a study on the psychological effects of body stereotypes as...
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A Study on the psychological effects of body stereotypes as portrayed by televised commercial advertisements on men and women aged
between 18-25 years *M.Manjunatha
Research Scholor (PhD)
School of Arts and Humanities
REVA University
Bangalore-560064
*Dr.Hemantha Kumara V
Coordinator,Dept of Psychology
School of Arts and Humanities
REVA University
Bangalore-560064
Abstract
This study investigates the psychological effect caused in males and females aged between 18 and 25 years due to
stereotypical portrayal of their bodies. Previous researchers have found that media glorifies thin female bodies for
females and muscular bodies for males, causing dissatisfaction. This is because, stereotypical portrayal causes
people to assume those bodies as ideal and desirable.
Quantitative approach was chosen in which participants were asked to answer a questionnaire. Data from the
questionnaires were analyzed. It was found that both males and females were affected by the stereotypical portrayal
of models used in advertisements. The average body silhouette of male and female models was found to be lower than
the average body silhouette representative of participants, as well as what was perceived as more desirable and
ideal by them.
Participants felt that the bodies of models used in advertisements set unrealistic body goals for themselves, but
they found the bodies of models as being more attractive. The percentage of participants who desired to attain bodies
like ad models were significant, it was higher in the case of female respondents. Nearly half of all the participants also
confessed to not feeling body positive and reported lower self- confidence owing to the models in commercials.
Thus, media has the power to shape people’s opinions and perceptions. It can also make people feel like certain
things are more likeable and desirable, while certain others are deemed as unlikeable and undesirable. With people
being more and more exposed to females with thinner bodies, thin body for female has become the desirability quotient.
Females are generally portrayed as weak, naive, homely and submissive. In the case of males, media images tend
to portray them in heroic roles possessing qualities like strength, heroism, dominance, etc with muscular bodies.
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Thus, in males, muscular and larger body frames became more desirable. This kind of mindset often leads to body
dissatisfaction among males and females which can have adverse effects.
Body dissatisfaction causes anxiety, depression, low self-confidence, low self-esteem, eating disorders, etc.
Key words: body image, media image, body dissatisfaction, body positive, model
INTRODUCTION:
Media plays multiple roles in the society: acting as a sword arm of democracy, of being a watchdog to protect public
interest, marketing, to give voice to the voiceless, create social awareness, educate people and shaping public opinion. It
functions as a window to the outside world, what appears across its landscape actually may become people's reality and
could distort their individual perspective. As mentioned by the author Jeanette Auer in the paper "The role of Media in
Public Opinion Formation"(2012), Media, whether print, radio, film or TV, has long been recognised as a tool capable of
doing the thinking for man (Market 1936,p. 726; Ogden 1913,p.197). People's notions regarding socially acceptable
norms may be significantly affected and altered. For example, African Americans were represented in the English movies
as "savage, ignorant, thieves, interlopers and potential rapists" (Luther et al., 2012, p.59). This conveyed that the black
people were not "good enough" and thus, promoted racism.
In the current paper, the aim is to check if there is a similar correlation between media messages, televised commercial
advertisements in particular and the psychological effect on body stereotypes in the youth. In psychology, affect mediates
an organism's interaction with stimuli. Majority of the previous researches related to this field of study have established
that thinner body frames for females and more muscular body frames for males are idealised in the media which causes
body dissatisfaction in both men and women. The advertisers target men and women according to previously held social
beliefs and attitudes. Physical appearance is important in both males and females. However, "beauty' is generally defined
as peculiarly a feminine attribute and according to Ivy & Backlund, 2004, preoccupation with one’s appearance is seen as
part of the feminine stereotype. So there's possibility of women being affected to a greater extent due to these
commercials. The point of concern to be noticed about physical appearance depicted in the commercials is that the
advertisements focus mainly on beauty and body features of the model, and less on the product. There is emphasis on
physical attractiveness. This is a matter of concern as not everyone is born with flawless skin, perfect body or gorgeous
hair. Another negative aspect of such advertisements is that they set the norms for ideal bodies for both men and women,
promote racism and lead to eating disorders.
