Interethnic Influencing Factors Regarding Buttocks Body Image in Women from Nigeria, Germany, USA and Japan

Abstract

Background: Body image research deals a lot with awareness of the body as an entity. Studies that consider individual anatomical aspects and place them in an intercultural context are rarely present. Methods: For this purpose, general data, body perception and judgment of body images from 2163 (48% female and 52% male) participants from Germany, Nigeria, the USA and Japan were evaluated as part of a survey. Results: There were clear differences in the personal body image of the participants’ own buttocks, the buttocks as a beauty ideal and the way in which dissatisfaction was dealt with in different countries. In addition to sexual well-being (importance score: 0.405 a.u.), the country of origin (0.353), media consumption (0.042) and one’s own weight (0.069) were also identified as influencing factors for satisfaction with one’s own buttocks. A clear evolution could be derived regarding a WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) of well below 0.7, which was consistently favored by the participants but also propagated by influencers through images (p < 0.001). In this context, participants who indicated celebrities as role models for the buttocks showed a correspondingly high level of dissatisfaction with their own buttocks (R = −0.207, p < 0.001, ρ = −0.218). Conclusion: Overall, a highly significant correlation was shown between the consumption frequency of Instagram, TikTok and pornography with the negative perception of women’s own buttocks.

Cognitive Defusion and Psychological Flexibility Predict Negative Body Image in the Chinese College Students: Evidence from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

“…For persons with body image concerns, biased information processing could be influenced and reflected on several aspects, such as excessive attention towards perceived flaws in one’s body, recall chiefly about negative past experiences about one’s body, and fatness-based interpretations of ambiguous stimuli [ 21 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. Further, culture may modulate negative body image thinking, for instance, body dissatisfaction thoughts and how thoughts occur [ 15 ]. There are several intervention methods developed to intervene with negative anxiety disorder and negative body image; however, so far, most research was conducted in Western culture [ 19 , 26 , 48 ].…”

“…It is well known that individuals’ attitude toward their body image is rooted in their social cognition and culture [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. While western culture emphasizes individual responsibility in different life domains, including self-management and weight control [ 16 ], this is less highlighted in the Eastern cultures.…”