Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children (Second edition)

265 Pages·2007·1.32 MB·English

by  Sarah Grogan

Body Image
This text provides a comprehensive review of research on body image
from psychology, sociology, and gender studies in men, women, and
children.
There has been a significant increase in research on body image since
the first edition of Body Image was published. This second edition is
thoroughly revised and updated, and includes new empirical data. In
addition to reviewing evidence for sociocultural influences on body
image, the book reviews recent literature and includes new data on
body-modification practices (cosmetic surgery, piercing, tattooing, and
bodybuilding), and takes a critical look at interventions designed to
promote positive body image. It also attempts to link body image to
physical health, looking in particular at motivations for potentially
health-damaging practices such as anabolic steroid use and cosmetic
surgery.
The only text to date that provides a comprehensive view of body
image research focusing on men and children as well as women, it will
be invaluable to students and researchers in the area as well as those
with an interest in body image and how to promote a positive body
image.
Sarah Grogan has been involved in research into body image since 1990.
She is particularly interested in promoting positive body images in
men, women, and children, with a particular focus on the impact of
body image and related behaviors on physical health.

Body Image
Understanding body
dissatisfaction in men, women,
and children
Second edition
Sarah Grogan
First published 2008
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
Copyright © 2008 Psychology Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
This publication has been produced with paper manufactured to strict
environmental standards and with pulp derived from sustainable forests.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Grogan, Sarah, 1959–
Body image : understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women,
and children / Sarah Grogan. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-415-35822-4 (hardcover) – ISBN 978-0-415-35821-7
(pbk.) 1. Body image—Social aspects—United States. 2. Body
image—Social aspects—Great Britain. I. Title
BF697.5B63G76 2007
306.4'613—dc22
2007008369
ISBN 0-203-00434-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN: 978-0-415-35822-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-35821-7 (pbk)
In memory of Edward Grogan

Contents
List of illustrations ix
Preface to the second edition xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Introduction 1
2 Culture and body image 9
The idealization of slenderness 9
The basis of body shape ideals 12
The diet industry 32
Recent cultural trends 35
Summary 40
3 Women and body image 41
Assessment of body image 42
Behavioral indicators of body dissatisfaction 57
Social construction of femininity 74
Summary 80
4 Men and body image 81
Assessment of body image 82
Behavioral indicators of body dissatisfaction 93
Social construction of masculinity 104
Summary 106
viii Contents
5 Media effects 108
Surveys relating media exposure to body image 111
Studies investigating direct effects of media
images on body image 112
Theories of media influence 118
Body shape role models 121
Recent developments 130
Reducing the effects of media imagery 132
Summary 135
6 Age, social class, ethnicity, and sexuality 136
Body image across the life span 136
Ethnicity and body image 156
Social class and body image 161
Body shape, sexual attractiveness, and sexuality 166
Summary 190
7 Promoting positive body image 192
Psychological factors predicting positive
body image 193
General conclusions 203
Summary 206
Bibliography 208
Name index 236
Subject index 243
List of illustrations
Plates
1 Rembrandt van Rijn, Bathsheba (1654) 17
2 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Blonde Bather (1881) 18
3 Flapper fashion 20
4 Marilyn Monroe 21
5 Twiggy 22
6 Kate Moss 24
7 Luca Signorelli, Study of Two Nude Figures (1503) 26
8 Marlon Brando 28
9 Dolph Lundgren 29
10 Robbie Williams 38
11 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, The Turkish Bath (1863) 76
12 Claudia Schiffer 125
13 Arnold Schwarzenegger 128
Figures
3.1 Figural rating scale for women 43
3.2 Female body shapes 63
4.1 Figural rating scale for men 83
4.2 Computerized body image test 85
6.1 Female stimulus figures varying in WHR 172
6.2 Female stimulus figures varying in breast size 174
6.3 Male stimulus figures varying in WHR 187
6.4 Male stimulus figures varying in chest size 188