Media Representation: Health and Body Images

Abstract

Abstract The current chapter presents a review of the portrayal of appearance ideals in popular entertainment media. It examines the literature on the components of the ideal and on the nature of portrayals of appearance standards in popular media. First, study findings on the characteristics of appearance ideals presented in the media demonstrate that popular media frequently glamorize curvaceously thin female and mesomorphic male characters with flawless faces and a suntanned white or lighter black skin tone. Second, younger characters are more likely to adhere to media standards of appearance than older characters. Moreover, the ideal appearance is considered to be malleable. Characters with an ideal appearance also outperform characters that deviate from the ideal at a sexual, social, and professional level. Lastly, appearance standards in the media are inherently related to stereotypes of gender and ethnicity. Several recommendations for future research are made.