A commonly made claim about the media’s obsession with thin, young women is that such images create a poor self-image in young women who don’t measure up to that ideal. A small minority of them then turn to self-destructive behaviors to try to look like the model on the cover of the magazine, leading to eating disorders and other problems.
A new study conducted at the University of Toronto suggests, however, that the problem is the opposite — viewing pictures of thin young women actually increases young women’s self image. As summarized in a University of Toronto press release on the results,
The study, by lead author Ramona Joshi, a former U of T student supervised by [psychology professor Peter] Herman and psychology professor Janet Polivy, appears in the April International Journal of Eating Disorders. Female university students report on their self-image while viewing different types of images on a computer screen. Their most positive measures of self-image came after viewing photos of thin models taken from popular magazines. This effect was most pronounced in those who wee dieters, although it was also present to a lesser degree in non-dieters. This finding may give clinicians some insight into the motivations of people with eating disorders, suggest Herman.
According to Herman,
The idea that these thing media ideals are inspiring rather than depressing is almost necessary to account for the fact that young women — and just about everybody else — spend[s] a lot of time voluntarily exposing themselves to these images.
. . .
. . . our findings suggest that these images may actually make young women feel good about themselves because they treat that image as a fantasy goal, think, She looks great and I could look like that, too. However, although this fantasy may make them feel good initially, young women who are really super-invested in trying to emulate this image may be the ones who go on to develop a true eating disorder.
Source:
Images of thin models boost dieters’ self-image: Study. Press Release, University of Toronto, April 19, 2004.