Brittney E. H. Schrick, B.S. in her paper "Television's relationship to body dissatisfaction" has mentioned that disordered
eating is characterized by a drive for thinness, a preoccupation with food and eating, and fear of gaining weight (Wilson &
Blackhurst, 1999). Media has a detrimental effect on body satisfaction, especially in women (Crouch & Degelman, 1998;
Field, 2000; Green & Pritchard, 2003; Harrison, 2003; Levine, 2000; Posavac & Posavac, 2002; Stephens & Hill, 1994;
Vaughan & Fouts, 2003; Wilson & Blackhurst, 1999). Presumably, media is influential because it is pervasive in society.
Every day, individuals are surrounded by media such as billboards, television, magazines, new media, etc. These media
images contain societal standards of beauty (Harrison, 2003; Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986; Spitzer,
Henderson, & Zivian, 1999; Stephens & Hill, 1994; and others). Even the mythical standard 36-24-36 measurements that
represent the ìidealî woman belong to a lady who is considered disproportionate by garment industry standards. She
would ìsimultaneously wear a size 4 (hips), a size 2 (waist), and a size 10 (bust)î (Harrison, 2003, p. 255). Using Ladies
Home Journal and Vogue magazines, Silverstein et al. (1986) attempted to show the decline in the size of ideal women
through the 20th century. Both magazines provided a sample that dates back to the early 1900s, and both have been
available to and consumed by a large number of women throughout that time. A content analysis of the photographs
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showed that the early years of the century contained the largest ideal size for females. This standard steadily declined until
it reached a low in 1925. From this low, the ideal increased until 1949 when it began to go down again nearly reaching its
1925 low in the late 1960s. This ideal size has not changed significantly since that time.
For this particular study, the youth have been chosen as sample since they could be the most affected by media messages
owing to larger exposure, since prevalence of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction levels could be higher in this
sample in comparison to other groups.
BACKGROUND:
The effects of advertisements regardless of medium were studied by multiple authors. These studies involved a myriad of
subjects differing in in gender, nationality, social status etc. It was found that these advertisements constantly made use of
the perfect and rare instances of the male or female form. It should also be noted that sometimes these advertisements
focus more on the physical attractiveness of the models compared to the effectiveness or usefulness of the product being
advertised. With the advances in modern modes of media and information transfer it is now possible for such
advertisements to reach a much wider audience consisting of viewers of different ages, mindsets, social status etc. The
effect of such advertisements where the attractiveness and physical stature of models are worshipped, will create a
different and profound effect on impressionable minds. These effects ranged from body dissatisfaction among women.
Dissatisfaction with one’s overall physical appearance has tripled among men in the past 30 years rising from 15% in
1972 to 43% in 1997 (Garner, 1997). Moreover, it is not limited to young men but rather shows up across multiple age
groups including adolescent men (e.g., Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2004), college men (e.g., Olivardia et al., 2004), and older
men (e.g., Franzoi & Koehler, 1998). (Media Images of Men: Trends and Consequences of Body Conceptualization Jamie
C. Farquhar and Louise Wasylkiw, Mount Allison University). Many studies have also shown that the effect on women is
more profound. Societal standards for beauty emphasize the desirability of thinness at a level impossible for many women
to achieve by healthy means. In fact, the gap between the average woman’s body size and the ideal is now larger than ever
before (The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women’s mood and body
dissatisfaction, Marika Tiggemann & Belinda McGill, School of Psychology, Flinders University of South
Australia). This observation forms the base of this paper as we aim to find the depth and conditions of the impact of these
advertisements.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:
The study is based on the effect of body stereotyping in television commercials on the viewers. The audience are not
entirely passive, it is limited. This effect on the viewers is similar to the "Cultivation Analysis Theory" developed by
Professor George Gerbner. Cultivation theory examines the long-term effects of television viewing. "The primary
proposition of cultivation theory states that the more time people spend 'living' in the television world, the more likely
they are to believe social reality aligns with reality portrayed on television" (Riddle, K. 2009). He extensively studied how
media plays a part in shaping and cultivating people’s perception. Gerbner argues that the mass media cultivate attitudes
and values which are already present in a culture: the media maintain and propagate these values amongst members of a
culture, thus binding it together. This effect is called ‘mainstreaming’. Distinction has been made between ‘first order’
effects (general beliefs about the everyday world, such as about the prevalence of violence) and ‘second order’ effects
(specific attitudes, such as to law and order or to personal safety). There is also a distinction between two groups of
television viewers: the heavy viewers and the light viewers. People who watch a lot of television are more likely to be
influenced by the ways in which the world is framed by television programs, especially regarding topics of which the
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viewer has little first-hand experience. ‘Resonance’ describes the intensified effect on the audience when what people see
on television is what they have experienced in life. This double dose of the televised message tends to amplify the
cultivation effect. Thus, people unconsciously tend to believe and accept whatever is being shown in the media. There is
another aspect in the theory known as the “Mean World Syndrome” because of which people start perceiving the world to
be “mean” to them.
