Body Image, Relationship Implications

First impressions are substantially based on readily apparent physical features, and in this process, physically attractive people are perceived to possess more socially desirable personality characteristics than physically unattractive individuals. Due to this physical attractiveness stereotype, matching attractiveness standards is an important personal goal for many people, and it significantly shapes self-perceptions. Body image, which is also referred to as body concept, is a person's perception of her or his physical self. A person's evaluation of her or his body image is referred to as body esteem. Body image is an essential component of both personal and social relationships, and it varies between the sexes and across cultures and situations.

Although social scientists once assumed that people perceive and evaluate their bodies as a unified whole, research conducted beginning in the 1980s revealed that body image is multidimensional. For many women in North American culture, the most important dimension of body image is weight concern, while for men upper body strength is a defining dimension of the physical self.

Physical attractiveness has historically been a more important quality for women than for men to possess. Given the high value placed on female physical attractiveness, women frequently express concerns about being rejected based on their appearance. Starting at a very young age, females are taught that their body as an object is a significant factor in how others judge their overall value. In contrast, males are taught to view their bodies

as dynamic instruments of action, and they are judged more positively if they engage in physical activities. For boys, their ability to adeptly move their bodies through physical space is an important contributor to their overall self-esteem. In adulthood, power and function are important aspects of male body image, and the male body-as-object is judged more positively if it is muscular.

In romantic relationships, although physical attractiveness is a more valued commodity for women than for men, this relationship is reversed in homosexual romantic relationships: Physical attractiveness is a more important quality for gay men than it is for lesbians. This finding suggests that men, regardless of their sexual orientation, place greater value on the physical appearance of a potential romantic partner than do either lesbians or heterosexual women. The greater scrutiny of the physical self received by men's romantic partners than women's romantic partners may well explain why heterosexual women and gay men respectively judge their own bodies more negatively than do lesbians and heterosexual men.

Among heterosexual adults, the gender difference in placing importance on physical attractiveness is most apparent when people are contemplating long-term romantic relationships rather than casual short-term sexual encounters. When considering partners for casual short-term sexual relationships, women, like men, place relatively high value on physical attractiveness. Although men place more importance on physical attractiveness than women when evaluating potential long-term romantic partners, there is some evidence that this gender difference may be diminishing due to women achieving more economic equality in their careers. In other words, as heterosexual women achieve more financial independence, they may look for more beauty in men similarly to the historical manner in which men have emphasized beauty in their romantic partners.

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