Throughout history, people in every culture have sought to change the

natural appearance of their bodies. They reshape and sculpt their bodies and adorn them with paint, cosmetics,

clothing, and jewelry. These customs, however, are diverse and particular to a

culture at a specific period of time.

The diversity of body costumes has led anthropologists (e.g., Douglas 1970; Strathern 1996) to conclude that a body is both a physical and a symbolic artifact, forged by nature and by culture at a particular moment in history.

Social institutions, ideology, values, beliefs, and

technology transform a physical body into a social

body. Bodies, therefore, provide important clues to the mechanics of society

(Sullivan,2000).

What is Beauty?• Isn’t it in the eye of the beholder?• Symmetrical and “average” faces

are seen as most attractive.– Become more attractive when average

features are exaggerated (e.g., fuller lips and larger eyes in a women)

• Sociobiological explanations• What is beautiful in women generally

indicates fertility. In men, attractive traits tend to indicate ability to provide/protect.

• Males are more upset by sexual infidelity, females by emotional infidelity

Contributing Factors to Body Image

Body ImageMood

Imagination

Self-Esteem

Environment

Physical Experiences

What is Self-Esteem?

Ideal Real

Ideal Real

= Low Self-Esteem

= High Self-Esteem

Research Question How does exposure

to these images influence how women feel about themselves and their bodies? Perceptual distortion Social Comparison –

(comparison of self to others)

What is the perfect woman? (Nichter & Nichter,

1991) - 5’7”, 100 lbs,- long blonde hair - blue eyes

Most fashion models meet weight criteria for anorexia nervosa. (Kalodner, 1997)

Media is everywhere!

Sources of our “Ideal”

Thin Thighs, Firm Butt, Flat Abs5 super moves that tone you everywhere!

Fitness Dissatisfaction Message behind the fitness images

Idea of achievability But is it really achievable?

Exposure GUILT Dissatisfaction

Firm All Your Trouble ZonesGet lean and sculpted, melt inches

Fastest Ab and Butt TonersCardio shortcutsBlast fat in 10, 15, 20 mins.

Beauty Distortion Beauty images thinner than fitness images

Less guilt because only option of attainability is to take drastic, unhealthy measures

(e.g., drug use, eating disorder)

Average woman

beauty

fitness

Weight

Physical Attractiveness

• As much as we deny it, we are swayed by how people look.

• Hatfield and Berscheid have both done research that indicates that the more attractive a female is, the more likely she is to date.– The effect is slightly less strong for males.

• Matching phenomenon– Couples (even friends) tend to be relatively equal in

attractiveness.– When not true, less attractive partner usually

compensates on some other factor (e.g., very wealthy older men marrying beautiful young women).

The Physical Attractiveness Stereotype

• “That which is beautiful, is good.”• People within a culture, assume that

attractive people have the traits that are valued by that culture.

• Adults and children are biased toward attractive people. Heck - even infants stare at attractive people longer than unattractive people!

• Lessons begin early – how many ugly heroes are there in children’s tales vs. the number of ugly villians?

Impact of Beauty Stereotype

• Attractive people have better jobs and make more money.

• Irene Hanson Frieze found that for each incremental improvement in attractiveness a person earns on average $2300 more each year.

• Attractive people are perceived to be more popular and outgoing.– This is probably reality, as they gain confidence from

positive attention.

Is it all relative?• Classic study indicated that men found

women to be less attractive if they had just finished watching Charlie’s Angels.

• Men find their spouses less attractive after viewing centerfolds or pornographic films.

• True for self also, people find themselves less attractive after viewing other “more attractive” people.

Good News About Beauty

• Beauty is a two-way street.

• Although we like attractive people more, we also tend to find people we like to be attractive!

• The more in love we are with someone, the more attractive we view them, and the less attractive we view others of opposite sex.

One of the most memorable episodes of “The Twilight Zone” television series begins as a woman chats with a doctor in a hospital room with her head covered with gauze. This woman has undergone a procedure to make her look normal and she is anxiously waiting to see her face without the bandages.

"I never really wanted to be beautiful”, she tells the doctor. “I just wanted people not to scream when they looked at me”… “I want to belong; I want to be like everybody else”.

However, the doctor warns her that because she has undergone so many procedures, it will not

be possible to try again.

If the procedure proves unsuccessful, she will

be sent to a special area where people of her

kind have been exiled. The doctor removes the

bandages from the final surgery, and he and the nurses are

horrified to discover there has been “no

change”.

When the woman’s face is revealed to the camera, however, we see that she is beautiful by human standards, but, to our surprise, when the camera turns to reveal the faces of doctors and nurses, we see that they are hideously deformed. The message is clear:

Beauty is in the “Eye of the Beholder”

Every period of history held its own standards on

what was and was not considered beautiful.

We tend to regard our own culture’s customs as highly “civilized” and others’ as

“savage”.

Cultural Ethnocentrism