Summary
Contents
Subject index
The Media and Body Image draws together literature from sociology, gender studies, and psychology; brings together new empirical work on both media representations and audience responses; and offers a broad discussion of this topic in the context of socio-cultural change, gender politics, and self-identity.
From Representation to Effects
From Representation to Effects
This chapter explores the psychological mechanisms through which media representations of body shape could influence public conceptions. A number of writers have postulated that the mass media play a key role in creating and exacerbating the phenomenon of body dissatisfaction (Silverstein, Perdue et al., 1986; Silverstein, Peterson et al., 1986; Silverstein et al., 1988) and, in consequence, contributing to the increase in prevalence of eating disorders (Garner et al., 1980). The value of slimness represents a relatively recent shift in the beauty ideals of the West (Polivy and Herman, 1987). Being fat has been found to be associated with a range of negative attributes, including self-indulgence, lethargy and slovenliness (Glassner, 1988; Ogden, 1992). Thinness, in contrast, is presented ...
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