Feminine beauty ideal: Difference between revisions

Starting from [[Song dynasty|Song]] elitistselites and eventually popularized and ended in [[Qing dynasty]], [[foot binding]] was seen as an idolized representation of women's petite beauty, referring to the practice as {{lang|zh|"三寸金莲"}}, 'three inch golden lotus'.

While most research on appearance ideals tendtends to emphasize the importance of a slender and lean body, research specific to Black women suggests that a more curvaceous or "[[Hourglass figure|hourglass-shaped]]" body ideal may be more salient for Black women than the mainstream thin ideal.<ref name = "lowy"/> Various studies in the [[United States]] have found that Black women have a greater tolerance for heavier body sizes, and they endorse a greater curvy or "hourglass" body ideal and larger buttocks compared to White and Asian women.<ref name = "lowy">{{cite news |last1=Lowy |first1=Alice S. |last2=Rodgers |first2=Rachel F. |last3=Franko |first3=Debra L. |last4=Pluhar |first4=Emily |last5=Webb |first5=Jennifer B. |title=Body image and internalization of appearance ideals in Black women: An update and call for culturally-sensitive research |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144521001297 |work=Body Image |date=1 December 2021 |pages=313–327 |doi=10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.10.005}}</ref> [[Black Caribbean]] women have similarly been reported to idealize a curvier body type with larger buttocks.<ref name = "kgp">{{cite book |last=Gentles-Peart|first=Kamille |author-link= |date=2021 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429283734-21/bumpah-politics-kamille-gentles-peart|chapter = Bumpah politics: The thick Black female body in US and Caribbean academic discourses|title=The Routledge Companion to Beauty Politics |location= |publisher=Routledge|pages=177–185 |doi=10.4324/9780429283734-21 |isbn=9781000413618|s2cid=240773647 }}</ref> A 2009 medical review by cosmetic surgeons reports that female African-American patients seeking cosmetic surgery on their buttocks uniquely have a "strong and consistent ideal of very large buttocks".<ref name="lee"/> They are stated to desire buttocks that are "as full as possible" in size and "very full" in all areas, and they additionally have a unique desire for very full lateral [[thighs]].<ref name="lee">{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Edward |last2=Roberts |first2=Thomas |last3=Bruner |first3=Terrence |title=Ethnic Considerations in Buttock Aesthetics |journal=Seminars in Plastic Surgery |date=August 2009 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=232–243 |doi=10.1055/s-0029-1224803|pmid=20676318 |pmc=2884922 }}</ref> ReportsOther fromresearch otherin cosmetic surgeonssurgery similarly findfinds that Black women seek the largest and fullest buttocks and thighs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arian |first1=Husain |last2=Alroudan |first2=Dhari |last3=Alkandari |first3=Qutaibah |last4=Shuaib |first4=Ali |title=Cosmetic Surgery and the Diversity of Cultural and Ethnic Perceptions of Facial, Breast, and Gluteal Aesthetics in Women: A Comprehensive Review |journal=Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology |date=7 June 2023 |volume=16 |pages=1443–1456 |doi=10.2147/CCID.S410621 |pmid=37313510 |language=English|pmc=10258039 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Aly |first1=Al |last2=Nahas |first2=Fabio |title=The Art of Body Contouring: A Comprehensive Approach |date=2017 |publisher=Thieme |isbn=9781626236561 |edition=1 |url=https://shop.thieme.com/The-Art-of-Body-Contouring/9781626236561}}</ref> The internalization of this greater curvaceous body ideal has been suggested as being a possible factor in the [[overweight]] and [[obesity]] epidemic among African-American women, as Black women are the demographic in the [[United States]] with the highest rates of being overweight or obese, and they additionally often underestimate the weight and size of their own bodies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=25|title = Obesity and African Americans - the Office of Minority Health}}</ref><ref name = "watson">{{Cite journal|last1=Watson|first1=Laurel|last2=Lewis|first2=Jioni|date=2019|title=A sociocultural examination of body image among Black women|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144519300464|journal=Body Image|language=en|volume=31|pages=280–287|doi=10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.03.008|pmid=30962149|s2cid=104294879}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Agyemang |first1=Priscilla |last2=Powell-Wiley |first2=Tiffany M. |title=Obesity and Black Women: Special Considerations Related to Genesis and Therapeutic Approaches |journal=Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports |date=October 2013 |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=378–386 |doi=10.1007/s12170-013-0328-7 |pmid=24159367 |pmc=3804270 }}</ref> Overweight and obesity are also highly prevalent among Black female populations living in Europe, including the [[United Kingdom]], where [[British African-Caribbean people|Black Caribbean]] and Black African women have higher obesity rates compared to the general British population, which has also been attributed to a greater tolerance for heavier bodies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bailey |first=Lorraine |date=April 5, 2012 |editor-last1=Barton |editor-first1=Arlene|editor-last2=Thaker |editor-first2=Aruna |title=Multicultural Handbook of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics |publisher=Book Publishers|chapter=African-Caribbean Diet |isbn=9781118350461

