Women of All Sizes Feel Badly About Their Bodies After Seeing Models

Women Of All Sizes Feel Badly About Their Bodies After Seeing Models ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2007) — The rail-thin blonde bombshell on the cover of a magazine makes all women feel badly about their own bodies despite the size, shape, height or age of the viewers. A new University of Missouri-Columbia study found that all women were equally and negatively affected after viewing pictures of models in magazine ads for just three minutes. "Surprisingly, we found that weight was not a factor. Viewing these pictures was just bad for everyone," said Laurie Mintz, associate professor of education, school and counseling psychology in the MU College of Education. "It had been thought that women who are heavier feel worse than a thinner woman after viewing pictures of the thin ideal in the mass media. The study results do not support that theory." The study measured how 81 women felt about themselves, from their body weight to their hair, and then exposed some of them to neutral images, while others viewed models in magazine ads for one to three minutes. The women were evaluated after seeing the images, and in all cases, the women who viewed the models reported a drop in their level of satisfaction with their own bodies. The study suggests that the majority of women would benefit from interventions aimed at decreasing the effects of the media, regardless of weight. Mintz said past interventions have targeted specific groups of women, such as those with pre-existing eating and body-image concerns, but this study suggests that reducing the acceptance of mass media images of women and trying to stop the social comparison process is important for helping all women. "Most women do not go to a counselor for advice; they look to Seventeen or Glamour magazine instead," Mintz said. "These unrealistic images of women, who are often airbrushed or partially computer generated, have a detrimental impact on women and how they feel about themselves." The study - "Predictors of Media Effects on Body Dissatisfaction in European American Women" - was published in this month's Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. Adapted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia.

Memo To Women's Magazine Editors: White Women Hate Themselves After Reading Your Magazines Dear Anna, Cindi, Kate, Glenda, Joanna, Brandon, Robbie, et. al: Did you know that the print advertisements that run alongside your articles extolling female empowerment, health and wellness, luxury handbags and the latest in laser-hair-removal techniques are hurting your readers' self-esteem? You could even say that, since the majority of your magazines are made up of ads -- not editorial copy -- these advertisements are undermining or outright negating all the progressive, reader- friendly work you and your staff do every month. Oh, you didn't hear? We know that with all the red-penciling of your writers' manuscripts, the jetting off to Milan for fashion shows and the endless parade of advertiser-ass-kissing industry events, you have little time, for, well reading. Well, allow us to get you up to speed. According to a new study conducted by three female researchers in the University of Missouri's educational system, after just one-to-three minutes of exposure to the type of advertising routinely found in magazines like yours, young women just entering adulthood, hate themselves more than they (probably) already do. See, there's this thing in America called the female "standard of beauty" and this standard of beauty, according to a 2003 study, is exemplified by a woman who wears a size 4 in the hips, 2 in the waist, and 10 in the bust, a standard, this new study explains, that "is both thinner than the average woman and genetically impossible for most women to attain". (Emphasis ours). And the repeated exposure to this standard seems to be harming women's self- esteem. Not familiar with the standard of which we speak? Pick up the most current issue of your magazine. You'll be able to find it, oh, about every three pages or so, if not more. But back to the issue at hand. You might think that the women who were reported to be negatively affected after viewing the advertisements in your magazines are the overly-sensitive, already-insecure sort (like, maybe they're a little thick in the hips!) You'd be wrong. The authors of this new study report that whether one of their participants was thin or heavy, confident or prone to self-objectification (that is, seeing themselves "objects to be looked at and evaluated"), the result was the same: the women "were equally affected by viewing the images of thin women" and "showed increased body dissatisfaction after viewing appearance-related images". Just to put this in context for you: The study was made up of 81 European-American women, split up into two groups. One, a control group, looked at ten "neutral" advertisements (that is, ads with images that did not include people in them). The other group looked at five "neutral" advertisements and five "appearance- related" advertisements (all of which pictured "European American women who exemplify cultural ideals of thinness and attractiveness."). Imagine that. After viewing just five ads -- your ad sales departments, will, of course, be able to explain that your magazine routinely carries many, many dozens of such ads per issue -- these impressionable young college students felt a lot less positively about themselves. We realize you have important work to do, but we're glad we've been able to share this information with you. And if we could offer just one more thought: You might want to have your lead assistant call up Belle Fleur and send over one of those hundred-dollar, clustered bouquets of pastel blooms to the 81 undergrads who opted to take part in the study. After all, we know how much you care about your readers, and we're sure they'll appreciate the gesture. Respectfully Yours, Anna & Moe Women Of All Sizes Feel Badly About Their Bodies After Seeing Models [ScienceDaily] 'Post' Bad Bosses: A Lady Mag Editor Was Mean! [Gawker] 2:45 PM ON FRI MAR 30 2007