Media is, therefore, considered as a persuasive power influencing attitudes, beliefs, meanings and perception of people.
Cultivation theory has been frequently used to study and explain many of today's phenomena.
For example, people know that Game of Thrones world does not exist but they still root for the series. They relate to the
characters and take the GoT world as a part of their reality. There are millions of people who follow every new happening
related to Game of Thrones. Another example could be of television creating a -+mindset in people that females are
supposed to be pretty and with lot of make-up. This has encouraged teens and young girls to follow what they see, and has
led to them being more insecure about the way they look naturally. Also, the way African origin people have been
portrayed in television has encouraged people to think that they are involved in petty crimes and drug abuse. Incorrect
generalization of the behaviors of members of LGBTQ community in the media have encouraged discrimination and
ridicule against them. In 2016, the Blue Whale Challenge, a deadly game that consists of a series of tasks involving
inflicting self-harm led to the death of many people across the world because the last “challenge” of the game requires the
player to commit suicide. Thus media does affect people’s mind to some extent and therefore, the theory is relevant to this
day.
Another theory that be associated with the paper is Social Comparison Theory according to which, people compare their
own physical appearance to the body images presented in the media. The theory was proposed by Leon Festinger in 1954.
This theory is used in association with the figure rating scale to understand if individuals will change their figure choice
after social comparing themselves to other individuals presented in the media. This comparison with other individuals in
this case may cause body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, etc. For example,
women are widely exposed to images of actresses and models with thin body frames on new media platforms like
Facebook and Instagram. The women tend to perceive models’ bodies and more “ideal and attractive.” Researchers using
social comparison theory have found that in most cases women tend to engage in upward social comparisons resulting in
more negative feelings about the self. The majority of women have a daily opportunity to make upward comparison by
measuring themselves against some form of societal ideal. Social comparisons have become a relevant mechanism for
learning about the appearance-related social expectations among peers and for evaluating the self in terms of those
standards" (Jones, 2001, P. 647).
The third theory related to the research is Self-discrepancy theory. The theory has generally been applied to body image
research to understand the three domains of the self: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. Different
representations of the self can be contradictory and result in emotional discomfort. When respondents are asked to choose
images on the scale, the individual may choose a separate silhouette for each domain of the self. The scale used in this
study is Strunkard Scale. Findings can be observed to understand the differences between an individual’s perception of his
or her actual body type and ideal body type.
SIGNIFICANCE:
With the development in communication technology, change in the ease of access to any form of data at any instant in
time; the effects of such advertisements are found in demographics not targeted or not accounted for during the design of
the advertisement. Children with impressionable minds, teenagers and young adults with insecurities, disabilities, different
mindsets and body structures, all are affected some or the other way. Increased cases of body image dissatisfaction,
attempts to obtain the ideal body sometimes ending up as a disaster are not uncommon. Sociocultural pressure on women
to be thin has been blamed for the development of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, and
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avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Despite decades of research, however, it is still not clear why a few
women exposed to these pressures develop eating disorders, but most women in the society do not. The media are often
blamed for spreading the message that women must be thin, and for making women feel badly about themselves. Males
exposed to super-fir, highly muscular models also try and push themselves too far, even going to the extent of using
steroids to achieve the “ideal” body. Also, these images of idealised and perfect bodies lead to bullying, very low self-
esteem and self-confidence and eating disorders. According to a 2013 study published in “Journal of Adolescent Health,”
conducted by researcher Dong Chul Seo involving over 6,000 participants, perceiving oneself as overweight or obese may
be an important, independent predictor of suicidal thoughts among middle-school and high-school students. Moreover,
girls seemed to be more affected than boys.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES:
To study the effect of televised commercial advertisements on the respondents
To check if there is any difference between the body types perceived as “ideal” by respondents and the body type they
think is closest to their own
METHOD:
Qualitative approach has been adopted and sample size of the study will be 80- consisting of equal number of males and
females. The respondents selected for the study are males and females aged 18-25 years living in Bengaluru city in the
state of Karnataka located in the southern part of India. They have been chosen as the sample since they have just
undergone transition from being teenagers or adolescents to being adults. Studies have shown that adolescents are prone
to concerns about their weight, shape, size and body image, and as a result, diet to lose weight (Schreiber GB, Robins M,
Striegel-Moore R, Obarzanek E, Morrison JA, Wright DJ, 1996). Also, living in the city could mean that the respondents
are comparatively more exposed to the television advertisements than people from the rural area. It would be easier thus,
to study the effect on this set of students.
