The Onion Jan 29, 2013

David Frederick Assistant Professor Chapman University

Is there a body image crisis? Prevalence of Body Dissatisfaction by Gender, Sexual Orientation, BMI, and Culture

Barbie recently celebrated her 50th Anniversary!

Barbie recently celebrated her 50th Anniversary!

of presenting an unattainable body ideal

The ugly truth about beauty: “Lookism”

Bratz Dolls Ever earlier sexualization of girls bodies

Social Pressures and Objectification Produce Body Dissatisfaction Media, Peer, Objectification Parental Pressures

Surveillance Social Comparison

Body Dissatisfaction

Unhealthy Behaviors Associated with Body Image Dissatisfaction

Constructions of desirability: status versus appearance

G. I. Joe and Batman

G.I. Joe and Batman Get Buff

The “Ideal” Male Body ¨ 

Men also face pressure to alter their bodies ¤  Underweight

men stigmatized for not being powerful ¤  Obese men stigmatized for being fat ¨ 

Ken = 1/50

Men’s

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨ 

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨  RQ3: Gay men more dissatisfied than heterosexual men ¨ 

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨  RQ3: Gay men more dissatisfied than heterosexual men ¨  RQ4: Media has a powerful effect ¨  RQ5: Body image dissatisfaction is largely Western ¨ 

Limitations Past Research ¨ 

College samples

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Small community samples

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Biased samples by sexual orientation

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No nationally representative studies

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Surveys ¤  2005

Body Image and Sex

¤  2006

Sex and Love

¤  2008

Relationships and Infidelity

¤  2009

Money, Relationships, and Sex

¤  2010

Stress, Sex, and Success

¤  2012

Attitudes Towards Reality TV

Ns = 10,000 – 75,000

Example Publications: Frederick, Peplau, Lever (2007; 2008); Frederick, Lever, Peplau (2007); Lever, Frederick, Laird, & Sadeghi-Azar (2007); Lever, Frederick, & Peplau (2006); Peplau & Frederick, et al. (2009).

Example Items ¨  ¨ 

1 = Very dissatisfied, 4 = Neutral, 7 = Very Satisfied How satisfied are you with your overall… ¤  physical appearance ¤  weight ¤  muscle

Example Items ¨  ¨ 

¨ 

1 = Very dissatisfied, 4 = Neutral, 7 = Very Satisfied How satisfied are you with your overall… ¤  physical appearance ¤  weight ¤  muscle 1 = Strongly Disagree, 4 = Strongly Agree ¤  ¤  ¤ 

¤ 

Objectification: I feel that people judge me based on my looks Surveillance: During the day, I often think about how I look  Social Comparison: At social events, I compare my appearance to the appearance of others Media Pressure: I feel pressure to have a more attractive body from magazines and television

Sample (Only Partly WEIRD) ¨ 

41 Sites (Half College / Half Community) N = 7436 ¤  Translated and back translated ¤ 

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Good: ¤  North

America (2060 - 6) ¤  Europe (2527 - 16) ¤  Asia (1703 - 12) [Rural Malaysia] ¤  Australasia (705 - 4) ¨ 

Weak: ¤  South

America (236 - 1) ¤  Africa (205 - 2) [Zulu Population] ¨ 

8 Western/Local media exposure measure

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨  RQ3: Gay men more dissatisfied than heterosexual men ¨  RQ4: Media has a powerful effect ¨  RQ5: Body image dissatisfaction is largely Western ¨ 

Percent Who Felt Overall Dissatisfied (2010) (1-3 on 7 point Likert Scale)

How satisfied are you with your overall physical appearance / weight / muscle? 1 = Very dissatisfied, 4 = Neutral, 7 = Very Satisfied Sample ns = 11964, 12359 respectively

Gender Differences in Appearance Pressures

Objectification: I feel that people judge me based on my looks Surveillance: During the day, I often think about how I look  Social Comparison: At social events, I compare my appearance to the appearance of others Media Pressure: I feel pressure to have a more attractive body from magazines and television

Percent Hiding Aspect of Body During Sex (stomach; chest; butt/thighs; genitals)

52 39 20

44

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨  RQ3: Gay men more dissatisfied than heterosexual men ¨  RQ4: Media has a powerful effect ¨  RQ5: Body image dissatisfaction is largely Western ¨ 

Percent Dissatisfied with Weight

Men: BMI Linear = -.45, Curvilinear = -.10 Women: BMI Linear = -.48, Curvilinear = .03

Percent Dissatisfied with Appearance

Percent So Uncomfortable Avoid Wearing A Swimsuit in Public

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨  RQ3: Gay men more dissatisfied than heterosexual men ¨  RQ4: Media has a powerful effect ¨  RQ5: Body image dissatisfaction is largely Western ¨ 

Small differences between gay men and heterosexual men in percent dissatisfied across five studies

Percent Indicating High Levels of Appearance-Related Pressures (Agree-Strongly Agree)

Controversies over “known truths” about body image RQ1: Women substantially more dissatisfied than men ¨  RQ2: Weight is powerful predictor of female body image, but not male body image ¨  RQ3: Gay men more dissatisfied than heterosexual men ¨  RQ4: Media has a powerful effect ¨  RQ5: Body image dissatisfaction is largely Western ¨ 

Thinness Preferred? Evolutionary Mystery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV7B4Uo6rmE&feature=related

Sample (Only Partly WEIRD) ¨ 

41 Sites (Half College / Half Community) N = 7436 ¤  Translated and back translated ¤ 

¨ 

Good: ¤  North

America (2060 - 6) ¤  Europe (2527 - 16) ¤  Asia (1703 - 12) [Rural Malaysia] ¤  Australasia (705 - 4) ¨ 

Weak: ¤  South

America (236 - 1) ¤  Africa (205 - 2) [Zulu Population] ¨ 

8 Western/Local media exposure measure

Valuation of Fat Differs By Culture (Swami & Frederick et al., 2010, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin)

Post-hoc LSD tests All 41 sites p < .05 IDEAL CURRENT

IDEAL

Tremendous Variability: Malaysia, Ghana, South Africa

>

Near Universality of Preferences for Muscularity (Frederick & Swami et al, in prep)

Muscle Silhouette Measure

Post-hoc LSD tests 37 out of 41 sites p < .05 CURRENT

IDEAL

Variation in Most Attractive Body

Xiamen Hong Kong Rural Malaysia

Lots of places

Turkey Malaysia Phillipines Indonesia

Michigan India Croatia South Africa Poland Illinois Idaho

Concluding Comments ¨ 

Dissatisfaction with weight is widespread… in all groups ¤  Particularly

underweight/obese men ¤  Overweight/Obese women ¨ 

Gender differences and sexual orientation differences in body satisfaction appear small ¤  Except

when it comes to sex life and perceived social pressures

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Weight is strongly linked to dissatisfaction for men and women, but patterns differ ¤  Linear

and curvilinear associations

Satisfaction with Partner’s Body ¨ 

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1-7 Scale (1 = Very Dissatisfied; 4 = Neutral; 7 = Very Satisfied) PERCENT SATISFIED ¤  All

Women: 77% ¤  All Men: 73% ¤  Young

Women: 85% ¤  Young Men: 79%

Thanks! David Frederick ¨  Assistant Professor, Chapman University ¨  [email protected] ¨ 

https://sites.google.com/site/ davidfrederickpsychology/