Ideal Female Body Research Articles

Body weight and beauty: the changing face of the ideal female body weight

By observing the art of different eras, as well as the more recent existence of the media, it is obvious that there have been dramatic changes in what is considered a beautiful body. The ideal of female beauty has shifted from a symbol of fertility to one of mathematically calculated proportions. It has taken the form of an image responding to men's sexual desires. Nowadays there seems to be a tendency towards the destruction of the feminine, as androgynous fashion and appearance dominate our culture. The metamorphosis of the ideal woman follows the shifting role of women in society from mother and mistress to a career-orientated individual. Her depiction by artists across the centuries reveals this change in role and appearance that should be interpreted within the social and historical context of each era with its own theories of what constituted the ideal female body weight.

The Ideal Female Body Image: A Q Approach to the Third-Person Effect

The third-person effect was examined using Q methodology. The participants were asked to sort images of women according to their ideal image and their perception of others' ideal image. The participants' own ideal Q sort loaded on one factor, whereas their Q sort representing their perception of others' ideal image loaded on another. The participants' own body image differed from their perception of others' ideal body image resembling the media's portrayal of ultra-thin models. In addition, an intensive study of a single subject was conducted to examine the influence of social distance on the third-person effect. The results suggest that increased social distance reinforces third-person effects.

Beyond the Marathon: (De)Construction of Female Ultrarunning Bodies

This article examines the ways in which high-performance female ultrarunning bodies are created by and understood through the discourses of the normative running body, the ideal female body and pain. Using a Foucauldian framework, this paper shows how the ultrarunning body becomes a desired body beyond the marathon and how these same desires produce multiple and complex subjectivities for female ultrarunners. In-depth interviews were conducted with 8 high performance female ultrarunners. Findings suggest that ultrarunning is a sporting space which gives rise to more diverse subjectivities than previously found in distance running literature. Simultaneously, this discourse produces disciplined bodies through the mode of desire and “unquestioned” social norms, paralleling the constructs of extreme sports and (re)producing middle-classness.

여성의 신체부위 및 신장에 관한 성별 선호도 비교

This study compares by gender the preference about ideal female height and body parts. Data was collected through a survey of 203 males and 236 females. The results are as follows: Males and females prefer 161~165cm as the ideal female height and 176~180cm as the ideal male height. In regards to the ideal height difference between couples, both males and females prefer males to be taller, with the head of the female at the same height as the neck of the male. Males and females prefer the shorter height than the ideal height of a fashion model and Miss Korea who got the prize from the korean beauty contest. In the case of Miss Korea, there has been a demand for tall women to participate in world beauty contests. However, this study shows that young people prefer a shorter height than the society expects. Males and females think the shoulder width is ideal when it is 2 times wider than the width of a face in regards to the preference of the ideal female body parts. There is a difference between males and females in the ideal breast size. Males prefer C-cup size while females prefer B-cup size. The ideal size of waist preferred is between 60~65cm to both males and females. The ideal shape of legs preferred to both males and females is a slightly muscular shape.

The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions: Results of the International Body Project I

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

The Ideal Female Body Image: A Q Approach to the Third-Person Effect

The Ideal Female Body Image: A Q Approach to the Third-Person Effect

Intervention of Eating Disorder Symptomatology Using Educational Communication Messages

This study explored an intervention of body image disturbance by employing short educational messages. A public service announcement (PSA) comprised of a realistic body image photo and a text emphasizing genetic diversity of body types improved young women’s body satisfaction, although it did not affect the size of ideal female-body norm. A variation of the PSA, an alignment ad, generated a similarly positive effect on body satisfaction. The alignment ad, in comparison to a control, also increased the size of ideal female-body norm. At the same time, these positive main effects were mostly due to the gains in body satisfaction and the size of ideal female-body norm by women whose body satisfaction was relatively undamaged to begin with. For women who were already suffering from low body satisfaction, the educational messages interacted with the predisposition to further deteriorate body satisfaction and the norm of ideal female body. Theoretical implications of these effects were discussed and practical suggestions were made for healthy body image advocates.

Factors Relating to Social Physique Anxiety in Adolescent Girls

Purpose: This descriptive study was to explore the factors relating to Social Physique Anxiety(SPA) in the adolescent girls(N=700). These factors included the biological(level of school[age], period of menstruation, and BMI), the sociocultural(Influence of Mass Media, [IMM], Stereotype of Ideal Female Body[SIFB], type of school, perceived figure, and ideal figure) and the BW control-related factors(experience of bodyweight [BW] control, satisfaction at the result of BW control, and motive of BW control). Method: The sample was 700 girls of the middle and high schools in Jeju-do. The data was collected by the self-reported questionnaire and processed with the SPSS Win 12.0 program. Result: 26% of the variance in SPA was explained by the biological factors(level of school) and the sociocultural factors (perceived figure, ideal figure, type of school, and IMM). SPA, IMM, and SIFB were significantly correlated with each others(r=1,65-2.92, p

