Research indicates that exposure to thin ideal images in women's magazines is associated with heightened concerns for body shape and size in a number of young women, although the media's role in the psychopathology of body image disturbance is generally believed to be mediated by personality and socio-cultural factors. The purpose of this research study is to know and gather solid facts and reasons about fashion magazines affecting the teenagers’ body image in a form of research to self evaluation through careful accumulation of acceptable data and relevant resources for such data to be precise and spontaneous in its respected details to support results.

           Few studies have explored mediating processes through which media exposure and use contribute to development and perpetuation of eating-disordered cognitions. The other purpose of this study was to test a structural equation model that incorporates several mediating processes through which women's beauty, fashion, health, and fitness magazines might influence the fear of being fat. This study complements previous models by exploring the potential direct and indirect effects of two additional mediating influences: "hope" and the internalized belief that men expect women to be thin.

Theoretical Background

           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. 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.

           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.

           Other researchers have also noted the prevalence of disordered eating among fashion models (Brenner & Cunningham, 1992) and the severe health risks associated with achieving a very thin body type. Women whose body fat falls below 22% are much more susceptible to infertility, amenorrhea, ovarian and endometrial cancer, and osteoporosis (Seid, 1989). The findings suggest that the slim beauty ideal presented in the media may be unhealthy for women.

           Given the messages aimed at women through the mass media, it is not surprising that many American women desire to be thin and that women typically feel dissatisfied with their bodies. Women generally are less satisfied with their bodies than are men (Altabe & Thompson, 1993; Brenner & Cunningham, 1992; Davis & Cowles, 1991; Koff, Rierdan, & Stubbs, 1990; Mintz & Betz, 1986).

           Even women who can be classified as being within or slightly below the normal weight range for their height often perceive themselves as being overweight and are dissatisfied with their bodies. Body image dissatisfaction is a crucial area of investigation because of its relationship to low self-esteem (Koff, Rierdan, & Stubbs, 1990) and to depression (Rierdan, Koff & Stubbs, 1989). Although previous researchers (Spillman & Everington, 1989) have implied that the media have changed our perceptions of the female body, few studies have actually tested this hypothesis empirically. Further research is needed that examines whether exposure to media depictions of the thin female body does influence women's body image satisfaction. Additional research is needed to determine whether the thin models featured in popular women's magazines would have a similar effect on women's self-perceptions.

           The aim of the present investigation was to explore whether the depictions of women in magazines do, in fact, affect women's perceptions of their own bodies. Specifically, the impact of exposure to fashion magazines on women's body image satisfaction was investigated. Consistent with previous research, we hypothesized that viewing fashion magazines would lead to lower levels of body image satisfaction among college women. Because of the small non-representative sample, the data are offered to stimulate further investigation of the effects of the mass media on females' development.

Literature Review

           The socio-cultural model of eating disorder pathology identifies concerns about body shape and weight as a central link between exposure to pressures to be thin and development of pathological eating practices. (Garner et al., p. 263) In fact, abnormally high body shape concern, which includes dissatisfaction with, or even an abhorrence of one's body, is one of several specific diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. (Wagener et al. p. 30) Body disturbance consists of three separate, but related components: size perception accuracy, satisfaction with or anxiety over one's body size or shape, and behaviors that include avoiding situations that cause physical appearance-related discomfort. (Thompson, pp. 1-2) Body disturbance ranges from mild or normative dissatisfaction to extreme loathing of one's body that can, in some cases, prompt individuals to engage in pathological behaviors such as excessive dieting, self-mutilation, and even suicide. (Cooper et al. p.32)

           Several studies have linked body dissatisfaction with both concurrent and future eating pathology. Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, and Stein tested a structural equation model that explored the direct and indirect effects of media exposure on eating disorder symptoms. Specifically, their model examined whether gender-role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization, and body satisfaction mediated the effects of media exposure.

           In addition to finding a direct effect between media exposure and eating disorder symptoms (beta = .30, p < .001), they found a direct link between media exposure and gender role endorsement (beta = .21, p < .001), which was positively related to ideal-body stereotype internalization (beta = .37, p < .001). Ideal-body stereotype internalization, in turn, was positively linked to body dissatisfaction (pbeta = .17, p <.05). Although direct pathways from media exposure to ideal-body stereotype internalization and body dissatisfaction were not statistically significant, the indirect pathway through gender-role endorsement was.

