Objective: Research suggests that media exposure causes some women to feel heightened dissatisfaction with their body shape. This study attempts to determine which women are effected as such, by investigating how women feel about their own bodies and how this effects their perceptions of female celebrities in the media.
Method: Undergraduate females (n = 116) were shown one accurate and six distorted photographs of thin and heavy female celebrities. Each distorted photograph made the celebrity appear thinner or heavier than actuality. Participants chose which photograph portrayed each celebrity's true body shape. Body shape concerns were measured by the Body Shape Questionnaire.
Results: Women concerned about their body shape judged thin celebrities as thinner than actuality, whereas unconcerned women judged them accurately. Both groups judged heavy celebrities as heavier than actuality.
Discussion: Results suggest certain women are effected by media exposure due to their own perception of females in the media. Prevention strategies, and the media's role in body dissatisfaction and dieting disorders, are discussed.
Copyright 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.