The 80 participants consisting of 40 males and 40 females will be given a questionnaire to observe the effect of televised
commercial advertisements that mostly use slim female models and muscular male models, especially in glamourous
roles.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:
The study involves Random Probability Sampling. The entire process of sampling is done in a single step with each
subject selected independently of the other members of the population. Everyone in the population has a known and equal
chance of being selected as a respondent for the study. 40 males and 40 females in the age group between 18-25 years
were chosen for the study.
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TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION:
First section of the questionnaire will be designed to collect demographic characteristics like name, age and the gender of
the respondent.
Questions in the Second section will be crafted to aid the observation of the effect caused by the advertisements. The
questions are devised based on the researcher's observations and on previous research studies.
VARIABLES:
In this study, bias or body stereotyping in advertisements is the independent variable while the dependent variable is the
psychological effect on males and females in the selected age group caused. To aid in better observation, the respondents
are divided into two groups (Set A and Set B) based on the difference in the average size of the models in the
advertisements.
TIME AND LOCATION:
The study required one month's time for the complete collection of data, observation, analysis and interpretation.
The experiment is carried out within Bengaluru city located in Southern India. The two sets of participants are asked to
come on the same day, previously decided according to their convenience, to the venue of the experiment where the
participants are given a questionnaire to be filled in 20 minutes.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
DEPICTING WOMEN AS SEX OBJECTS IN TELEVISION ADVERTISING: EFFECTS ON BODY
DISSATISFACTION
Howard Lavine
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Donna Sweeney
Stephen H. Wagner
Northern Illinois University
In the paper “Depicting women as sex objects in television advertising: effects on body dissatisfaction,” by researchers
Lavine and Sweeney, effects of actual body image, actual-ideal body image discrepancy, and own ideal-others’ ideal body
image discrepancy as a function of ad type (sexist vs. nonsexist and no ad conditions), gender were observed. Body
dissatisfaction was assessed using the Pictorial Body Image Scale developed by Stunkard, Sorensen, and Schulsinger.
Participants were divided into three groups.
Results indicated that women rated themselves as heavier than the composite ideal for women to a greater extent after
exposure to sexist than nonsexist/no ads; in contrast, men tended to rate themselves as thinner than the composite ideal for
men to a greater extent following exposure to sexist than nonsexist/no ads. Male and female participants’ actual-ideal
discrepancies differed significantly within the sexist condition. While men rated their ideal as thinner than others’ ideal
for men to a greater extent within the sexist than the nonsexist/no ad condition; women rated their ideal as heavier than
others’ ideal for women to a greater extent after exposure to sexist ads versus nonsexist ads. The relevance of this study to
the current research is because it deals with observing body dissatisfaction levels in men and women subjected to sexist,
nonsexist and no ad conditions.
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ADVERTISEMENT PRESSURE AND ITS IMPACT ON BODY DISSATISFACTION AND BODY IMAGE
PERCEPTION OF WOMEN IN INDIA
Dr. Sasi Rekha V
Dr. K Maran
The aim of the study is to analyze the differences and inconsistencies in the ideal and emotional body image perception of
Chennai women and to observe the relationship between advertisement pressure and body dissatisfaction of women. Body
dissatisfaction scale developed by Stunkard and Sorenson was used to determine the body dissatisfaction of respondents.