           These pressures also contribute to ideal-body internalization, which further exacerbates body shape concerns and body dissatisfaction. Finally, body dissatisfaction positively predicts both dietary restraint and negative affect, which are the final proximal predictors of bulimic symptomatology. They found that their model successfully discriminated among bulimics, sub clinical bulimics, and no bulimic controls.

           Polce-Lynch, Myers, Kliewer, and Kilmartin tested a path model in which body image concern was a hypothesized mediator of adolescent females' self-esteem. The initial predictor variables included gender harassment, family relations, media influence, peer relations, and grade level. Media influences were the strongest predictor of body image concern (beta = .59, p < .001), which, in turn, was negatively associated with self-esteem. Cultural gender images, as communicated through television, movies, and advertisements, appear to be linked to the way these adolescents evaluated their physical appearances and themselves.

           This study seeks to understand further those factors that predict body shape and size concerns. Specifically, it combines body mass and expected future weight gain or loss, as factors previously identified as mediating the relationship between exposure to thinness-depicting media and disordered eating pathology, with a measure of the general affective state of "hope," as well as an internalization measure that focuses on women's beliefs that men expect them to be thin. In addition, it explores direct and indirect effects of two types of magazines, health and fitness and beauty and fashion, read by large numbers of college age women.

           Previous research has identified internalization of the thin-ideal as an important predictor of body size and shape concerns. Here, one important manifestation of this internalization is endorsement of the traditional gender-role belief that women must be thin in order to be attractive to men. Accordingly, the model hypothesizes that a young woman's beliefs about men's expectations for female thinness will be positively associated with body shape and size concerns.

           Further, the model posits that magazine reading frequency and body mass index will be positively linked to body shape and size concerns, and that magazine reading frequency will have an indirect positive association with body shape concern through beliefs about men's expectations for female thinness and an indirect negative link through expectations regarding future weight gain or loss.

           Hope is an important determinant of human behavior and has been associated with increased problem-solving skills; (Snyder et al., 1991) ability to remain energized when faced with obstacles to goals, (1989) an increased sense of personal competence, (Jakobsson et al, p. 136) lower levels of depression and anxiety, and positive mental and physical health outcomes. "Hope," writes Miller "nurtures the individual's transition from being weak and vulnerable to functioning-living-as fully as possible." (Miller, p. 23)

           One other possibility is that readers with high levels of hope might be more resistant to socio-cultural pressures for thinness created by the images and messages in the magazines than those with lower levels of hope. These possibilities are reflected in the model, which predicts a direct positive link between magazine reading frequency and hope, a negative link between hope and expectations for future weight gain, and an indirect link between magazine reading frequency and body shape concern through both hope and expectations for future weight gain or loss.

           Socio-cultural theory contends that women's dissatisfaction with their physical appearance stems from: (1) the thin body ideal that is promulgated in Western societies; (2) the tendency for women to adopt a "body as object" rather than "body as process" orientation; and (3) the thin is good assumption which emphasizes the rewards that are accrued by being attractive (i.e., thin) and, concomitantly, the costs that are associated with being unattractive (i.e., fat). It should be noted that the thin body ideal and the thin is good assumption represent distinct constructs. The former denotes the ideal physical representation for women in North America; specifically, a thin body.

           The latter denotes the benefits associated with adhering to that ideal representation; specifically, the advantages women are believed to accrue as a function of thinness. Researchers contend that the strongest conveyors of each of these Socio-cultural assumptions (the thin body ideal, body as object, and thin is good) may be mass media (Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994).

Thin body ideal

           The disparity between North America's definition of the ideal female shape and the actual size of women's bodies is increasing (Hesse-Biber, Clayton-Matthews, & Downey, 1987). Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, and Ahrens (1992) report that, while the average American woman under 30 has become progressively heavier, media images of women have become progressively thinner. For example, a longitudinal examination of models appearing in the magazines Ladies Home Journal and Vogue revealed that their bust-to-waist ratios had decreased steadily since 1949 (Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986).

