Editing Body image (section)

===Women===
{{See also|Anorexia nervosa|Plastic surgery}}

"[[Social currency]] for girls and women continues to be rooted in physical appearance".<ref name=":12">{{cite book |last=Pierce |first=Cindy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZicxDQAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |title=Sex, College, and Social Media: A Commonsense Guide to Navigating the Hookup Culture |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-351-81858-2 |pages=1–}}</ref> Women "all over the world are evaluated and oppressed by their appearances",<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/30205/1/how-should-we-tackle-fashion-s-body-image-issues|title=How should we tackle fashion's body image issues? |date=March 4, 2016|magazine=Dazed|access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> including their [[Ageism|ages]], [[Colorism|skin tones]], or [[Anti-fat bias|sizes]].

Many advertisements promote insecurities in their audiences in order to sell them solutions, and so may present retouched images, sexual objectification, and explicit messages that promote "unrealistic images of beauty" and undermine body image,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thebalance.com/advertising-women-and-objectification-38754|title=Advertising Sets Impossible Standards for Women|publisher=The Balance|access-date=December 14, 2017}}</ref> particularly in female audiences.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Eating Disorders and the Role of the Media|last1=Spettigue|first1=Wendy|first2= Katherine A. |last2=Henderson|pmc=2533817|journal=The Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review|date=February 2004 |volume=13|issue=1|pages=16–9|pmid=19030149}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hargreaves|first=Duane|s2cid=54012822|title=Longer-term implications of responsiveness to 'thin-ideal' television: support for a cumulative hypothesis of body image disturbance?|journal=European Eating Disorders Review|volume=11|issue=6|pages=465–477|doi=10.1002/erv.509|year=2003}}</ref><ref name="GrabeWard2008">{{cite journal |last1=Grabe |first1=Shelly |last2=Ward |first2=L. Monique |last3=Hyde |first3=Janet Shibley |s2cid=152637 |title=The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies |journal=Psychological Bulletin |date=2008 |volume=134 |issue=3 |pages=460–476 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460 |pmid=18444705 }}</ref>

Body dissatisfaction creates negative attitudes, a [[The Thin Ideal|damaging mentality]], and negative habits in young women.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chang|first1=Edward|title=Evaluative Concerns and Personal Standards Perfectionism as Predictors of Body Dissatisfaction in Asian and European American Female College Students|journal=Journal of American College Health|volume=64|issue=7|pages=580–584|doi=10.1080/07448481.2016.1178121|pmid=27089244|year=2016|s2cid=29922678}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zajac|first1=Agnieszka|last2=Shier|first2=Katarzyna|date=December 2011|title=Body Image Dysphoria and Motivation to Exercise: A Study of Canadian and Polish Women Participating in Yoga or Aerobics|journal=Archives of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy|volume=13|issue=4|page=67}}</ref> The emphasis on an ideal female body shape and size is psychologically detrimental to young women,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Linardon |first1=Jake |last2=McClure |first2=Zoe |last3=Tylka |first3=Tracy L. |last4=Fuller-Tyszkiewicz |first4=Matthew |date=2022 |title=Body appreciation and its psychological correlates: A systematic review and meta-analysis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1740144522001188 |journal=Body Image |language=en |volume=42 |pages=287–296 |doi=10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.07.003|pmid=35878528 |s2cid=251001266 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> who may resort to grooming, dieting, and surgery in order to be happy.<ref name=":16">{{cite book|last1=Cash|first1=Thomas F. |last2=Smolak|first2=Linda |title=Body Image, Second Edition: A Handbook of Science, Practice, and Prevention|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxPuCP9nCZoC&pg=PR1|year=2011|publisher=Guilford Press|isbn=978-1-60918-184-0|pages=1–}}</ref> "The prevalence of [[eating disorder]] development among college females is especially high, with rates up to 24% among college students."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Javier|first1=Sarah|last2=Belgrave|first2=Faye|date=November 2015|title=Examination of Influences on Boy Dissatisfaction among Asian American College Females:Do Family, Media, or Peers Play a Role?|journal=Journal of American College Health|volume=63|issue=8|pages=579–583|doi=10.1080/07448481.2015.1031240|pmid=25825925|s2cid=6626052}}</ref> Body dissatisfaction in girls is associated with increased rate of [[smoking]] and a decrease in comfort with [[sexuality]] when they're older, which may lead them to consider cosmetic surgery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Healthy body image: tips for guiding girls.|url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/healthy-body-image/art-20044668|publisher=MayoClinic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Halliwell|first1=Emma|last2=Malson|first2=Helen|last3=Tischner|first3=Irmgard|date=March 1, 2011|title=Are Contemporary Media Images Which Seem to Display Women as Sexually Empowered Actually Harmful to Women?|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684310385217|journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly|language=en|volume=35|issue=1|pages=38–45|doi=10.1177/0361684310385217|s2cid=143146656|issn=0361-6843|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The pressure on women and girls "to cope with the effects of culturally induced body insecurity" is 'severe'.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Mair |first=Avril |date=November 21, 2014 |title=how the fashion industry affects the bodies of young women |url=https://i-d.co/article/how-the-fashion-industry-affects-the-bodies-of-young-women/ |access-date=November 16, 2017 |publisher=i-D}}</ref> Many reported that "their lives would be better if they were not judged by their looks and body shape, [as] this is leading to low self-esteem, eating disorders, mental health problems and depression."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Denis |date=January 6, 2012 |title=Body image concerns more men than women, research finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/06/body-image-concerns-men-more-than-women |access-date=October 31, 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Women who compare themselves to images in the media believe they are more overweight than they actually are.<ref>Brodie, D., Slade, P., & Riley, V. (1991). Sex differences in body image perceptions.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 72(1), 73–74.</ref> One reason for this is because "idealised media images are routinely subjected to computer manipulation techniques, such as airbrushing (e.g. slimming thighs and increasing muscle tone). The resulting images present an unobtainable 'aesthetic perfection' that has no basis in biological reality."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Paraskeva |first=Nicole |year=2016 |title=Consumer opinion on social policy approaches to promoting positive body image: Airbrushed media images and disclaimer labels |url=http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/26230/1/Airbrushing%20Paraskeva%20Lewis-Smith%20Diedrichs%20-%20FINAL%20COPY.pdf |journal=Journal of Health Psychology |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=164–175 |doi=10.1177/1359105315597052 |pmid=26261016 |s2cid=4589249 |via=sage Journals}}</ref>

