Motivations for Reading Beauty and Fashion Magazines and Anorexic Risk in College-Age Women

Abstract

A growing body of research has linked the reading of women's beauty and fashion magazines with the presence of eating-disordered thinking. Most of this research has focused on the relationship between the frequency with which women read and their potential anorexic risk. In the present study, the authors explore the connection between the motivations for reading and the presence of anorexic cognitions. Specifically, this study of 536 college-age women sought to determine which reading motivations might be the most p redictive of anorexic risk and whether those motivations would be differentially related to reading frequency and to scores on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (MACS). To test the simultaneous contribution of the possible reading motivations on the two outcomes of interest, a structural equation model using AMOS 4.0 was generated. The findings from the model indicate that reading frequency and anorexic risk are largely predicted by divergent motivational factors. The reading frequency of beauty and fashion magazines was most strongly predicted by a woman's desire for selfimprovement. Anorexic risk, as measured by MACS scores, was best predicted MEDIAPSYCHOLOGY, 4,. by the motivation to learn about dieting and weight loss and by the desire to increase one's popularity among family and friends. The ability of reading frequency to predict anorexic risk diminished significantly in the presence of the motivation factors.Much has been written about the relationship between mass media use and eating-disordered cognitions and behaviors These studies have attempted to establish a link between the frequency or recentness of exposure to images and messages that promote a "thin ideal" and the increased presence of body image disturbance and related eating-disordered thoughts and attitudes in young women. Empirically demonstrating this connection, however, has been a difficult process. As Levine, Piran, and Stoddard (1999) explained, the negative impact of mass media on the hearts, minds and bodies of young girls and women is taken as gospel by most people committed to the prevention of eating disorders. This assumption implies that greater levels of exposure to (and immersion in the symbolic world of) mass media will lead to greater "cultivation" of the thinness schema and perhaps disordered eating. However, there are surprisingly few well-conducted studies to support or challenge this simple proposition, and overall the evidence is mixed. (p. 5)

The Processing of Thin Ideals in Fashion Magazines: A Source of Social Comparison or Fantasy?

“…Putting together the present results with existing knowledge of motivations for reading fashion magazines (Levine & Smolak, 1996;Thomsen et al, 2002), we speculate that women and girls buy and read magazines for inspiration, self-improvement and pleasurable fantasy, and that this does make them feel positive in general, providing a plausible answer to the question raised by Polivy and Herman (2004). This speculation is supported by the finding that fantasy processing of the thin ideal images in the present experiment was correlated with the number of fashion magazines read in the previous month.…”

“…They also offer some clues toward a potential answer to the commonsense question raised by Polivy and Herman (2004): Why do women and girls continue to buy fashion magazines featuring thin models that make them feel anxious, depressed, and generally miserable about their bodies? In fact, fashion magazines are read by a large number of women and girls who apparently find them enjoyable (Thomsen, McCoy, Gustafson, & Williams, 2002).…”

“…Indeed, a few studies have begun to investigate naturalistic motivations for voluntary exposure to media images. In particular, evidence indicates that women and girls report buying fashion and beauty magazines for entertainment (Thomsen et al, 2002), for self-improvement and inspiration, for example, tips on style and grooming (Levine & Smolak, 1996;Thomsen et al, 2002), for social learning, that is, to learn how people behave (Tiggemann, 2005b), in addition to comparing themselves with the images (Tiggemann, Gardiner, & Slater, 2000). Interestingly, when Thomsen et al (2002) asked women their reasons for reading beauty and fashion magazines, they found that the frequency of reading was most strongly correlated with the motivation for self-improvement.…”

The Transformation of Japanese Street Fashion between 2006 and 2011

“…Normally, magazines are used for several purposes such as self-improvement, inspiration, and as a means to understand social behavior (Levine & Smolak, 1996;Thomsen et al, 2002;Tiggemann, 2005). There are over 50 fashion magazines published each month in Japan and these magazines can be categorized according to the fashion styles that they present.…”

Práticas para a saúde: avaliação subjetiva de adolescentes

“…Não se podem esquecer as propagandas existentes, principalmente nas revistas, que de uma forma indireta afirmam ser a aparência física responsável pela felicidade e sucesso (Thomsen et al, 2002).…”