Sociocultural pressures are thought to play a very influential role in the prevalence of body dissatisfaction in contemporary Western society1-4. An increasing incidence of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders has coincided with changes in sociocultural norms for females over the last few decades. In contemporary society the ideal female body is thin, tall and long legged, and there is a pervasive belief among women that you need to fit this “ideal” to be successful4-6. These messages about the ideal female form are transmitted by a variety of means, including the family, peers and by the mass media2,7-9. The ubiquitous nature of the mass media makes it a particularly powerful force for influencing social attitudes. With a moderate level of body dissatisfaction now believed to be normal among females10, many researchers have looked toward this far reaching medium as a driving force for the dissemination of notions that a slender body is desirable3,7,11-15.

The Changing Representation of the Female Body in the Media

Media content analyses have indicated that the mass media tend to portray the female form as much thinner than the average body

In conclusion, this research indicates the common depiction of the female body in the mass media is unrealistically thin, and that females are frequently exposed to these images and often make negative comparisons with themselves. The evidence is unclear whether media exposure causes body dissatisfaction in all women. However, there is compelling evidence to suggest that exposure to idealised images of slender women is more likely to harm the body satisfaction of certain groups of females and those who have certain individual vulnerabilities. Further research is needed to explore all of the possible vulnerability characteristics so that efforts at reducing body dissatisfaction in young females and women can be targeted appropriately.

Most females in Western society are regularly exposed to idealised images of the female body and often negative comparisons are made. In the U.S. researchers have found that over the course of a typical year, children and adolescents spend more time watching television than any other activity except sleeping21. In an Australian study, female adolescents were found to watch an average of 22.72 hours of television in one week, with an average of 5.43 hours of soaps or serials, and an average of 1.62 hours of music videos in the week under study15. Studies also indicate that many college women frequently read fashion magazines as a leisure activity22,23. A recent study found that the number of hours spent watching music videos was related to adolescent girl’s weight concerns24.

Some topics in this essay:
Media Exposure, Self Comparisons, Mass Media, Henderson-King Henderson-King, American Latino, Media Sociocultural, Gonzalez-Lavin Smolak, Cusumano Thompson, Media Media, Mosimann Ahrens, body dissatisfaction, media exposure, body image, female body, body satisfaction, idealised images, mass media, study found, male body, media exposure body, negative comparisons, dissatisfaction viewing fashion, ideal female body, body dissatisfaction viewing, effects “thin-ideal” media,