The body as a site of struggle: oppositional discourses of the disciplined female body

This article presents the results of a study on the discursive construction of one aspect of gender identity, namely the female physical ideal. It reports on an analysis of the discourses of the disciplined female body, as these are drawn upon in two conversations between a group of young, Western female university students. The conversations were elicited in August 2005 using a stimulus exercise designed to encourage discussion on issues relating to female body image, such as the notion of the ideal female body, dieting and plastic surgery. Using the tools of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 2001) the article analyses four related discourses, namely the pro-diet discourse, the discourse of the healthy body, the discourse of studied indifference and the discourse of the sexually attractive female body, in terms of how these discourses encode different, sometimes contradictory ideologies of the Western female body ideal. The article concludes that the discourse of the sexually attractive female body emerges as dominant in these conversational extracts and that, by colonising the other discourses, it legitimates its ethic of compulsory heterosexuality, which positions women as erotic objects of the male gaze.

Body images of patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and female control subjects: A comparison with male ideals of female attractiveness

Body images of female patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa were assessed against females without eating disorders and compared with male ideals of female attractiveness. A computer program was applied to examine body images of 62 patients with anorexia nervosa, 45 patients with bulimia nervosa, and 40 female and 39 male control subjects. Body size overestimation was most distinct in the two patient groups. Self-ideal discrepancy was highest in bulimia nervosa. Estimation of the society's ideal female body in all three female groups did not differ from men's perception of the most attractive female body. Congruence of ideals of female attractiveness in patients, female, and male control subjects and described differences between patients and female controls support the theory that body image disturbance is a problem of processing self-referential information regarding body image rather than a problem of processing body image related information per se.

Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders

Eating disorders, including obesity, are a major public health problem today. Throughout history, body image has been determined by various factors, including politics and media. Exposure to mass media (television, movies, magazines, Internet) is correlated with obesity and negative body image, which may lead to disordered eating. The authors attempt to explain the historical context of the problem and explore potential avenues for change. The authors review changes in ideal female body type throughout history, comment on current attitudes toward shape and weight in both men and women, and outline interventions aimed at increasing healthy habits and fostering self-esteem in youth. Throughout history, the ideal of beauty has been difficult to achieve and has been shaped by social context. Current mass media is ubiquitous and powerful, leading to increased body dissatisfaction among both men and women. Parents need to limit children's exposure to media, promote healthy eating and moderate physical activity, and encourage participation in activities that increase mastery and self-esteem. Funding for high-quality, visible advertising campaigns promoting healthy life styles may increase awareness.

Body Image among Women with Physical Disabilities: Internalization of Norms and Reactions to Nonconformity

Body norms for women are based on stereotypical gender expectations regarding physical appearance. Although women in general are exposed to societal standards of the ideal body, women with physical disabilities encounter unique circumstances in meeting these expectations. Women with physical disabilities are often stigmatized because they violate norms of body aesthetics and body shape. This research examines the extent to which women with physical disabilities internalize body norms and the reactions these women have to their nonconformity to societal body standards. In-depth tape-recorded interviews, investigating a variety of social and interpersonal issues, were conducted with 21 female university students with physical disabilities. Using content analysis, the researchers examined the interviews for common themes and patterns relating to body image. The major categories that emerged were (1) awareness of body norms, (2) compliance with body norms, and (3) reactions to nonconformity to body norms. The study illustrates that women with physical disabilities have two general reactions to societal expectations of the ideal female body: emotional responses and stigma management. The lack of questioning of cultural body norms by respondents is discussed as it relates to the rural, small town study location.

The role of familial values in understanding the impact of social class on weight concern.

To examine the role of social class on aspects of weight concern and to assess the possible impact of values on mediating this association. Two hundred fifty-seven girls ranging in age from 13 to 16, from either a fee paying inner city independent girls school (higher class school, n = 135) or a state comprehensive, inner city girls school (lower class school, n = 122) completed a questionnaire concerning their profile characteristics (age, social class), aspects of their weight concern, and their own and their perceptions of their significant others' values (achievement, family life, and physical appearance). The results showed consistent effects of class on weight concern, with the higher class subjects reporting higher levels of restrained eating, greater body dissatisfaction, and body distortion than their lower class counterparts. The results also showed an effect of class on values, with the lower class subjects placing more importance on family life from both their own perspective and that of their parents and friends, and rating their friends as valuing achievement and physical appearance more than the higher class subjects. In terms of the best predictors of weight concern, the results showed that higher levels of restrained eating were related to being from a higher class, placing greater importance upon physical appearance, preferring a thinner ideal female body, and placing less importance upon family life; greater body dissatisfaction was related to being from a higher social class, placing greater importance upon physical appearance and a lower importance upon achievement, and greater body distortion was related to being from a higher social class and a high value placed upon physical appearance. The results indicate both a direct social class/weight concern link and a relationship which is mediated by values. The results are discussed in terms of developing an improved measure of class values and the relatively stable nature of class boundaries.