At the end of the study, it was found that nearly 42% of the women felt pressurised to look “beautiful” and that 76% of
them aspire to have a smaller body size than their existing figure. The sampling area was Chennai and the objective of the
study was to observe the body dissatisfaction level in women due to advertisements. Hence it is relevant to the current
research.
MEDIA-PORTRAYED IDEALIZED IMAGES, BODY SHAME, AND APPEARANCE ANXIETY
Fiona Monro, B Psychology (Hons)
Gail Huon, PhD
The study is concerned with the effects of exposure to idealized body magazine images on young women’s body shame
and appearance anxiety. Sample size of the study is 39 consisting only women. The study was conducted in two sessions:
Questionnaires were provided to check restraint status, appearance anxiety, body shame, self-objectification, self-
monitoring, and exposure to magazines. In the second session, participants viewed 24 magazine advertisements for 20
seconds each, consisting of different combinations of idealized or non-idealised body traits and body related or non-body
related products. After the experiment, it was revealed by the study that majority of the participants experienced less body
shame after exposure to images without “idealized bodies.” This was the case for both non–body-related product and
body-related product advertisements. Also, subjects showed greater appearance anxiety after viewing advertisements
featuring an idealized body. Since the study dealt with the idea of body shame and appearance anxiety caused in the minds
of people after exposure to advertisements, it is relevant to the study.
TELEVISION’S RELATIONSHIP TO BODY DISSATISFACTION IN COLLEGE WOMEN
BRITTNEY E. H. SCHRICK, B.S.
The study investigates the relationship between television viewing and body dissatisfaction in young adult women during
college. Subjects were assessed regarding how many hours of television they viewed, which TV shows and what TV
stations they watched. The study revealed that participants who viewed programs with a higher average thinness rating
showed significantly greater internalization of the thin ideal. In addition, greater internalization of the thin ideal was
related to the choice of a smaller ideal body size. Also, the amount of hours of television viewed the number of thin-ideal
focused shows viewed was related to higher internalization of the thin ideal. Thus, the results show that media
consumption and internalization of the thin ideal may not be related to long-term body dissatisfaction.
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THE IMPACT OF MEDIA EXPOSURE ON MALES’ BODY IMAGE
Daniel Agliata and Stacey Tantleff-Dunn, University of Central Florida
Male respondents were exposed to television advertisements containing either ideal male images or neutral images
inserted between television program. The research showed that the participants exposed to ideal image advertisements
became significantly more depressed. They had higher levels of muscle dissatisfaction than those exposed to neutral ads.
The findings suggest that exposure to media images of ideal male body, defined as lean and muscular, can have
deleterious effects on mood and body satisfaction in men. Neutral advertising, however, had opposite effect with
significant decreases in depression observed.
NEGOTIATING MASCULINITIES: ADVERTISING AND THE INVERSION OF THE MALE GAZE
Forthcoming: Consumption, Markets & Culture
Maurice Patterson
University of Nottingham
Richard Elliott
University of Exeter
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
The aim of the study was to find out what kind of images men would like to see in the advertisements that related to men
and products related to them. Generally, a man's gaze will stay longer on an advertisement in which an attractive woman
is featured. However, their gaze stays longer on an ad pertaining to men having ideal bodies. It has been observed that this
leads to participants questioning their own body status.
TELEVISION, DISORDERED EATING, AND YOUNG WOMEN IN FIJI: NEGOTIATING BODY IMAGE
AND IDENTITY DURING RAPID SOCIAL CHANGE
Anne E. Becker
Increased prevalence of disordered eating could be the indirect effect of television models and actors having idealized
bodies. To investigate this, researcher Becker identified adolescent Fijian girls, 3 years after the introduction of television
to their community. She wanted to examine the influence of television viewing on girls' identity and body image. It was
found at the end of the study that the girls were worried about their weight and body shape, showed purging behavior to
control weight, and body disparagement. Western media images and ideas made these vulnerable girls feel that efforts to
reshape the body will enhance their social status and anchor their identities in widely recognized cultural symbols of
prestige.
