The Smiling Sunbather and the Chivalrous Football Player: Young Adolescents' Images of the Ideal Woman and Man

Abstract

One hundred and eighty-one ninth grade students were randomly as-signed the ideal man or ideal woman version of a questionnaire in which they ranked ten qualities of the ideal person and drew a picture of the ideal person doing something. Four ideal types emerged. Girls depicted the ideal man as "the chivalrous football player" (kind and honest, fun loving, smiling, and bringing flowers). Boys depicted the ideal man as"the frowning football player" (fun loving, frowning, and engaged in sports). Girls described the ideal woman as "the smiling hardworker' (kind and honest, smiling, intelligent, and having adult responsibilities). Boys perceived the ideal woman as "the smiling sunbather' (good looking, sexy, smiling, and engaged in leisurely activities). Some exceptions were noted, but overall, gender differences in the emerging values of young adolescents were reflected in their ideal images.

The Ideal Man and Woman: South Korean Children's Body Image Perceptions

“…Responses from both the surveys and interviews supported previous findings that show gender differences in perceptions of the ideal man and woman (Park & Lee, 2010; Stiles et al, 1987, 1990). Physical characteristics were perceived as key aspects for girls, whereas skill/ability or personality qualities were perceived as key aspects for boys.…”

I Like Being Who I Am: A study of young people's ideals

“…In subsequent research young people' s descriptions of their ideal person have been seen not only to re¯ect their personal values but also to re¯ect socio-cultural values (Stiles et al, 1987;Freedman-D oan, 1996). Heroes have been seen as im portant representations of who we are and what we stand for (Porpora, 1996).…”

Girls' Identity Formation in the Changing Social Structure of Sri Lanka

“…For example, a correlation of . 25 was demonstrated between sexual emphasis in the drawing and the importance given to being sexy on the questionnaire (Stiles et al , 1987).…”

“…Eighty girls were randomly assigned the ideal-woman version of the questionnaire , in which they rated I 0 qualities on 7 -point scales ranging from not at all important (I) to ve1y important (7) ; other girls , not reported here, completed the ideal-man version of the questionnaire. Drawings were scored in terms of 16 categories, such as whether the ideal woman was shown smiling and whether adult responsibilities were depicted (Stiles, Gibbons, & Schnellmann , 1987). A previous study had shown interrater reliability of .62 to .97 on the drawing scoring system and significant correlations between qualities expressed in the drawings and questionnaire responses (Stiles et a!.…”