Culture beyond categories: Examining intercultural variation in South Koreans' and Americans' attention to men's bodily features

Abstract

AbstractCross‐cultural research into body image often takes for granted the cultural differences in body ideals that may account for variations in body image experience. Male body image across cultures is also poorly understood. Applying methods of cognitive anthropology to cross‐cultural male body ideals, this paper tests whether universalist or particularist approaches to body image better account for cultural variation. Results suggest that Americans and South Koreans draw from different cultural models in determining which features of male bodies warrant attention, as predicted by a particularist approach. Moreover, elements important for Korean male body image were found to lack emic validity among Americans, and vice‐versa. Considering significant variations in the elements of male bodies attended to, cross‐cultural body image research should more closely examine the cultural assumptions about bodies implicit in measurements to ensure that measurements are not just translated correctly, but also emically meaningful.