HOW THE MEDIA AFFECTS

BODY IMAGE AND ITS CAUSES

Maria Pena
MATH 1030 ROBERT

The National Eating Disorder Association (2006) reports that in the past 70
years national rates of incidences of all eating disorders have dramatically
increased across the board. From 1988 to 1993 the number of incidences of
bulimia in women between the ages of 10 and 39 has more than tripled. The cause
of these staggering statistics has yet to be determined, but research has shown that
body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem put women at high risk for developing
eating disorders. Today in our culture, the thin ideal is portrayed in every avenue
of the media. Magazines, television shows, movies, commercials, etc. portray
attractive women as being extremely thin. It is nearly impossible to escape the
influence of the media and children are being exposed to these portrayals earlier
and earlier in life. Since we live in a world of constant stimulation and immediate
access to all sorts of media, could the constant reminder of the thin ideal cause
body dissatisfaction, a negative body image, and low self-esteem?
Body dissatisfaction is a term used to express the feeling that people may
have that their actual physical appearance is not how they would ideally like it to
be. Grabe, Hyde, and Ward state that approximately 50% of girls and
undergraduate women experience body dissatisfaction (2008). They also state that
body dissatisfaction has been linked to critical physical and mental health
problems and that a person experiencing body dissatisfaction is at great risk for
developing an eating disorder. Having unrealistic expectation for ones body
image creates a greater chance for body dissatisfaction. The media may influence
ones body image in such a way through the constant portrayal of the thin ideal.
Dina L.G. Borzekowski and Angela M. Bayer define it as the internal
representation of one's own outer appearance which reflects physical and
perceptual dimensions.(Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005) They also state that body
image is closely related to self-esteem and self-concept. Poor body image and low
self-esteem contribute drastically to body dissatisfaction. During adolescents, poor
body image is especially harmful, because all of the rapid changes both physically
and mentally occurring during puberty. Also, adolescents are becoming more and
more exposed to the media and the media keeps getting more and more
provocative. Young girls are looking to women with unrealistic body shapes as
role models. Its hard to find, in todays media, a normal looking woman. The
thin-ideal is constantly advertised, and some researchers even believe that this
constant reminder of thinness may be desensitizing our youth and thus making
them think and feel that this is normal. However, its not normal and never will be.
These models are thin to the point of unhealthiness; also, to reach such a level of
thinness one would have to take drastic measures. There will be a constant state of
shame or guilt for those who compare their own bodies to those of the models on
TV and magazines. This is not healthy physically or mentally.

The media broadcasts the thin ideal in almost every way possible. Not
only are the models on the covers of magazines and in advertisements embodying
the thin ideal, but the fictional characters in television shows and movies are
almost always portrayed and thin and beautiful. Movies like Shrek where the
ugly princess is green, overweight, and more masculine and the beautiful
princess is thin and extremely feminine influences kids at an early age that fat is
bad and thin is good. Also, as stated by many researchers, the models of today are
drastically thinner than the models of the past. As each year goes by, the front
cover models and the A-List celebrities reach new levels in their thinness, even
reaching a level thinner than the criteria for anorexia (Grabe, Hyde, Ward 2008).
A relatively new media craze is the numerous reality shows that are constantly
being played on major television networks. Shows like Americas Next Top
Model, The Hills, and The Real Housewives of Orange County, have real life
women, not actresses or models, symbolizing the average woman in America.
These women are the prime examples of how our cultures standard for
attractiveness has reached an unhealthy level. Not only do these women possess
the scarily thin bodies, but they constantly discuss dieting, exercise to lose weight,
and how they arent thin enough. It wasnt bad enough that supermodels were
bombarding our culture with negative body image references, but now these
reality shows with real people are portraying the same message.
Many of the research pertaining to the influence of media on body image
and body dissatisfaction examines the difference in models and magazine articles
over time. In almost all cases, it was found that cover models had decreased body
mass and increased exposure over the years. Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz, and
Thompson paid particular attention to the difference in body shape of Playboy
centerfolds over a 20 year period. They found that over the years, the body mass,
bust, and hip measurements decreased; however, the height increased. They also
determined that the Playboy centerfolds were 13%-19% lower than the normal
body weight for women of their age (Cusumano, Thompson 1997). Other studies
found that over the years, magazines like Seventeen, YM, and Cosmopolitan all
had an increase in articles pertaining to diet and exercise. Anderson and
DiDomenico (1992) compared womens and mens popular magazines and found
that diet and exercise articles appeared more than 10 times as much in womens
magazines than mens.
Grabe, Hyde, and Ward performed meta-analysis of 77 different
experimental and correlational studies to determine, quantitatively, the effects of
the media on womens body image. The measurements of body image were based
upon body satisfaction/dissatisfaction, body self-consciousness/objectification,
internalization of the thin ideal and drive for thinness, and eating behaviors and

