The coronavirus pandemic resulted in national lockdowns that are associated with a rise in important macro-stressors for populations worldwide. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact ...of the COVID-19-related lockdown period on the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance, body image, eating attitudes and behaviours, physical activity, and quality of life of Lithuanian university-aged students of both genders.
A total of 1850 students completed the body image, health-related behaviour and quality of life assessments three months before the first lockdown, of which 959 provided consent and an e-mail to be contacted by for further surveys. Of these 959, 230 completed the same questionnaire during the second lockdown providing the informed consent for the participation in the COVID-19-impact for the lifestyle study and use their first round data for the comparison with the lockdown. The age of the participants was 23.9 ± 5.4 years. Independent comparisons were used to test lifestyle and body image differences between men and women before and during the lockdown. Paired-sample statistics were conducted to evaluate any changes in the male and female groups separately with Cohen's d employed to represent effect sizes.
No body image or disordered eating changes were found, however, body appearance evaluation increased in women (effect size 0.15). Significant increases in media pressures (in women, effect size 0.16) and the internalization of thin/low body fat beauty ideals (effect size 1.18–1.46) were observed during the lockdown when compared to baseline. No changes in quality of life were evident for men, however, for women, an increase in general and psychological domain was observed (effect size 0.17). We observed a significant decrease in physical activity (in men, effect size 0.46), an increase in internet browsing time (effect size 0.52–0.8), a decrease in unhealthy eating habits (effect size 0.49–0.60), an increase in sleep duration (in women, effect size 0.40) and lower self-rated health (in men, effect size 0.42) during the lockdown when compared to baseline.
These findings suggest that the majority of students cope with lockdown–related situation well. However, based on the Tripartite influence model, we can speculate that a drastic increase in the internalization of stereotyped thin/low body fat ideals might trigger body image concerns and increase disordered eating after the lockdown. Specific interventions helping students to decrease internalization of stereotyped body ideals, to promote positive body image and physical activity may be beneficial during and after the COVID-19-related lockdown.
Research shows negative correlations between media exposure of body images in the context of hegemonic beauty ideals and body satisfaction. The present study deals with the underlying mechanisms and ...the effects of different exposure contents. In the online experimental study, a sample consisting of 226 individuals (82.3% female, 17.7% male) received a three-minute exposure to Instagram images of women and men in the context of either hegemonic beauty ideals in the experimental group or body diversity in the control group. A conducted Mixed ANOVA with repeated measures showed significant group differences, including an increase in body dissatisfaction in the experimental group and a reduction in the control group after exposure. Statistically significant detrimental effects of exposure to images in the experimental group on women's state mood as well as descriptive similar tendencies on men's state mood were found. Moderating effects of the tendency to make upward social comparisons and the internalization of the gender-specific beauty ideal on the relationship between exposure content and the change scores of body dissatisfaction were found. Furthermore, a mediation model was calculated to investigate the effect of exposure content on post-measurement of body dissatisfaction, using the constructs "comparison processes regarding sexual attractiveness" and "assessment of one's own sexual attractiveness" as mediators. The model did not yield significant mediation, although significant relationships were found between the model components. Exploratory analyses were conducted on the influence of the assessment of one's own sexual attractiveness on related social comparisons and the intensity of engagement with Instagram content as a predictor of body dissatisfaction. The results highlight the relevance for psychoeducational purposes of addressing a critical engagement with depicted beauty ideals in social media. Moreover, the study proposes body diversity as an alternative content that can have a positive impact on body satisfaction, which can be actively sought during the individual Instagram user experience.
