Body image can be defined as one’s evaluation of or feelings towards one’s body. Although body image and body dissatisfaction was long thought to be an ailment of teenage girls, body image issues are now becoming more apparent in midlife women (Lewis & Cachelin, 2001).
According to Lewis and Cachelin, the current social pressures and concerns with ageing, the belief that slim physiques result in youthful looks, and the unrealistic expectation for middle-aged women to retain their youthful appearance are significant contributors to the development of body image issues in older women. Even magazines aimed at midlife women typically show younger women on their covers and in the fashion and beauty sections. The magazines that do use older women show them to be 15 years younger, as signs of age are airbrushed (Nett, 1991). As such it is getting harder for ageing women to feel comfortable in their bodies.
The question that remains is why do middle-aged women use younger women as a reference point? Below are 3 explanations.
1. Social Comparison: Today’s beauty standard is based on the young women found in the media. Thus, women compare themselves to these standards to evaluate their level of attractiveness. Although, one would expect older women to be less likely to identify with females 30 or more years younger than them due to differences in lifestyle, maturity levels and inevitable body changes that occur with age, research shows that women of all ages compare themselves to the models portrayed in the media (Lin & Kulik, 2002; Tiggemann & McGill, 2004; Hawkins, Richards, Granley, & Stein; 2004).
2. Individual Thin Ideal Internalization: Thin ideal internalization happens when a person absorbs the attitude approved by those around them such as, the family, peers, and the media. McLaren, Kuh, Hardy and Gauvin (2004) looked at the effects of body-related comments that middle-aged women, 54 years of age, could recall throughout their life. They found that women absorb the opinions of family members and the impact of social feedback on body-esteem is not restricted to younger females. Negative comments received in adulthood by significant others, such as, life partners, have similar effects on body dissatisfaction.
3. Thin-Ideal as a Predictor of Success: Women experience a great deal of external pressures, to be thin, particularly, when other benefits of being thin are praised to her. Studies found that attractive people are perceived to possess more desirable traits and positive life outcomes than less attractive people (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). According to Harrison (1997) this cultural belief that physical attractiveness is key to life success is why older women compare themselves to thin ideals and why they are dissatisfied with their less than perfect bodies. Because the majority of women in their midlife do not look like the successful looking models, they may feel they are also lacking in other areas of life which create negative feelings about the self.
Interested in more information? Join me on Twitter for a live discussion of body image issues; Thursday 4PM EST #AskTheCoach
Eagly, A. H., Ashmore, R. D., Makhijani, M. G., & Longo, L. C. (1991). What is beautiful is good, but…: a meta-analytic review of research on the physical attractiveness stereotype. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 109-128. Lewis, D. M., & Cachelin, F. M. (2001). Body image, body dissatisfaction, and eating attitudes in midlife and elderly women. Eating Disorders, 9, 29- 39. Nett, E. M. (1991). Is there life after fifty? Images of middle age for women in Chatelaine Magazine, 1984. Journal of Women and Aging, 3, 93-115. Lin, L. F., & Kulik, J. A. (2002). Social Comparison and women’s body dissatisfaction. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24, 115-123. Hawkins, N., Richards, P. S., Granley, H. M., & Stein, D. M. (2004). The impact of exposure to the thin-ideal media image on women. Eating Disorders, 12, 35-50. Tiggemann, M., & McGill, B. (2004). The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women’s mood and body dissatisfaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 23-44. McLaren, L., Kuh, D., Hardy, R., Gauvin, L. (2004). Positive and negative body-related comments and their relationship with body dissatisfaction in middle-aged women. Psychology and Health, 19, 261-272.
No comments:
Post a Comment