beliefs. Various scales were used to quantify these results, like the Body
Dissatisfaction questionnaire, the Body Dissatisfaction subscale from the Eating
Disorders Inventory, the Body Esteem scale, and the Appearance Self-Esteem
subscale of the Current Thoughts Scale. The meta-analysis only included studies
that investigated media or media exposure and excluded studies containing selfreport of media exposure. Usually the subjects were exposed to magazines,
television shows, or television commercials. The control groups were exposed to
similar media but without the emphasis on appearance. Some of the media
presented did not contain models at all, whereas some were presented with average
or overweight models. No studies were included where the control group wasnt
exposed to any media at all. Once the studies were analyzed for effect size and
correlations to body image, a mean effect size was determined to be -0.28 which is
a low to moderate effect. However, this does express that there is a correlation
between media exposure is associated with decreased levels of body satisfaction.
The mean effect size for internalization of the thin ideal was found to be -0.39,
which also shows that media exposure is associated with an increase in the
internalization of the thin ideal. For eating behaviors and beliefs, the mean effect
size was -.30 suggesting media exposure is associated with higher eating disorder
symptomatology. Overall, Grabe, Hyde, and Ward found that across the board
there was a linkage between media exposure and womens general body
dissatisfaction. The correlations were only moderate, but they suggest that because
the experiment designs only contained small exposures to the media this would
account for the small effect size. Media exposure could have a larger effect over
long periods of time, but the experiments included in the meta-analysis did not test
this. (Grabe, Hyde, & Ward, 2008)
Stice, Spangler, Agras suggest that repeated exposure to the utra-slendor
models in the media promotes an internalization of the thin-ideal body image for
women and may also alter normative perceptions regarding the average body
dimensions of women (2001). Stice, Spangler, and Agras had 219 adolescent
females from two private high schools in the San Francisco Bay area that ranged
from 13 to 17 years old. The participants were administered a physical and mental
health survey prior to the experiment, ten months later, and twenty months later.
Each subject was assigned a number to ensure confidentiality. By random
assignment, 45% of the participants received a subscription to Seventeen
magazine, and the remaining 55% were the control group and received no
subscription. The researchers had nine measurements during the experiment:
magazine exposure manipulation check, body mass, perceived pressure to be thin,
social support, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, dieting, negative
effect, and bulimic symptoms. Their main goal of the experiment was to determine

is exposure to the media would create long-lasting effects on the participant. The
results showed that the experimental group had a significantly higher magazine
exposure and that no outside media influence compromised the control group. The
average participant in the experimental group was exposed to about 30 more
minutes of media exposure than the control group, which totaled 6 hours and 15
minutes more than the control group over the entire experiment. To assess the
other components of measurement in the study, like the body dissatisfaction,
perceived measure to be thing, and bulimic symptoms, a random regression growth
curve was used. However, after the results were analyzed there were no significant
effects of long-term exposure to the magazines. Stice, Spangler, and Agras suggest
that perhaps the participants were too old to be affected by the media because they
had already internalized the thin-ideal. They also speculate that exposure to such
media may only have short-lived affects, except for adolescents who are initially
vulnerable. (Stice, Spangler, & Agras, 2001
In this experiment, Luff and Gray hypothesized that the thin-ideal being
portrayed in magazines has increased over time from 1956 to 2005. They paid
particular attention to Seventeen magazine and YM, and hypothesized that: 1.
Written content regarding dieting would increase, 2. Written content emphasizing
exercise would increase, 3. Written content promoting dieting as well as exercise
would increase, 4. The average body size of cover models would decrease, 5. The
percentage of covers featuring at least three-fourths of a model's body each year
would increase. Seventeen and YM were chosen because they mainly target
adolescents and were in circulation for the entire time frame of 1965 to 2005. The
Contour Drawing Rating Scale was used to assess the body size of the cover
models. Three female undergraduates were trained in using the Contour Drawing
Rating Scale and were uniformed of the hypothesis of the study. These raters
assessed the cover models of the magazines. The articles within the magazines
were clearly defined, for example articles were considered written sections over
one page in length, minor items were written pieces less than one page in length,
and advertisements were items of any size placed in the magazine by an outside
source. Seventeen had 155 magazines rated, YM had 157 magazines rated. The
various amounts of written pieces about dieting/exercise were totaled from all of
the magazines. Luff and Gray found that YM had a statistically significant linear
relationship between year and number of written pieces about diet/exercise.
Seventeen was found to have a curvilinear relationship. Both magazines possessed
a peak in written pieces about dieting in the 1980s. YM was also found to have a
linear relationship between year and the increased body size of the cover model.
There was no statistically significant evidence of increased exposure of the cover
model over time. Luff and Gray interpreted this information in way that over the

