Do More Realistic Images of Fashion Models Boost a Woman's Self-Image?

in #psychology8 years ago

Look at a magazine rack in a store and you'll see many depictions of thin good-looking women that are used to represent an "ideal" for other women to strive towards. Many women who observably are less thin will have a negative psychological impact on their self-image as a result of the exposure to these idealized images.


Source: pixabay

Not only that, but many of us know that a lot of airbrushing and alterations are done to make the women look more appealing and "perfect" which creates a false image of what others actually look like. Many women thus try to make themselves into something else based on the fake touched up images they see.

To show how average and plus-sized media fashion models can have a more positive impact on psychological health for women who want to be thinner, a study was done with 49 such women whose heart rate was recorded while they randomly viewed 12 images of fashion models with various body types. They were also asked to answer some questions about themselves and the models.

Participants viewing thin models made more comparisons between themselves and models, but paid less attention and us remember less about the models, and also had less body satisfaction. However, average and plus-sized models generated fewer comparisons, where they instead paid more attention and remembered more, and came away with higher levels of body satisfaction.

Researchers concluded that this overwhelmingly demonstrates more positive self-assessment and psychological health from viewing body types that are more representative of the reality of most women, instead of the traditional thin model.

This is compelling evidence for the media to shift their representation of women in their media campaigns. Persistently presenting unrealistic models can be detrimental to a person's mental and physical health. Comparing one thing to another is a natural part of the thinking mind and evaluating, discerning, assessing, diagnosing, judging, etc., so we of course compare ourselves to others such as our physical appearances.

Media that more accurately represents reality will allow women to see themselves fitting in more with the overall representation of women, as opposed to feeling like they don't fit in because they are not a thin woman as well. This will generate more inclusive feelings and more positive self-assessment, such as body satisfaction. Maybe it also create less of a false-image for women to try to emulate, despite the likely continued use of airbrushing, etc.

This was about women, but the same can be said for men. As much as the "ideal" woman is thin as portrayed by much of the media, so too is the "ideal" man the musclular one, where many strive to emulate that ideal body image.


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Thanks for sharing your thought! And yes, ideal images of men and women have been constantly shown in the media. Where men have to be tall and muscular, women have to be slim with big breasts and hips. We have to be aware of of what the media has shaped us into. We no longer have the ability to construct our own thought. Sad but true

Yes indeed. Use some plastic surgery and make yourself different because who you are isn't good enough... Thanks for the feedback.

Short and sweet! Thanks.

I guess at one point when the absurdity of comparing ourselves to other in that fashion, maybe people will start to tear down the walls of judgement and push it to extremes of fashion and style unseen in human history for way too long?

Namaste :)

The extremes of fashion? What does that look like? hehe

I guess I would say that it looks like this place where fashion looses its name in the face of a radical self-expression of identity coming from within, well above and beyond the creative idea of exterior self-decoration to follow a style trend.

As to what it looks like. I see a vision of aboriginality, oneness with oneself and the land equating with a connection between a way of being with the land and and automatic extension of this way of living with the look a person lives with.

I loved those two questions! Thanks, have a wonderful weekend, thrive on and namaste :)

loved ur article krnel, have u heard of sick building syndrome I think this article is important https://steemit.com/health/@whitedolphin/is-your-building-making-you-sick#comments

Thanks, checked it out.

The media has really become a monster. But it's easier to stay in denial when it's all so entertaining. Just like with everything else... Greed. Why settle for less when you can only have the best. It's scary really.

Yeah, and then there's the plastic surgery...

And then some...

Comic books have been horrible showing off weird unnatural looks for both women and men

But as comics are a form a media, they are a changing with the times too which is great imo

Yikes, that Captain America is ugly. Worse than a bodybuilder with roid gut. Terrible perspective, too.

LOL, I remember that Captain America art, from like the 90s or early 2000s. It just looks so wrong.

Liefeld's art sucks. #fact.

I wear what I like and I'm happy with my family pack :P ,I dont care what people think lol

No. No matter what, it is human nature to always want more. As long as there is someone more beautiful than you are, you will always ask yourself what if.

Indeed, we can see examples of what others have and wonder what it would be like for us to have it. And some people do just that and try to "one up the Jones".

Maybe the female gender is more open about how they are being influenced and affected compared to males. Women are generally more emotional so it makes sense they are more affected, and more open to talk about how it affects them.

I think men are generally taught to shrug of such things, while women are taught to obsess over them. But is it nature or nurture at work?

Both. Bio-natural tendencies from different neurochemical processing such as emotional salience and the strength of such responses to incline them to be more affected. And also the social norms developed around those initial behaviors that get amplified to make it a subconscious or conscious focus to obsess over as you say.

In my opinion, as long as there are no 'rolls' of fat..then the person is NOT overweight.
if the parts that are supposed to curve out..curve out.
and the parts that are supposed to curve in..curve in..
then all is good.

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