Social media platforms are accused repeatedly of creating environments in which women are bullied and harassed. We argue that online aggression toward women aims to reinforce traditional feminine ...norms and stereotypes. In a mixed methods study, we find that this type of aggression on Twitter is common and extensive and that it can spread far beyond the original target. We locate over 2.9 million tweets in one week that contain instances of gendered insults (e.g., “bitch,” “cunt,” “slut,” or “whore”)—averaging 419,000 sexist slurs per day. The vast majority of these tweets are negative in sentiment. We analyze the social networks of the conversations that ensue in several cases and demonstrate how the use of “replies,” “retweets,” and “likes” can further victimize a target. Additionally, we develop a sentiment classifier that we use in a regression analysis to compare the negativity of sexist messages. We find that words in a message that reinforce feminine stereotypes inflate the negative sentiment of tweets to a significant and sizeable degree. These terms include those insulting someone’s appearance (e.g., “ugly”), intellect (e.g., “stupid”), sexual experience (e.g., “promiscuous”), mental stability (e.g., “crazy”), and age (“old”). Messages enforcing beauty norms tend to be particularly negative. In sum, hostile, sexist tweets are strategic in nature. They aim to promote traditional, cultural beliefs about femininity, such as beauty ideals, and they shame victims by accusing them of falling short of these standards.
•Black women face pressure to fulfill hegemonic beauty standards.•Hegemonic beauty ideal endorsement is associated with Black women’s reduced sexual well-being.•Sexual well-being is operationalized ...as sexual attitudes, behaviors, and affective cognitions.•Thin-ideal internalization is related to Black women’s appearance beliefs and sexual well-being.
Although women are expected to idealize and achieve hegemonic feminine beauty standards such as being slender and lighter skinned, few studies have examined how women’s investment in achieving these restrictive feminine appearance ideals may influence their sexual attitudes and behaviors. Even less is known about Black women. We surveyed 640 Black college women to test hypotheses that endorsement of hegemonic beauty ideals would be positively associated with four dimensions of negative sexual affect (sexual guilt, shame, emotional distancing, and self-consciousness) and negatively associated with two dimensions of sexual agency (sexual assertiveness and satisfaction). Correlation and regression analyses showed that hegemonic beauty ideal acceptance was linked with greater sexual guilt, shame, emotional distancing, and sexual self-consciousness in addition to lower levels of sexual assertiveness and satisfaction. Findings highlight how endorsing restrictive, hegemonic standards of beauty is associated with Black women’s reduced sexual affect and sexual agency.
The effects of media on body image have been heavily investigated through the years. Recent research has shifted its focus to social media content and other behaviors on social media that can affect ...body and appearance satisfaction. This study aimed to test the contribution of media pressure to appearance satisfaction according to the prepositions of the Tripartite Influence Model on a sample of young Croatian women. A sample of 308 college students (average age 21.6) completed the BE-Appearance subscale of the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (Mendelson et al., 2001), Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (Thompson et al., 1991), and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (Schafer et al., 2015). Path analysis showed that media pressure positively contributesto both appearance comparison with people on Instagram and beauty ideals internalization and negatively contributes to appearance satisfaction in young women. Results also indicate a significant negative indirect contribution of media pressure to appearance satisfaction through appearance comparison and beauty ideals internalization. Findings suggest a strong relationship between media pressure and appearance satisfaction and are discussed in the context of further investigation of media content that could be harmful to appearance satisfaction in young women.
Objectification scholarship highlights how traditional media portrayals oftentimes direct attention toward women’s bodies and away from their faces which communicate important social information. ...This study sought to investigate how thin-ideal, white women’s facial expression potentially attenuates the negative effects of appearing in a sexually objectifying manner using validated imagery. In a 2 × 3 between-subjects experiment (N = 1001 U.S. adult women; Mage = 42.56, SDage = 12.72), portraits of women varied in their sexualization (non-sexualized vs. sexualized) and facial expression (neutral expression, low-intensity smiling, high-intensity smiling) to better understand how these factors influence dimensions of social cognition (competence, warmth, authenticity), self-promotional attributions, and viewers’ own self-objectification. Results revealed that viewers rated sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) women lower in competence and authenticity, as well ascribed more self-promotional explanations for their behavior. Moreover, exposure to sexualized women heightened viewers’ self-objectification, regardless of facial expression. Results also indicated that smiling intensity positively influenced viewers’ ratings of social cognition. However, there is little evidence that smiling intensity overrides the negative effects of sexualization. Implications for the sexual objectification of women are discussed.