Body as object

           The emphasis media place on women's physical appearance and the ways in which media represent women's bodies may contribute to the adoption of a "body as object" orientation. For example, Rudman and Verdi (1993) content analyzed advertisements selected from a random sample of fashion and fitness publications. Results indicated that advertisements featuring female models were less likely to show the body in its entirety; rather, the emphasis was on parts of the body (e.g., eyes, legs, or hands). Similarly, Duquin (1989) examined activity levels of male and female models appearing in 14 popular women's magazines. The author found that females were more likely than males to be non-active (i.e., the body was either deconstructed or the model was shown sitting, lying, or standing). Duquin argues that non-active representations of women may reinforce the view that women's bodies serve an ornamental, rather than instrumental, function.

           Thin is good. Few studies have explicitly examined the ways in which mass media promote the view that what is thin is good. However, this message may be subtly conveyed by the absence of females who deviate from the thin ideal in electronic and print media. For example, Silverstein et al. (1986) reported that only 5% of actresses in recurring roles on television were classified as heavy in comparison to 25.5% of actors.

Socio-cultural theory and body-image evaluation

           Society's conceptualization of the "ideal" female body, as reflected in mass media, may influence women's body-image evaluation. For example, Tiggemann and Pickering (1996) found that body dissatisfaction correlated positively with the total time female adolescents spent viewing soap operas on television. In addition, Levine, Smolak, and Hayden (1994a) observed that female adolescents who considered fashion magazines to be important sources of beauty and fitness information evidenced greater levels of body dissatisfaction than those who felt such magazines were "not at all important."

           The relationship between mass media and body-image investment also has received empirical scrutiny. For example, Levine et al. (1994a) reported that female adolescents who believed fashion magazines were important sources of beauty and fitness information were more likely to engage in weight management behaviors such as exercise and skipping meals than those who considered such magazines to be "not at all important."
Similarly, Stice et al. (1994) found that the greater females' exposure to media containing a high proportion of ideal body images, the greater their likelihood of reporting attitudes and behaviors characteristic of anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

Rationale

           Based on the authors' review of the literature, the following hypotheses were formulated: (H1) Greater exposure to magazines and television programs containing idealistic representations of the body is associated with less favorable body-image evaluation. (H2) Greater exposure to magazines and television programs containing idealistic representations of the body is associated with higher levels of body-image investment. (H3) Greater self-reported use of universalistic social comparison is associated with less favorable body-image evaluation. (H4) Greater self-reported use of universalistic social comparison is associated with higher levels of body-image investment

           Beauty and fashion magazine reading, however, was linked to body shape concerns only indirectly via beliefs about men's thinness expectations. Hope was not influenced directly by reading either type of magazine, nor did it mediate the relationship between reading and body shape concerns.
Body image disturbance has been identified as a critical element in the etiology of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa,1 illnesses believed to affect as many as one quarter of college women to some degree and a substantial number of all women.2 Most etiological models suggest that media exposure is a major socio-cultural influence, contributing to body shape concerns, fear of fat, and body image disturbance through cognitive pathways that link exposure to a heightened awareness and increased internalization of ultra-thin body ideals and then ultimately to disordered thinking and behavior.

           The media's role in this process is generally believed to be mediated by additional factors, including personality and temperament, emotional distress, endorsement of traditional gender roles, negative self-evaluation of achievement, teasing about appearance, low self-esteem, and body mass.7 Thomsen, McCoy and Williams,8 for example, found that even though anorexic outpatients did not directly attribute their eating-disordered pathology to media, they regarded media, women's magazines in particular, as a strong contributing or perpetuating factor after their eating disorders had begun to control their lives. Thomsen and his colleagues found that the media's influence interacted with other emotional needs that heightened pre-existing vulnerabilities and led to greater dependency on the media.

Methodology

           Data from a survey of 340 college-age women (ages 18-25) were used to test a structural equation model that examined three potential factors which is hope, beliefs about men's expectations for female thinness, and expected weight gain or loss in five years--that might mediate the relationship between reading women's magazines and body shape and size concerns. The study found health and fitness magazine reading was linked directly to body shape concerns as well as indirectly through beliefs about men's thinness expectations and to a lesser degree through expected future weight gain or loss.

Research Design

           Data were collected via a questionnaire designed to assess subjects' perceptions of men's expectations for female physical appearance, body shape concerns, reading frequency of women's beauty and fashion and health and fitness magazines, hope, expectation of body weight in five years, height, and weight.

