The changing shape of female fashion models

Morris, Allison; Cooper, Troy; Cooper, Peter

doi:10.1002/1098-108x(198909)8:5<593::aid-eat2260080511>3.0.co;2-h

Cited by 110 publications

(49 citation statements)

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“…One possible explanation is that preferences for body shape vary across cultures. Typically, past research within Western cultures supports the finding that shape cues are not a salient factor in women's physical attractiveness-the "ideal" female body, as depicted by fashion models, has become thinner and less curvaceous over time (Morris, Cooper, & Cooper, 1989;Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986). By contrast, researchers have noted the strong influence of body shape on attractiveness ratings in a number of African countries (Furnham & Baguma, 1994;Marlowe & Wetsman, 2001;Wetsman & Marlowe, 1999), the South Pacific (Craig, Swinburn, Matenga-Smith, Matangi, & Vaughn, 1996;McGarvey, 1991;Wilkinson, Ben-Tovin, & Walker, 1994), and South America (Yu & Shepard, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Test of the Waist-to-Hip Ratio Hypothesis of Women's Physical Attractiveness in Britain and Greece

et al. 2006

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Body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have been reported to be the major cues to women's bodily attractiveness. The relative importance of each of these cues was examined cross-culturally in two distinct countries, Greece and Britain. Fifty Britons, 25 British-Greeks, and 25 participants in Greece were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. The results showed that, regardless of the cultural setting, BMI is the primary determinant of women's physical attractiveness, whereas WHR emerged as a significant predictor for the Greek groups but not the British group. This finding is discussed in terms of the different gender roles occupied by Britons and Greeks. The discussion critically evaluates evolutionary psychological and sociocultural explanations of preferences for body weight.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Test of the Waist-to-Hip Ratio Hypothesis of Women's Physical Attractiveness in Britain and Greece

et al. 2006

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“…1 In fact, obesity phobia is so pervasive among female adolescents that it has been described as a normative discontent'. 2 This desire for thinness by girls from as young as 9 y, 3 has its origins in the narrow hipped, thin ankled' idea of female beauty depicted by the media, 4 coupled with the stigma attributed by society to female fatness. 5 The consequences of restrained eating during the teenage years has raised many concerns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The pursuit of thinness: a study of Dublin schoolgirls aged 15 y

Ryan¹,

Gibney

Flynn³

1998

Int J Obes

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Despite increasing trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, fatness phobia is common during female adolescence. This study has demonstrated a high level of dissatisfaction with body weight in a sample of Dublin schoolgirls aged 15 y. Of 420 subjects, 59% reported that they wanted to be slimmer and 68% had previously tried to lose weight. Contrary to expectations, overweight girls were not found to hold the monopoly on such dissatisfactions. Normal weight and even underweight girls also expressed a desire to be thinner and reported using unhealthy weight control practices including random avoidance of staple foods, fasting, smoking and purging, in their pursuit of the perfect' female ®gure. Obesity prevention programmes which target adolescent girls at risk' of overweight and obesity, must take cognizance of their profound fear of fatness, otherwise the use of harmful slimming strategies may be further increased as teenage girls frantically try to lose weight and to avoid the stigma associated with female fatness.

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“…The findings of Garner et al (1980) and Wiseman et al (1992) were elaborated and extended by Spitzer, Henderson, and Zivian (1999). Evidence of similar trends among fashion models was reported by Morris, Cooper, and Cooper (1989), and Anderson and DiDomenico (1992) and Malkin, Wornian, and Chrisler (1999) documented the emphasis on weight loss in popular women's magazines.…”

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confidence: 98%