or silhouettes that range from very thin to obese. Subjects are usually asked to
identify the silhouette they think looks most like them and to indicate the figure
they find most attractive. Most research has found that women tend to overesti-
mate the size of their own bodies. Additionally, a majority of women perceive
themselves as larger than their “ideal” size and surveys have shown that between
55 and 75 percent of women in North America feel dissatisfied with their bod-
ies. These tendencies seem to be even stronger shortly after women read fashion
magazines featuring models who match the “thin ideal.”
These feelings of body dissatisfaction have been shown to encourage some
girls and women to engage in unhealthy eating practices, including eating dis-
orders such as anorexia nervosa (a severe reduction in calorie intake) or buli-
mia nervosa (binge eating followed by purging). Eating disorders, defined by