Participants

           A convenience sample of 340 women enrolled in humanities and social science courses at a large western university participated in the study. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 25 (M = 21.3, s.d. = 1.9). Fewer than 9% indicated they were freshman, 15% were sophomores, 26% were juniors, 37% were seniors, and 9% were graduate students. Average weight was 136.4 pounds (s.d. = 20.1), average height was 65.8 inches (s.d. = 2.5), and average body mass index was 22.1 (s.d. = 3.1). Participants were predominantly white (94%) and from middle- to upper-middle-class backgrounds.

Procedures

           Thirty-minute appointments were scheduled for those women who expressed an interest in this study. Upon arrival, each participant was greeted by a member of the research team and given a consent form explaining that the study was designed to examine body image satisfaction among college women. After giving consent, each participant was informed that there would be a short delay, asked to leave her books and other items in the lobby, and escorted to a small room where she waited alone.

           The waiting room contained three chairs and a coffee table on which four magazines were placed. For half of the participants, the waiting room contained only news magazines; for the remaining half, there were only fashion magazines. No other posters or pictures of people or reading materials were available in the waiting room. After 13 minutes, participants were escorted to a large classroom and given the questionnaire to complete. Unlimited time was given for completion.

           Ten participants indicated on their questionnaire that they did not read a magazine while waiting. These students were eliminated from the data analyses. The resulting sample consisted of 18 (37%) participants in the fashion magazine condition and 21 (43%) in the news magazine condition.

Statistical Analysis

           The dependent variable was women's body image satisfaction. The independent variable was magazine type. Our major hypothesis was that when compared to their peers who viewed news magazines, women who viewed fashion magazines prior to completing a body image satisfaction questionnaire would: (1) be less satisfied with their bodies; (2) prefer an ideal body type that is smaller, and (3) express greater preoccupation with thinness and dieting. T-tests were used to examine differences between participants in the fashion magazine and news magazine conditions.

Measurements

The following measures were used to assess body-image evaluation.

           Appearance Self-Esteem Scale (ASES). Pliner, Chaiken, and Flett (1990) developed this 6-item measure. In the present study, items were modified to read as questions rather than statements. Scores on the ASES can range from 6 to 30, with higher scores denoting greater levels of appearance self-esteem. Pliner et al. (1990) provide evidence attesting to the psychometric soundness of the ASES.

           Body Figure Perception Questionnaire (BFPQ). Stunkard, Sorenson, and Schulsinger (1983 as cited in Hallinan, Pierce, Evans, DeGrenier, & Andres, 1991) developed this measure of body dissatisfaction. The BFPQ contains two sets of figure drawings: one set is male, the other is female. There are nine figures per set, each of which represents a monotonic increase in body size ranging from 1 = very thin to 9 = very overweight. Body dissatisfaction is operationalized as the discrepancy between the figures selected to denote current and ideal body shape. A positive score indicates that participants see themselves as overweight (i.e., current shape is heavier than ideal shape); a negative score indicates that participants see themselves as underweight (i.e., current shape is thinner than ideal shape). Absolute body dissatisfaction represents the absolute discrepancy between current and ideal body shape, irrespective of whether that difference is positive or negative.

The following measures were used to assess body-image investment.

Exercise.

           One open-ended question was used to measure physical exercise: "On average, the number of hours I exercise per week is." Research suggests that single-item measures of exercise frequency possess adequate validity (Paxon et al., 1991).

Modifying Diet to Gain/Lose Weight

           Participants answered the following open-ended questions: "The number of times that I have been on a diet to gain weight in the past year is" and "The number of times that I have been on a diet to lose weight in the past year is." Research indicates that single-item measures of dieting behavior possess adequate validity (e.g., French, Story, Remafedi, Resnick, & Blum, 1996; McCaulay, Mintz, & Glenn, 1988).

Pathogenic Weight Control Practices (PWCP)

           Participants indicated, on a five-point scale (1 = never, 5 = very often), the frequency with which they: vomited to lose weight; used diet pills to lose weight; and used laxatives to lose weight. Responses to each of the three items were then summed. Scores can range from 3 to 15, with higher scores denoting greater use of pathogenic weight control practices. Similar items have been used by other researchers investigating male and female adolescents' pathogenic attempts to lose weight (e.g., French et al., 1996; Greenfeld, Quinlan, Harding, Glass, & Bliss, 1987).

