This paper examines how Western media and advertising perpetuate unrealistic body image stereotypes for both women and men. It traces the historical evolution of the thin female ideal and the increasingly muscular male ideal, drawing on studies of magazine content, model weight statistics, and cultural comparisons. The paper reviews research linking repeated exposure to these stereotypes with lower self-esteem, disordered eating, and steroid abuse. It also highlights a notable disconnect: the ideals promoted by advertisers often do not reflect what members of the opposite gender actually find attractive, suggesting that these stereotypes serve commercial rather than social functions.
The media's influence in Western culture is pervasive. Through magazines, television, and print advertisements such as billboards, advertisers have consistently adopted gender stereotypes in terms of body image and use these stereotypes to sell their products. Although it is certainly no secret that the stereotypical female ideal is slender to the point of being unhealthy, the body image presented as the male ideal is similarly unrealistic. Men are consistently shown an overly muscular, perfectly lean physique as the stereotypical ideal to which they must aspire. In considering the effects of such unrealistic stereotypical ideals, it is important to first examine what those ideals actually are before discussing the effects they produce. It is also an interesting extension of the issue to consider the effects of the female stereotype on men, and vice versa.
The primary factor that typifies female stereotypes in the media is thinness. The female ideal presented through advertising — and through other media, such as celebrity culture — is consistently thin. This stereotype has been evolving over the decades. The ideal presented by the media to women forty or fifty years ago was not nearly as extreme. Women in advertising, and women celebrities, were more voluptuous. What, then, is the female ideal presented by advertisers to women today?
A 1999 study into advertising stereotypes and women's weight found that 94% of magazine covers showed a woman who represented the ideal of being overly thin. "A strong emphasis has been placed on the bodily appearance of women that equates a thin body to beauty, sexuality, and social status" (Malkin, Wornian, & Chrisler, 1999). Given that this image appears so consistently — on 94% of covers — we can conclude that this represents the stereotypical ideal female as presented to women magazine readers.
The ideal of thinness for women has evolved over the decades in a direction that runs counter to demographic reality. Rather than evolving in line with actual population trends (women are, on average, getting heavier), the stereotypical ideal presented by the media has actually become more slender. Over the last 30 years, the weight of fashion models — whose entire professional role rests upon embodying the ideal female — has decreased by 23%, while the average woman's weight has increased by 15%. Models themselves carry weights significantly below what corresponds to a healthy standard; the majority of models have a weight and a BMI that is 15 to 23% below the average for women of the same age.
An analysis of advertising over the course of the twentieth century reveals a clear trend toward a thinner stereotype:
"At the turn of the century, an attractive woman was voluptuous and heavy; by the 'flapper' period of the 1920s, the correct look for women was rail-thin and flat-chested. The ideal body type changed again in the 1940s, when Second World War 'pinup girls,' such as Betty Grable, exemplified a heavier standard… British model Twiggy introduced a very thin silhouette again. This extremely thin standard of feminine physical attractiveness continues to this day." (Aronson et al., 2004, p. 284).
Aronson (2004) also notes a possible explanation for the extremely thin female stereotype that dominates media in Western cultures. A study conducted in 1992 found a strong correlation between the reliability of a food supply and the female stereotypical ideal that dominates that culture. In parts of the world with an insecure food supply, a heavier, more voluptuous female ideal predominates. In countries where the food supply is never in question, the extremely thin stereotype is most commonly observed.
The image most often used to represent the stereotypical ideal female is that of the Barbie doll. Introduced in the 1950s, Barbie has, for half a century, been an object of both adulation and contempt. Alternately heralded as presenting the ideal female type and derided as promoting an unhealthy body image, the Barbie doll has a long history of polarizing opinion. "As the ideal Western woman with long legs and arms, a small waist, and a high, round chest, Barbie represented every little girl's dream of the perfect mature body."
The effects of the media's representation of the stereotypical ideal female have been varied and far-reaching. A significant body of research has examined self-esteem as it relates to women's inability to measure up to the ideal female form. Adolescents and women who read magazines featuring this female ideal often have lower self-esteem than women less frequently exposed to these stereotypes. The idealized female form is so unrealistic for most people that it produces a persistent feeling of inadequacy.
Research into mood has also shown an interactive relationship between mood and women's perception of the ideal female form. When women are in a negative mood, they are more likely to fixate on the stereotype and measure themselves against it, leading to lower self-esteem and a cycle of constant comparison and feelings of inadequacy (Botta, 2003).
The presentation of the ideal female stereotype also has consequences in terms of eating disorders in parts of the world where this ideal predominates. Since the ideal is so far removed from what is normal and can rarely be attained by healthy means, rates of anorexia nervosa and bulimia have risen. The only way most women can approach this stereotype of beauty is through starvation or disordered eating. Research (Botta, 2003) has shown that rates of eating disorders may be predicted based upon the magazine-reading habits of the women studied. If subjects were repeatedly exposed to images of unrealistically thin models, the prevalence of anorexia and bulimia was greater. "Overall, magazine reading and processing accounted for… 28.0% of variance for girls' anorexic behaviors… 27.5% for girls' bulimic behaviors… 23.4% for girls' body satisfaction… [and] 41.6% for girls' drive to be thin" (Botta, 2003). Ironically, men do not perceive thinness as the same prerequisite for attractiveness in women that women themselves do.
"Growing pressure on men to achieve muscular physique"
"Male body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, and steroid abuse"
The stereotypes for body types presented in advertising in Western cultures are unrealistic, and most often not what is perceived as attractive by the opposite gender. Additionally, these stereotypes have significant negative impacts on body image and self-esteem, which manifest in eating disorders and steroid abuse. Understanding the origins and mechanisms of these stereotypes is an important step toward challenging their hold on popular culture and mitigating the harm they cause.
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