Message of the day: 25th January 2015

Could the use of more plus size models change women’s obsession with thin bodies?

We live in a society where, though the media, we are surrounded by models and celebrities who are super-slim and as a result there is a general climate of obsession with thin bodies. The question is:

Will people’s attitudes towards body image change if there is more diversity in the body shapes and sizes portrayed in the media?

Researchers from Durham University, Newcastle University and VU University Amsterdam studied more than 100 women and found that women who habitually preferred thin models were significantly less keen on thin bodies after being presented with plus-size models. On the other hand, when women were shown images of thin models, their preference shifted even more towards thinness. In addition, positive and negative associations with weight were explored. When women were presented with aspirational images of plus-size models, paired with plain images of underweight women, their preferences shifted away from thinness.
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The findings suggest that using plus size models can indeed rebalance our attitudes about what is considered to be beautiful and healthy and decrease the obsession with being super-slim. ‘Normalising’ female models in the media could be a first essential step towards changing our minds instead of our bodies and feel happier and more satisfied with the way we look!

 

For more information: Boothroyd, L.G., Tovée, M.T. & Pollett, T. (2012). Visual Diet versus Associative Learning as Mechanisms of Change in Body Size Preferences. PLoS ONE 7(11)