Skinny Models In Ads Cause Immediate Anger, Depression In Women ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 1999) — Magazine ads featuring female fashion models have an immediate negative impact on a woman's self-esteem, according to a University of Toronto study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Led by Dr. Leora Pinhas, researchers asked 118 female university students about their mood, body satisfaction and eating patterns. One week later, the women were asked the same questions immediately after viewing a series of ads, with half of the women being exposed to ads from popular women's magazines while the others looked at images which contained no pictures of people. "The experimental group responded immediately with depression and hostility after viewing the "ideal women" shown in these ads," says Pinhas, a lecturer in U of T's department of psychiatry. "And this was only after viewing 20 pictures. Think about how many hundreds of photos are in some of these fashion and lifestyle magazines, not to mention billboards, television and movies." Pinhas says Western culture needs to rethink how it portrays the female body so more women can feel comfortable about themselves and not be pushed towards eating disorders. "I know I'd be hard pressed to find a young woman who felt good about her body, never dieted and ate normally." Pinhas is also director of the Eating Disorders Treatment Program at York County Hospital. CONTACT: Steven de Sousa U of T Public Affairs (416) 978-5949 e-mail: [email protected] Adapted from materials provided by University Of Toronto Pressure To Be More Muscular May Lead Men To Unhealthy Behaviors ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2006) — Women are not the only ones in American society who feel pressure to achieve the perfect body. See also: New research suggests that men feel pressure to have muscular bodies, and that influence can lead some to symptoms of eating disorders, pressure to use steroids, and an unhealthy preoccupation with weightlifting. “Men see these idealized, muscular men in the media and feel their own bodies don't measure up,” said Tracy Tylka, author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University 's Marion campus. “For some men, this can lead to unhealthy and potentially dangerous behaviors to try to reach that ideal.” Tylka presented her research at a symposium August 10 in New Orleans at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Of course, women have been pressured for decades to achieve a thin ideal, but this is a more recent phenomenon for men, Tylka said. “Instead of seeing a decrease in objectification of women in society, there has just been an increase in the objectification of men. And you can see that in the media today,” she said. To test how this emphasis on muscularity has affected men, Tylka studied 285 college men. She asked them a variety of questions to determine how much pressure to be muscular that they felt from family, friends, romantic partners and the media. The findings showed that the more pressure the men felt, the more they felt they had to live up to the ideals. “They start to believe that the only attractive male body is a muscular one. And when they internalize that belief, they judge themselves on that ideal and probably come up short, because it is not a realistic portrayal of men,” she said. While other studies have suggested men can become preoccupied with their muscles, Tylka said this research shows men are also very worried about their body fat. “Not only are men being targeted to be muscular, but they also feel they have to be very lean to show off their muscularity.” And the more dissatisfied that men in the study felt with their muscularity and body fat, the more they engaged in unhealthy behaviors, findings showed. For example, men who were not happy with their muscles were more likely to say that their weight-training schedule interfered with other parts of their life, that others think they work out too much, that they used protein supplements, and even that they thought about using steroids. Men who were dissatisfied with their body fat were more likely to report symptoms of eating disorders, such as avoiding certain foods, being terrified about being overweight, and being preoccupied with a desire to be thinner. Tylka said there is a difference between men who exercise and watch their diet for their health, and those who do so because they feel pressure to change their bodies. “It is good to exercise, to lift weights, and to eat the foods that make your body function well,” she said. “But it is not good to be preoccupied with gaining muscle mass. Those that are preoccupied are not working out to get healthier, they are working out to bulk up. They are not eating healthy, they are cutting out major food groups like carbohydrates and eating massive amounts of protein.” While men in American society are feeling increasing pressures to achieve the perfect body, Tylka said women still get a disproportionate share of the pressure. “Women still get objectified more than men, but men are feeling the pressure too.” Adapted from materials provided by Ohio State University.