Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update

✍ Scribed by Wiseman, Claire V. ;Gray, James J. ;Mosimann, James E. ;Ahrens, Anthony H.

• Book ID: 101345259
• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 334 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108x(199201)11:1<85::aid-eat2260110112>3.0.co;2-t

✦ Synopsis

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 7 988. 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 . 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.

Historically, people, especially women, have tried to change their bodies to conform to the specific era's image of beauty (Ehrenreich & English, 1978). One way to trace trends in ideal beauty is to examine various depictions of beauty in the media, ranging from art or portraits in the pre-camera age to commercial advertisements and photographs in the present (Lakoff & Scherr, 1984).

Three studies have demonstrated the current emphasis on thinness in the media. A study of English fashion models over the years 1967-1987 demonstrated that the desired body shape for models was becoming more tubular, with bust and hips decreasing while height and waist increased (Morns, Coop-