•An experiment examined how sexualization and facial expression affect social judgments.•Sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) women were judged more harshly by other women.•Smiling intensity positively influenced viewers’ ratings of social cognition.•Sexualized women heightened viewers’ self-objectification, regardless of facial expression.
The ideal beauty has a significant impact on social life. Those who feel their body doesn’t meet the idealize body view, some might have body dissatisfaction and lower body appreciation. This study ...aims to explore a broader definition and understanding of the beauty as it is represented in Scars to Your Beautiful, a song by Alessia Cara, both its lyric and music video. Using content analysis and supported by the concept of the figure of Speech, cinematography, and representation by Stuart Hall completed the investigation on this beauty ideal. The result shows that Scars to Your Beautiful strive to redefine the term of beauty which cannot be determined only by certain criteria such as having a thin body, white skin, flawless and addressed to women only, but beauty reaches a broader definition in all shapes, sizes, colors, even the gender. These findings highlight the importance of self-love and self-acceptance in the social context. Keywords: beauty ideals, representation of beauty, body dissatisfaction
This study examined the impact of exposure to beauty, self-compassion, and travel (control) TikTok videos on young women’s face-related appearance shame and anxiety, self-compassion, mood, upward ...appearance comparisons and thoughts. Undergraduate women (N = 115) were randomly assigned to view one of three compilation TikTok videos on either beauty tips, self-compassion strategies, or travel destinations. Upward appearance comparisons and thoughts were assessed at post-test only given the items related to video exposure; all other measures were assessed at pre- and post-test. Controlling for pre-test measures, results showed that face-related appearance shame and anxiety, and negative mood were higher, whereas self-compassion was lower in the beauty group relative to the travel control and self-compassion groups. Self-compassion was higher in the self-compassion group relative to the travel control. Women in the beauty group reported more upward appearance comparisons and appearance thoughts relative to women in the travel control and self-compassion groups. The self-compassion group reported more appearance thoughts relative to the travel control. Findings contribute to prior research by showing that brief exposure to beauty TikToks may have a negative effect on how young women feel about their appearance, but also how self-compassion videos may help young women feel more compassionate toward themselves.
•Beauty TikToks were compared to self-compassion & travel control TikToks.•Beauty TikToks negatively impacted appearance shame & anxiety, self-compassion, & mood.•Self-compassion TikToks had a positive effect on self-compassion.•The beauty group reported more upward appearance comparisons & thoughts than the other two groups.•The self-compassion group reported more appearance thoughts than the travel group.
While numerous sociopsychological factors affect one’s acceptance of cosmetic surgery, little is known about the sociopsychological influences that lead to cosmetic surgery acceptance based on one’s ...prior experience with cosmetic surgery. The present study identified the differences between two groups: women with cosmetic surgery experience and women without prior cosmetic surgery experience. A research model was developed with five hypotheses to identify the four sociopsychological influences on cosmetic surgery acceptance: upward appearance comparison, awareness of an emphasis on beauty ideals, internalization of beauty ideals, and body surveillance. Data were collected from 651 South Korean women in their 20 s to 40 s and were analyzed using second-order confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group structural equation modeling. In the cosmetic surgery group, upward appearance comparison, awareness of an emphasis on beauty ideals, and body surveillance had a positive effect on cosmetic surgery acceptance. Internalization of beauty ideals and body surveillance also had a positive effect on cosmetic surgery acceptance in the no cosmetic surgery group. Additionally, the effects of upward appearance comparison, awareness of an emphasis on beauty ideals, and internalization of beauty ideals on cosmetic surgery acceptance varied significantly between the two groups. The findings add insights on the design of therapeutic programs to prevent cosmetic surgery addiction and education programs to increase body appreciation.
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