Global eating disorder rates such as anorexia and [[Bulimia nervosa|bulimia]] are gradually rising in adolescent girls. The [[National Eating Disorders Association]], reported that 95% of individuals who suffer from an eating disorder are aged 12 to 26,<ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=https://www.imperosoftware.com/uk/blog/national-eating-disorder-awareness-week-nedaw-what-you-need-to-know/|title=National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW) {{!}} Impero|date=February 22, 2016|publisher=Impero UK|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024655/https://www.imperosoftware.com/uk/blog/national-eating-disorder-awareness-week-nedaw-what-you-need-to-know/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and anorexia is the third-most-common illness among teenagers.<ref name=":17" /> Teenage girls are most prone "to internalize negative messages and obsess about weight loss to obtain a thin appearance".<ref name=":18">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rawhide.org/blog/infographics/body-image-issues/|title=Body Image Issues: The Teen Male Edition [Infographic]|date=April 26, 2016|publisher=Rawhide|access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> "Cultural messages about beauty (i.e. what it is, how it should be cultivated, and how it will be rewarded) are often implicitly conveyed through media representations of women."<ref name="Rubin, L. 2004">{{cite journal | last1 = Rubin | first1 = L | year = 2004 | title = Exploring Feminist Women's Body Consciousness | journal = Psychology of Women Quarterly | volume = 28 | issue = 1| pages = 27–37 | doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00120.x| s2cid = 145499712 }}</ref>

However, other researchers have contested the claims of the media effects paradigm. An article by Christopher Ferguson, Benjamin Winegard, and Bo Winegard, for example, argues that peer effects are much more likely to cause body dissatisfaction than media effects, and that media effects have been overemphasized.<ref name="tamiu" /> It also argues that one must be careful about making the leap from arguing that certain environmental conditions might cause body dissatisfaction to the claim that those conditions can cause diagnosable eating disorders.