BODY IMAGE, EATING DISORDERS, AND THE MEDIA
Marjorie J. Hogan
Victor C. Strasburger
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To adolescents, the sudden and rapid changes in their body and appearance is overwhelming. Both girls and boys become
more aware of their own bodies. Body image is a major concern of the teenagers. However, previous studies have shown
that many adolescents are unhappy with their appearance, body shape and size. Media certainly plays a role in shaping
their ideas and preferences. Reseachers Hogan and Strasburger strive to examine how the media along with cultural
background, peers and family exert influence on creating the ideal body image. It was revealed at the end of the study that
body image was constructed by all the factors. Media played the role of a catalyst or intermediate influence, rather than a
direct and complete cause of eating disorders.
THE EFFECTS OF MEDIA ON BODY IMAGE AND SELF ESTEEM
Sinead Gorman
Body dissatisfaction is related to depression, low self-esteem and eating disorders. The media has been bombarding us
with models and actors having "idealised" bodies and weight. For the study "The effects of media on body image and self-
esteem,” reseacher Gorman chose young adults, between the ages 18 and 25 to investigate the influence of mass media on
self-esteem and body image. He chose young people to examine how the media messages affects them. The results that
the current study arrived at is contradictory to most of the previous studies. It was concluded that men have lower body
image than women. Also, it could not verify the correlation between media and body image or self-esteem.
BODY-FOCUSED ANXIETY IN WOMEN: ASSOCIATIONS WITH INTERNALIZATION OF THE THIN-
IDEAL, DIETING FREQUENCY, BODY MASS INDEX AND MEDIA EFFECTS
Aileen Pidgeon, Rachel A. Harker
Media portrays thin women as ideal, desirable and attractive. Body image has become an important aspect of one’s mental
health and self-esteem. It can negatively affect eating behaviour and increase body-focused anxiety. Researchers Pidgeon
and Harker seek to analyse the effect of the media on women by examining the directional links between internalization of
the thin-ideal, body-focused anxiety, desirability and dieting frequency. It was observed that women who have a greater
BMI and have rejected the thin-ideal might selectively expose themselves to media content that conforms to their personal
worldview. Dieting frequency was not significantly correlated with desirability. Most women who participated in the
study rejected dieting as a means to achieve thin-ideal; while it was expected that media might promote the idea of
dieting. However, body-focused anxiety promotes dieting. The research also found that being overweight is major
determinant of body dissatisfaction.
DOES BARBIE MAKE GIRLS WANT TO BE THIN? THE EFFECT OF EXPERIMENTAL EXPOSURE TO
IMAGES OF DOLLS ON THE BODY IMAGE OF 5-8 YEAR OLD GIRLS
Helga Dittmar
Suzanne Ive
University of Sussex
Emma Halliwell
University of the West of England
Barbie dolls are a big hit with the young girls. They are extremely popular and extensively marketed. These dolls have
petite, slim and almost unattainable bodies. Researchers' aim to investigate if these dolls cause body dissatisfaction in
young girls. Girls between the ages 5 & 8 participated in the study. After exposure to the Barbie doll, these girls reported
lower body esteem and greater desire for a thinner body shape. Younger girls among those chosen for the study desired a
thinner body than they had. The desire to have an unhealthy and unrealistically thin body in this set of girls was more
extreme. Barbie doll exposure significantly depressed overall body esteem and increases discrepancies between girls’
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actual and ideal body size. It was radically different in case of older set of girls. The negative effect of Barbie dolls on
young girls highlights the need for different kinds of dolls.
STUCK IN THE MODEL TRAP: THE EFFECTS OF BEAUTIFUL MODELS IN ADS ON FEMALE PRE-
ADOLESCENTS AND ADOLESCENTS
Mary C Martin and James W Gentry
Exposure to advertisements employing only highly attractive models may have adverse effects on developing minds of
Pre-Adolescents and adolescents who tend to compare themselves with the advertising models. This affects their self-
perceptions and lowers their self-esteem. Results suggested that motive is vital, though not consistent among the fourth,
sixth and eighth graders who participated in the study. Sixth graders' self- perceptions of body image were significantly
lower after self- evaluation than after self-enhancement by discounting the beauty of the models while it remained
unchanged in the fourth and eighth graders.
