Impact of Fashion Magazines on Women’s Body Image

Impact of Fashion Magazines on Women’s Body Image

Body Image and Dissatisfaction

Body image refers to a multifaceted construct representing behavior, thoughts, and feelings toward one’s body appearance, shape, and attractiveness (Huang et al., 2021). Various studies have been conducted to assess the impact of exposure to various media platforms on individuals’ assessment of their personal attractiveness and body size. The social comparison theory suggests that exposure to images of muscularity or thinness from the media results in individual comparison, leading to reduced body satisfaction and elevated body self-consciousness (Huang et al., 2021). Body dissatisfaction refers to the negative feelings and thoughts that one has in regard to their body and is often linked to physical appearance. On the other hand, body self-consciousness refers to the degree to which an individual assesses their bodies as an external observer would do. Continuous comparison of one’s own body to that of others who are considered standards of beauty is likely to have a negative impact on the mental health of individuals, as observed in an increase in depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, and eating disorders, and excessive exercise. Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com. We offer assignment help with high professionalism.

Fashion Magazines and the Thinness Ideal

Fashion and beauty magazines are said to have a negative effect on psychological health and body dissatisfaction among women and men in general. According to Swiatkowski (2016), fashion magazines exemplify societal expectations, norms, and ideals of thinness as the standard of beauty among women in Western society. Exposure to various fashion magazines that are focused on fashion and beauty is positively correlated with increased body dissatisfaction and negative moods among women. The pervasiveness of ideals about thinness causes individuals to internalize the thin ideal, and this causes them to have a major drive for small body sizes.

According to Tiggermann and Polivy (2018), fashion magazines have been pointed out as the major source of tremendously thin ideals among women. This is a point that has been backed by Huang et al. (2021), who claim that compared to television, images of bodies that have been shown in magazines tend to have a higher effect on body dissatisfaction among young girls. Thinness is typically depicted on a positive note in most media platforms, such as magazines, movies, and television. In print media like magazines, unrealistically beautiful and thin models are commonly used. Various studies have shown that beauty pageant contestants usually are thinner than the average woman, and this is said to be the standard of beauty among women in most Western societies (Saito, 2017). By comparing themselves to these models, individuals experience low self-esteem and high body dissatisfaction. Self-esteem is said to be among the moderating factors for body dissatisfaction upon viewing fashion magazines that emphasize the concept of fashion and beauty. Other researchers have focused on the role played by social media platforms on body dissatisfaction among women (Aparicio-Martinez et al., 2019; MurrayStuart & McLeanSiân, 2018). Generally, studies reveal that the media plays a crucial role in enhancing negative body image among women and young girls.

Through the media, individuals are able to gain access to information on trendy fashion, exercise, diet, and beauty information. Recently, the use of social media platforms has been on the rise, and this has resulted in a culture of selfies, where individuals strive to take the best photos of themselves and make use of filters to enhance their beauty and give the idea of being flawless (Derenne & Beresin, 2018). This culture is not only used in social media platforms but also in media platforms like magazines. Most fashion magazines make use of models and celebrities who are used as standards of beauty for women in society. The majority of the photos that are put in fashion magazines have been filtered and edited to give unrealistic beauty and thinness among these individuals. Individuals who are prone to making comparisons with other people are likely to experience elevated levels of body dissatisfaction, and this can cause them to have an unrealistic drive for thinness through indulging in excessive workouts or purging of food, which is common among individuals with anorexia (Derenne & Beresin, 2018).

Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorders

There has always been a link between media, body image, and eating disorders. Various studies claim that a naturally occurring comparison occurs when individuals view magazines on beauty, which causes them to have increased body dissatisfaction and excessive drive for thinness, which is done through excessive workouts and disordered eating (Tiggemann & Polivy, 2018). According to Morris and Katzman (2017), there is a recent prevalence of about 0.48 percent rate of anorexia nervosa among young girls aged 15 to 19, and about 5 percent of girls suffer from bulimia nervosa. Compared to previous years, the current generation has seen a surge in women’s concerns about body image, shape, size, and weight as they attempt to lose weight through dieting and excessive exercise. Such behaviors have posed a significant risk of eating disorders among women, and the media has been considered to play a vital role in enhancing body dissatisfaction issues.

Conclusion

The works of literature that have been used suggest that individuals tend to compare themselves with images of models and celebrities in beauty magazines, and this causes a high dissatisfaction that could result in an excessive drive for thinness through excessive workouts and disordered eating. The majority of the literature has focused on the impact of social media platforms on negative body image. This research will focus on the role played by print media, mainly fashion magazines, on the body image of women and girls.

References

Aparicio-Martinez, P., Perea-Moreno, A. J., Martinez-Jimenez, M. P., Redel-Macías, M. D., Pagliari, C., & Vaquero-Abellan, M. (2019). Social media, thin-ideal, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating attitudes: An exploratory analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(21), 4177.

Derenne, J., & Beresin, E. (2018). Body image, media, and eating disorders—a 10-year update. Academic Psychiatry, 42(1), 129-134.

Huang, Q., Peng, W., & Ahn, S. (2021). When media become the mirror: a meta-analysis on media and body image. Media psychology, 24(4), 437-489.

Morris, A. M., & Katzman, D. K. (2017). The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents. Pediatrics & Child Health, 8(5), 287-289.

MurrayStuart, B., & McLeanSiân, A. (2018). The contribution of social media to body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and anabolic steroid use among sexual minority men. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Saito, S. (2017). Media exposure and thin-ideal internalization in the drive for thinness in Japanese women. Communication Research Reports, 34(2), 89-97.

Swiatkowski, P. (2016). Magazine influence on body dissatisfaction: Fashion vs. health? Cogent social sciences, 2(1), 1250702.

Tiggemann, M., & Polivy, J. (2018). Upward and downward: Social comparison processing of thin idealized media images. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(3), 356-364.

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ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

For this second milestone in Module 2, you will complete your literature review in two steps.

In this first step, you will begin searching the library’s databases to locate at least five (5) scholarly articles that are related to your topic and research question. Be sure to identify articles that are relevant, but also significant to your topic (e.g., the first famous study conducted on your topic). You should include a mixture of older and more recent literature.

Impact of Fashion Magazines on Women’s Body Image

Please note that your research question may change slightly depending on what you find in the literature. This is completely normal! Drafting your research question at the beginning is intended to help you focus your search on literature related to your research question.

Sample Literature Review (Links to an external site.)

Submit your completed Processfolio #2. Download Processfolio #2 for this activity.

Complete the literature review template. Download the literature review template as you read through the articles. This handout is intended to help you identify key information, as well as similarities and differences between the studies you are reviewing. For this assignment, your instructor may require you to submit your literature review notes.