years our culture has not only become more thin conscious but health conscious.
The increase in written pieces about diet and exercise could reflect the increase in
education about healthy lifestyles. The increase in written pieces doesnt
necessarily imply an increase in internalization of the thin-ideal. Luff and Gray
express that the findings are complex in that the message being sent by the
magazine could be either promoting the thin-ideal or promoting healthy living, but
they could not determine for sure which one was correct. (Luff & Gray, 2009)
Cusumano and Thompson sought out to test if the body shape and breast size
promoted by popular womens magazines had a correlation in predicting the body
dissatisfaction, eating dysfunction, and self-esteem in the women who read them.
They had 175 female students from the University of South Florida participate in
the study. Their measurements of data included body image, eating disturbance,
awareness and internalization of body shape ideals, self-esteem, and identification
and quantification of magazine exposure. For measuring body image Cusumano
and Thompson used the Eating Disorder Inventory Body Dissatisfaction (EDIBD) scale and the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire- Physical
Appearance Evaluation (MBSRQ-PAE) scale. For eating disturbance, the Eating
Disorder Inventory Bulimia scale and the Eating Disorder Inventory Drive for
Thinness scale was used. For awareness and internalization of body shape ideals,
the Sociocultual Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire was used. The
Rosenberg Self Esteem Inventory was used to measure self-esteem and the
Participant Magazine Assessment Tool was created to identify and quantify the
amount of exposure to the magazine by each participant. The procedure involved
administering a consent form and each of the previously mentioned questionnaires
and surveys to each participant, followed by a debriefing by the researchers. The
cover models were then assessed for the thinness of their body shapes. They were
rated on a scale from 1 to 9, one meaning the thinnest figure and 9 meaning the
heaviest figure. All facial features and hair styles were removed from the images as
to reduce bias. The breast size of the models was also assessed, but with a 1 to 5
scale, 1 meaning smaller breast size and 5 meaning the largest breast size.
Cusumano and Thompson, after evaluating over 30 popular magazines, split the
sample into two groups: thinnest and less curvaceous models and slightly heavier
and more curvaceous models. It should be noted that no magazine was rated over
4.0 in heaviness of its models; therefore, all of the magazines portrayed models
as thin and so all exposure to this type of media would emphasis the thin ideal. The
exposure to the magazines by each participant was determined by multiplying the
time (in minutes) spent viewing the magazine by the number of images pertaining
to dieting or thinness. The results concluded that there was no significant effect of
exposure to the magazines. However, awareness of body shape ideals was a

