The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2007
Keywords
Body Image, Eating Disorder, Body Dissatisfaction, Body Shame, Body Esteem
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230596887_13
Abstract
According to a recent survey of 3,300 girls and women across 10 countries, 90 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest (Etcoff, Orbach, Scott, & D’Agostino, 2004). This finding suggests that women’s anxiety about their appearance is a global phenomenon, observed in every country studied from Saudi Arabia to the United States. Beyond body dissatisfaction, a stunning 67 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide reported that they actually withdraw from life-engaging, life-sustaining activities due to feeling badly about their looks. These activities include giving an opinion, meeting friends, exercising, going to work, going to school, dating, and going to the doctor.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective, in V. Swami and A. Furnham, (Eds.), The Body Beautiful: Evolutionary and Sociocultural Perspectives, p. 259-298
Scholar Commons Citation
Calogero, Rachel; Boroughs, Michael; and Thompson, Joel K., "The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective" (2007). Psychology Faculty Publications. 2028.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/2028