ANALYSIS:
Body Mass Index (BMI) is defined as body mass divided by the square of the body height. It is universally expressed in
units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and height in metres.
The BMI is an attempt to quantify the amount of tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) in an individual, and then categorize
that person as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese based on that value. That categorization is the subject of
some debate about where on the BMI scale the dividing lines between categories should be placed (Malcolm Kendrick
April 12, 2015).
According to World Health Organisation, BMI ranges are underweight: under 18.5 kg/m2, normal weight: 18.5 to 25,
overweight: 25 to 30, obese: over 30.
45% of males and 70% of females belonged had “normal” weight (BMI between 18.5 to 24.9), 30% of males and 5% of
females were overweight (BMI between 25 and 29.9), 20% males and 5% females were obese (BMI >30); and, 5% of
males and 20% females were underweight (<18.5).
10% of total respondents said they would avoid going to social gatherings & parties because of their features. The number
of people avoiding looking at their old pictures and pictures of ad models is very insignificant (<1%). Many respondents
accepted to wearing certain type of clothing (avoidance of figure hugging clothes, sleeveless clothes, bright-coloured
clothes, etc) that accentuate certain features of their bodies that they are not confident of (42.5%). A small number of the
respondents said they avoid getting photographed or videographed by a third party because of their features. Many a
times, they resorted to changing body posture to avoid been seen in a particular camera angle (32.5%).
Strunkard scale was used in the study. The Figure Rating Scale (FRS) is a means of measurement developed to determine
body dissatisfaction in women and men (Grogan, S 2009. Routledge: New York). It is a visible measure of how an
individual perceives his or her own physical appearance. Each figure presents nine male and nine female schematic
silhouettes, ranging from extreme thinness to extreme obesity (Stunkard, A., Sorenson, T., & Schulsinger, F. 1983).
The respondents of research program were asked to select the silhouette that best indicates his or her current body size and
the silhouette that reflects his or her ideal body size and that of the body type that they think is closest to models used in
television ads.
The average silhouette of male and female participants that they thought was closest to their own was 4.7 and 3.45
respectively.
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The average “ideal” silhouette of male body according to male respondents is 3.9 while the average “ideal” silhouette of
female body according to female respondents is 4.0. Male respondents’ average of the female “ideal” body is 3.6 while
female respondents’ average of the male “ideal” body is 4.45.
In the study, it was found that the participants’ average of female and male models being used in advertisements was
2.65(2.85 females’ average and 2.45 males’ average) and 3.5 (3.65 females’ average and 3.35 males’ average)
respectively. Among both males and females, this figure depicting a body silhouette was the lowest. While the average of
the silhouette closest to their own body was 4.7, the average of male models was 3.5. In case of females, the figures stood
at 3.45 and 2.65 respectively.
Although 70% men and 60% women said they find the ad models attractive and desirable, exactly half (50%) of all
participants surveyed said models used in the advertisements set unrealistic body goals for people. The remaining 27.5%
disagreed/strongly disagreed; and the others remained neutral. Nevertheless, 40% (45% men, 35% women) of all
participants desired to attain like those of the ad models of the same sex because they felt dissatisfied with their bodies
because of the bodies of models used in the ads. 40% males and 55% females said they didn’t feel body positive and
confident, 5% males and 10% females said otherwise and the rest remained neutral. According to 55% of all respondents,
televised commercials employing models with “unrealistic” bodies encouraged bullying and body shaming, while 30%
others disagreed.
To bridge the gap between self-evaluated silhouette, ideal silhouette and the silhouette represented by models, the
respondents wished to follow a particular diet, avoid certain types of foods and exercise.
25% of the male respondents and 40% of female respondents said they wish to follow a particular diet and avoid certain
foods in order to alter their body weight/shape to attain what they deem as ideal.
While most respondents said they would not start exercising to alter their shape or weight to attain bodies like models in
the advertisements (37.5% of total respondents said they want to start exercising to alter shape/ weight), the percentage
was significantly higher among respondents having BMI above the normal range (>24.9). Out of 40 males, 20 of them
said they would exercise (50%). Among women, the results were contradictory. All 16 women (40% women) who wanted
to exercise and alter their weight/shape fell in the less than normal BMI range (<18.5).
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