Does size matter? The impact of ‘Perfect Beauty’ Ideals in the Media

Posted on: 14 April 2010

Dr Helga Dittmar, Reader in Psychology, University of Sussex,  and author of Consumer Culture, Identity and Well-Being gave a public lecture titled,  “Does size matter? The impact of ‘Perfect Beauty’ Ideals in the Media” on  Tuesday, April 13th  last in Trinity College Dublin organised by its Children’s Research Centre.

There is growing evidence that exposure to unrealistic “body perfect” ideals in the media lead to body dissatisfaction, not only in relation to the ultra-thin ideal for girls and women, but also the muscular ideal for men. Research carried out by  Dr Dittmar shows that girls as young as 5-7 years old report body dissatisfaction after seeing ultra-thin Barbie dolls , and that “body perfect” ideals in new, under-researched media  such as music videos and  computer games  influence adolescents’ body image. Moreover, they show that, although the use of ultra-thin models is defended with the argument that these images “sell”, alternative models with a healthy body size can be equally effective. The evidence suggests  that “body perfect” ideals in the media are a significant immediate cause of body dissatisfaction. The public lecture is aimed at providing recent evidence on media’s harm in producing distorted body images’ ideals in children and adolescents.
 
Commenting on the relevance of the talk,  TCD Professor of Childhood Research, Sheila Greene  says: “The topic of body image is very relevant to girls and women in Ireland. Many of the images and messages in the popular media result in their feeling bad about their bodies, with a range of unhealthy consequences. Boys and men are also increasingly exposed to similar pressures.”