Feminine beauty ideals have been shown to have correlations towith many psychological disorders, including lowered self-esteem and eating disorders. Western cultural standards of beauty and attractiveness promote unhealthy and unattainable body ideals that motivate women to seek perfection.<ref name=":7"/> Since 1972, there has been a dramatic increase in the percentage of women in the United States who experience dissatisfaction with their bodies.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|author1=Balcetis, E.|author2=Cole, S.|author3=Chelberg, M. B.|author4=Alicke, M.|year=2013|title=Searching out the ideal: Awareness of ideal body standards predicts lower global self-esteem in women|url=https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/en/publications/searching-out-the-ideal-awareness-of-ideal-body-standards-predict|journal=Self and Identity|volume=12|issue=1|pages=99–113|doi=10.1080/15298868.2011.639549|s2cid=143048134}}</ref> Research indicates that women's exposure to television, even for a very short time, can experience decreased mood and self-esteem.<ref>Renzetti, C. M., Curran, D. J., & Maier, S. L. (2012). Women, men, and society (6th ed.). Pearson.</ref> It has been consistently found that perceived appearance is the single strongest predictor of global self-esteem among young adults.<ref name=":0"/> Awareness of the ideal female shape is linked to increasingly negative self-esteem.<ref name=":0"/> Through peer interaction and an environment of continual comparison to those portrayed in the media, women are often made to feel inadequate, and thus their self-esteem can decrease from their negative self-image. A negative body image can result in adverse psychosocial consequences, including depression, poor self-esteem, and diminished quality of life.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Cash, T. F.|author2=Morrow, J. A.|author3=Hrabosky, J. I.|author4=Perry, A. A.|year=2004|title=How has body image changed? A cross-sectional investigation of college women and men from 1983 to 2001|url=http://web4.uwindsor.ca/users/j/jarry/main.nsf/032ecd0df8f83bdf8525699900571a93/aa9ed943e56182bf85256abe005bc3f6/$FILE/Cash%20et%20al%20(2004).pdf|journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology|volume=72|issue=6|pages=1081–1089|doi=10.1037/0022-006x.72.6.1081|pmid=15612854}}</ref>

There is significant pressure for girls to conform to feminine beauty ideals, and, since thinness is prized as feminine, many women feel dissatisfied with their body shape. Body dissatisfaction has been found to be a precursor to serious psychological problems such as depression, social anxiety, and eating disorders.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Jefferson, D. L.|author2=Stake, J. E.|year=2009|title=Appearance self-attitudes of African American and European American women: Media comparisons and internalization of beauty ideals|journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly|volume=33|issue=4|pages=396–409|doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01517.x|s2cid=144320322}}</ref> The feminineFeminine beauty idealideals hashave influenced women, particularly younger women, to partake in extreme measures. Some of these extreme measures include limiting their food intake and participating in excessive physical activity to try to achieve what is considered the "ideal beauty standards". One aspect of the feminine beauty ideal includes having a thin waist, which is causing women to participate in these alarming behaviors. When trying to achieve these impossible standards, these dangerous practices are put into place. These practices can eventually lead to the woman developing eating disorders such as [[anorexia]] and [[bulimia]]. As achieving the "beauty ideal" becomes a more popular phenomenon, these eating disorders are becoming more prevalent, especially in young women.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mazur, Allen|date=August 1986|title=U.S. Trends in Feminine Beauty and Overadaptation|url=http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/humans_web_04/beauty/feminine.pdf|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=22|issue=3|pages=281–303|doi=10.1080/00224498609551309|access-date=2018-04-23|archive-date=2017-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811134308/http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/humans_web_04/beauty/feminine.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Researchers have found that magazine advertisements promoting dieting and thinness are far more prevalent in women's magazinemagazines than in men's magazinemagazines, and that female television characters are far more likely to be thin than male characters.<ref>Jackson, L. A. (1992). Physical appearance and gender: Sociobiological and sociocultural perspectives. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.</ref> Eating disorders stem from individual body dysmorphia, or an excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance.<ref name=":7">Fitts, M. & O'Brien, J. (2009). Body image. In Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. (pp. 82–87). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.</ref> Researchers suggest that this behavior strongly correlates with societal pressure for women to live up to the standards of beauty set by a culture obsessed with being thin.<ref name=":7"/> Research has shown that people have subconsciously associated heavier body sizes with negative personality characteristics such as laziness and lack of self-control.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|author1=Owen, P. R.|author2=Laurel|author3=Seller, E.|year=2000|title=Weight and shape ideals: Thin is dangerously in|journal=Journal of Applied Social Psychology|volume=30|issue=5|pages=979–990|doi=10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02506.x|issn=1559-1816|oclc=66791717}}</ref> Fat-body prejudice appears as young as early childhood and continues into adult years.<ref name=":2"/> The problem of negative body image worsens as females go through puberty; girls in adolescence frequently report being dissatisfied with their weight and fear future weight gain.<ref>Serdar, K. L. (2011). Female body image and the mass media: Perspectives on how women internalize the ideal beauty standard. Westminster College. Westminster Coll., nd Web.</ref> According to the [[National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders]] (ANAD), the age of the onset of eating disorders is getting younger.<ref name=":7"/> Girls as young as elementary-school age report body dissatisfaction and dieting in order to look like magazine models.<ref name=":2"/>

Ellen Staurowsky characterized serious psychological and physical health risks that are associated with girls' negative body images. Negative body image is often associated with disordered eating, depression, and even substance abuse. There is widespread evidence of damaging dissatisfaction among women and young girls with their appearance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Her Life Depends On It II |url=http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/~/media/Files/Research%20Reports/Her%20Life%20Depends%20On%20It%20II%20%20Covers%20and%20Inside%20with%20December.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616013125/http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/~/media/Files/Research%20Reports/Her%20Life%20Depends%20On%20It%20II%20%20Covers%20and%20Inside%20with%20December.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-16 |access-date=2020-11-02}}</ref>