Women's waists and the sex ratio of their progeny: evolutionary aspects of the ideal female body shape

There is some evidence that testosterone levels in women are correlated with a tendency to produce sons. We show that in a sample of 102 women, aged from 35–55 years, components of female size i.e., weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and waist:hip ratio are positively correlated to the proportion of sons in their family. Multiple regression analysis shows that of these variables it is waist circumference which is the strongest predictor of the proportion of sons. It is argued that in many traditional societies, where rank is inherited by males and females often marry upwards, high ranking males should prefer heavy women with thick waists and hips. By this means they increase their probability of having sons to inherit their rank. In less stratified societies other negative correlates of female size such as symmetry, health and fertility will result in a preference for light women with small waists and hips.

Women's waists and the sex ratio of their progeny: evolutionary aspects of the ideal female body shape

There is some evidence that testosterone levels in women are correlated with a tendency to produce sons. We show that in a sample of 102 women, aged from 35–55 years, components of female size i.e., weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and waist:hip ratio are positively correlated to the proportion of sons in their family. Multiple regression analysis shows that of these variables it is waist circumference which is the strongest predictor of the proportion of sons. It is argued that in many traditional societies, where rank is inherited by males and females often marry upwards, high ranking males should prefer heavy women with thick waists and hips. By this means they increase their probability of having sons to inherit their rank. In less stratified societies other negative correlates of female size such as symmetry, health and fertility will result in a preference for light women with small waists and hips.

Black and white adolescent males' perceptions of ideal body size

A stratified, random sample of 344 White and Black adolescent females participated in a survey of ideal body size beliefs, which included responses to a questionnaire and a series of nine female and male body size drawings. Using SES and race as independent variables and BMI (kg/m2) as a covariate. Black females preferred a significantly heavier ideal female body size than Whites. They also perceived their parents and both male and female friends would select as ideal a significantly heavier female body size than White subjects. Black subjects' body size preferences were significantly more influenced by family members than were White subjects, who were significantly more influenced by their peer group. These findings suggest a greater social approval of increasing weight and body size for Black adolescent females, a desire for a smaller size by White adolescent females, and cultural differences in the influencing factors that help to communicate these body size preferences.

Ideal female body shape: Role of body weight and waist-to-hip ratio

Interrelationships of female body fat distribution as measured by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), overall body size, perceived attractiveness, youthfulness, health, and need to lose weight were investigated. Drawings showing thin females with high WHRs and heavier females with low WHRs were presented to college-age women with low and high scores on the Restrained Eating Scale (Herman & Polivy. [1980]. Obesity [pp. 208-225]. Philadelphia: Saunders) and men who ranked figures for various attributes. Female subjects, regardless of their eating style, as well as male subjects, judged heavier female target figures with low WHRs as more attractive and healthier than thinner figures with higher WHRs. The rankings for youthfulness and need to lose weight were not systematically affected by the size of the WHR. Female subjects perceived heavier female target figures with low WHR to represent ideal female figures. Female subjects with a restrained eating style felt their own body was not similar to idealized female figures and expressed unhappiness with their body shape; this was not true of unrestrained eaters. It is proposed that female attractiveness and ideal female shape may be more influenced by WHR than overall body size.

Gender differences in the evaluation of physical attractiveness ideals for male and female body builds.

The purposes of this research were (1) to explore gender differences in the evaluation of physical attractiveness stimuli developed to represent commonly occurring real builds, (2) to identify observers' concepts of physical attractiveness ideals promoted by the media, and (3) to begin cross-validation of these stimuli as representations of observers' concepts of ideal physical attractiveness for male and female builds. Responses included (1) open-ended descriptions of ideal male and ideal female build, (2) ratings of relative attractiveness of 12 male and 15 female stimuli, (3) selections of stimulus types which best represented ideal builds, and (4) selections of stimulus types perceived to be promoted by the media. Analysis showed strong cross-validation among modes of response. Ideal male build included average/balanced type (small and medium), lean/broad-shouldered type (large), and muscular bulk type (medium). Ideal female body build included average/balanced type (small and medium) and lean/broad-shouldered type (small and medium). Gender differences were in emphasis only. Women emphasized lean/broad-shouldered and average/balanced male types. Men emphasized the muscular bulk male type. Body types perceived to be media-promoted highlighted stereotypic male muscularity and female leanness.

Cultural expectations of thinness in women: An update

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 1988. 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 1959–1988. 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.

Differences between male and female preferences for female body size

Abstract When males and females in Sydney were asked to identify their ideal female body and the one they believed men and women in general would prefer, women were found to be misinformed about the size of the female body that men prefer, while the men knew the women's preferred size. Furthermore, women consistently evaluated their own body more negatively than their ideal or preferred body.