Angela[dropcap]S[/dropcap]hould the media portray a more diverse body image ideal in order to protect women against mental and physical damage?
Body image ideals are subject to change and dependent on sociocultural factors. In current Western societies, for quite a while the body image ideal for women has been a thin, underweight ideal. The media has a great influence on this ideal by attributing (models) underweight bodies – also referred to as ‘size zero’- as positive.
However, being underweight is associated with health risks such as brittle bones, constant illness and fatigue. Exposure to images that represent the thin beauty ideals are furthermore directly linked to depressive mood, lower self esteem and eating disorders among others. From this I argue that it might be a good thing to change the current Western perceptions of attractiveness to protect women from mental and physical damage.
The above video discusses a recent study that concludes with practicle implications to change the current Western perception of beauty.
Read the full study here:
Portraying Models That Are Not Extremely Underweight As Being Attractive May Help Change Perceptions of Attractiveness
Question
1. Should women be protected against the current dangerous beauty ideal?
2. Do you tink changing perceptions of beauty is the solution in protecting women’s mental and physical health?