Discussion

           The results of this investigation demonstrate the role of the media in shaping, rather than merely reflecting, societal perceptions of the female body. Consistent with our hypothesis, it was found that women's body image satisfaction is, indeed, influenced by their exposure to the thin ideal presented in fashion magazines. Although the two groups of women in this study did not differ significantly in height or weight, those who read fashion magazines prior to completing a body image satisfaction survey desired to weigh less and perceived themselves more negatively than did those who read news magazines. Exposure to fashion magazines was related to women's greater preoccupation with being thin, dissatisfaction with their bodies, frustration about weight, and fear about deviating from the thin standard. The results are consistent with previous studies examining media depictions of women and women's body image satisfaction. As did Spillman and Everington (1989), we found that women preferred the slender body type for themselves and were "sometimes" preoccupied with being thin. However, our findings extend those of Spillman and Everington in determining that preoccupation with thinness was heightened after viewing the thin models depicted in fashion magazines. These findings are also consistent with those reported by Irving (1990) in which exposure to thin models was related to lower self evaluations among college women. An important distinction between Irving's study and the present research is our use of popular women's magazines as stimuli rather than slides.

           Previous research has shown that overweight women report being less satisfied with their bodies than do slender women (Stake & Lauer, 1987). In the present study, however, it was demonstrated that the perception of being overweight can be manipulated by exposing women to thin models. The perception of overweight (whether accurate or inaccurate), in turn, was associated with greater body image dissatisfaction among the women. The fact that participants were randomly assigned to the two experimental conditions suggests that the two groups did not differ in height, weight, or body proportion. Thus, it was exposure to the fashion magazines that influenced body image perceptions.

           The differences observed between the two groups of women in this study are striking, given that the participants viewed magazines for only 13 minutes. Additional research is needed which examines the impact of prolonged exposure to fashion magazines on women's body image satisfaction and self-concept. Moreover, findings concerning the influence of fashion magazines on women's perceptions of their bodies should be interpreted in light of previous research which examined fluctuations in women's body image satisfaction. Specifically, Haimovitz, Lansky, and O'Reilly (1993) found that women's body satisfaction ratings varied across four behavioral situations and were lower in settings where women were forced to scrutinize their bodies rather than in "everyday" situations. Eldredge, Wilson, and Whaley (1990) also found that experiences that provoke failure or self-evaluation lead women to perceive their body and weight negatively.

           According to Havighurst (1972), accepting one's physique is an essential feature of adolescent development. However, the pervasiveness of the thin ideal presented in magazines and other types of mass media may severely hinder women from accomplishing this developmental task. Rather than becoming more accepting of their bodies, women may become much more conscious of and negative in their evaluations of their bodies after viewing fashion magazines. Additional research is needed which examines the role of the media as an agent of socialization for young women. The increasing pressure to be thin and the unrealistic images portrayed in the mass media may have a devastating effect on women's self-perceptions, self-esteem, and identity development.

Conclusion

           Future studies should include larger, more representative selections. Especially needed are studies that examine social class and ethnic variations in women's body image satisfaction. Previous studies have demonstrated differences among women of different ethnic backgrounds on measures of body image satisfaction. The influence of the media on the body image satisfaction and self-perception of non-white women also deserves attention. African American, Asian American, Native American, and Latina women are often overlooked in research on this subject. Further, women of color are grossly underrepresented in fashion magazines and other types of media. Thus, the impact of the media's reinforcement of the thin and white ideal on the physical and emotional well-being of women of color should be understood.

           A developmental approach to understanding the influence of the media and other socio-cultural influences on women's body image perception is also needed. Females are bombarded with media images throughout childhood and adolescence. Emphasis on physical appearance and body type are prevalent even in children's television commercials (Ogletree et al. (1990), and popular teen magazines heavily emphasize fashion, beauty, and stereotypical female roles (Evans, Rutberg, Sather, & Turner, 1991; Pierce, 1990, 1993). At the same time, body image dissatisfaction and preferences for a slender (or much slimmer) body have been shown in studies of preadolescent (Collins, 1991) and adolescent girls (Koff et al., 1990; Rierdan et al., 1989). Future studies might try to determine how women and girls encode messages aimed at them through the mass media, and the relationship of these messages to body image distortion, self-esteem, and eating disorders.

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