significant correlate of disturbance and internalization of social norms of

appearance accounted for significant and substantial variance. The lack of
significant results could have resulted from the inability to find adequate images to
accurately assess for body shapes. Also, because none of the magazines printed
covers with models over a 4.0 rating, the scale should have been much smaller to
account for the smaller range. Cosumano and Thompson suggest that perhaps the
constant bombardment of ultra-thin pictures desensitizes its viewers to the thin
ideal and perhaps does not have as high of an effect on their body dissatisfaction
and body image. (Cusumano and Thompson, 1997)
Borzekowski and Bayer discuss how the level of media access granted to
adolescents in the current times is drastically higher than that of the past. Teen
magazines are extremely popular with adolescents, and not only do they spend
time looking at the physical magazine, but also view their companion websites in
large amounts. The internet is a whole new realm of media exposure. Borzekowski
and Bayer state that although the internet is mainly used by adolescents to
socialize, more than two-thirds of adolescents have used the internet for health
information, either personal or academic reasons. The internet provides people
with positive information about leading a healthy lifestyle, but it also provides
access to harmful websites called pro-ana and pro-mia. These sites provide
tips, tricks, and advice to those interested in becoming anorexic or bulimic. There
are not precautionary measures to stop people from viewing these sites, so if
adolescents at their impressionable ages come across these pages, it could be
detrimental. It has been found that young females who read beauty and fashion
magazines are more likely to reduce their caloric intake to 1200 or less calories per
day. They are also said to have greater body dissatisfaction and greater drive for
thinness. Also, women who try to imitate the women on television are at much
greater risk for anorexia and bulimia. However, there is one positive to increased
media exposure; if a person is exposed to more sports related media or even idolize
the women on television or in magazines, they were much more likely to
participate in physical activity. In qualitative research, when women were asked
what sorts of cultural aspects influenced their body image and self-esteem, they
reported the media as the main influence. Borzekowski and Bayer found that
across studies, the media was most influential in those people already at risk for
eating disorders. Those who were most affected by the thin-ideal images were
those who were at risk for weight concerns. Overall, they found that exposure to
the media in which the ideal woman was portrayed as ultra-think definitely makes
an impact on adolescents who are already vulnerable to social and cultural
pressures. They also found that media exposure overall has increased, with the
mass amounts of information on the Internet. (Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005)

The previously critiqued experimental studies were extremely telling in their

results. Although some of the studies reported no significant correlation between
the media and body dissatisfaction and body image, they still were able to express
the shift in our cultures view of the ideal body. Most of the studies concluded that
media exposure to a vulnerable audience creates a larger impact than those who are
more stable. However, the constant bombardment of the thin-ideal is bound to
influence its audience in one way or the other, whether its in a negative or positive
way. The studies seemed to lack an adequate longitudinal study, where they would
test the long term effects of media exposure. The longest amount of time that the
studies ran was 15 months. A longitudinal study starting with adolescents and
following their exposure through young adulthood could result in telling
conclusions. The examination of the change in body shape and body mass in
models over time was startling in that models used to only be 8% less body mass
than the normal woman, but now is more than 23% less. The ideal body image is
becoming more and more unattainable, but even more and more prominent in our
society.
The thin ideal being portrayed in the media is a constant reminder of the
negative body image being taught to adolescents in our culture and then continuing
to be supported by the rest of our population. Media access is at its prime, with a
click of a mouse any and all information is accessible. With sites like pro-ana
and pro-mia the effects of the thin ideal are reaching a new extreme. The
amount of diet and exercise articles in magazines has been increasing with every
New Year. The BMI of the cover models has been decreasing with every New
Year. If we do not take drastic measures to stop this trend, more and more cases of
eating disorders are going to spring up. Body image and self-esteem are definitely
affected by the media, in that people compare their actual physical body to those in
the media and experience guilt or shame and thus body dissatisfaction. Not only
should the health of the viewers be of concern, but the health of the models who
are themselves at risk for eating disorders should be taken into consideration.
Perhaps more studies should be done on the effects of the increasing thin ideal
on the models used to portray it. The long term effects of the media should be
researched more thoroughly, and perhaps examine the body image and self-esteem
of the generation in which the thin ideal began. If we cannot come together as a
society and change the way we perceive beauty, there will be serious health
consequences, not only in the physical sense but also the mental sense.

WORK CITED
Cusumano, Dale, and J. Kevin Thompson. "Body Image and Body Ideals in
Magazines: Exposure, Awareness, and Internalization." Sex Roles 37.9/10 (1997):
701-721.
"General Information Text." National Eating Disorders Association. 30 Apr.
2009 <http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp
Grabe, Shelly, Janet Hyde, and L. Monique Ward. "The Role of the Media in
Body Image Concerns among Women: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental and
Correlational Studies." Psychological Bulletin 134.3 (2008): 460-476.
Luff, Gina, and James Gray. "Complex messages regarding a thin ideal
appearing in teenage girls magazines from 1956 to 2005." Body Image 6.2
(2009): 133-136. 29 Apr. 2009 <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science
Stice, Eric, Diane Spangler, and W. Stewart Agras. "Exposure to MediaPortrayed Thin-Ideal Images Adversely Affects Vulnerable Girls: A Longitudinal
Study." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 20.3 (2001)