When female [[undergraduates]] were exposed to depictions of thin women their body satisfaction decreased; when they were exposed to larger models, it rose.<ref name="Psicothema">{{cite journal |first1=Sonia |last1=Tucca |first2=Jennifer |last2=Peters |date=November 2008|title=Media influences on body satisfaction in female students |journal=Psicothema|volume= 20 |issue=4 |pages=521–524 |url=http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/3517.pdf |pmid=18940045}}</ref><ref name="Hawkins N et al.">{{cite journal |last1=Hawkins |date=Spring 2004|title=The Impact of Exposure to the Thin-Ideal Media Image on Women|journal=Eating Disorders|volume= 12 |issue= 1|pages=35–50, 16p, 2 charts|issn=1064-0266 |pmid=16864303 |doi=10.1080/10640260490267751|first1=N|last2=Richards|first2=PS|last3=Granley|first3=HM|last4=Stein|first4=DM|s2cid=28802161}}</ref> Many women engage in "fat talk" (speaking negatively about the weight-related size/shape of one's body), a behavior that has been associated with weight dissatisfaction, body surveillance, and body shame.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Engeln-Maddox | first1 = R. | last2 = Salk | first2 = R. H. | last3 = Miller | first3 = S. A. | year = 2012 | title = Assessing women's negative commentary on their own bodies: A psychometric investigation of the Negative Body Talk Scale | journal = Psychology of Women Quarterly | volume = 36 | issue = 2| pages = 162–178 | doi = 10.1177/0361684312441593 | s2cid = 144038786 }}</ref> Women who overhear others using fat talk may also experience an increase in body dissatisfaction and guilt.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Salk | first1 = R. H. | last2 = Engeln-Maddox | first2 = R. | year = 2011 | title = If you're fat then I'm humongous": Frequency, content, and impact of fat talk among college women | journal = Psychology of Women Quarterly | volume = 35 | pages = 18–25 | doi = 10.1177/0361684310384107 | s2cid = 145182587 | doi-access =  }}</ref>

Monteath and McCabe found that 44% of women express negative feelings about both individual body parts and their bodies as a whole.<ref name="MonteathMcCabe1997">{{cite journal|last1=Monteath|first1=Sheryl A.|last2=McCabe|first2=Marita P.|title=The Influence of Societal Factors on Female Body Image|journal=The Journal of Social Psychology|volume=137|issue=6|year=1997|pages=708–727|issn=0022-4545|doi=10.1080/00224549709595493|pmid=9414624}}</ref> 37.7% of young American males and 51% of young American females express dissatisfaction with their bodies.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Al Sabbah|first1=Haleama|last2=Vereecken|first2=Carine A |last3=Elgar|first3= Frank J |last4=Nansel|first4= Tonja |last5=Aasvee|first5= Katrin |last6=Abdeen|first6=Ziad |last7=Ojala|first7= Kristiina |last8=Ahluwalia|first8=Namanjeet |last9= Maes|first9= Lea |display-authors=3 |title=Body weight dissatisfaction and communication with parents among adolescents in 24 countries: international cross-sectional survey|journal=BMC Public Health|date=January 1, 2009|volume=9|issue=1|page=52|doi=10.1186/1471-2458-9-52 |pmid=19200369 |pmc=2645388 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In America, the dieting industry earns roughly 40 billion dollars per year. A [[Harvard University|Harvard]] study (Fat Talk, Harvard University Press) published in 2000 revealed that 86% of teenage girls are on a [[Dieting|diet]] or believe they should be on one. Dieting has become common even among very young children: 51% of 9- and 10-year-old girls feel better about themselves when they are on diets.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nault|first=Kelly|title=How the Media Affects Teen Girls|url=http://www.insteadoftv.com/how-the-media-affects-teen-girls.html|access-date=March 26, 2012|archive-date=March 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325021341/http://www.insteadoftv.com/how-the-media-affects-teen-girls.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to a study by [[Dove (toiletries)|Dove]], only 4% of women thought they were beautiful,<ref name=":12" /> while approximately 70% of women and girls in the UK believed the media's portrayal of impractical beauty standards fueled their appearance anxieties.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |date=June 21, 2016 |title=Dove's Largest Ever Body Image Report Proves The Media Needs To Up Its Game |publisher=HuffPost UK |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/dove-global-body-image-report_uk_5762a6a1e4b0681487dcc470 |access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> As a result, the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]] reported that, 91% of women were mostly unhappy with their bodies,<ref name=":14">{{Cite news |date=February 19, 2017 |title=Body Image Statistics |publisher=Statistic Brain |url=http://www.statisticbrain.com/body-image-statistics/ |access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> while 40% will consider cosmetic surgery to fix their flaws.<ref name=":14" />