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In this special issue, we showcase innovative research demonstrating the process by which gendered experiences of the body constrain and impact body image. In this first volume, we organized the papers into three research streams that highlight this process. The first stream explores the link between social and/or interpersonal experiences of objectification and body-related self-perceptions and behaviors. The second stream explores different media sources and messages as potent transmitters of gendered body ideals. The third stream calls attention to the wider cultural prescriptions for attractive and acceptable bodies across gender, race, and age—and how body image may shift according to these more specific prescriptions. This issue concludes with a discussion of these papers within the context of objectification theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is written in response to Perloff's article for the Feminist Forum that proposes an agenda and a related model to guide future research conducted in the area of social media effects on young women's body image concerns, especially as they occur in the United States. The current paper offers suggestions and considerations for ways to renegotiate and reconfigure Perloff's agenda and model. Specifically, this paper argues for a model that makes space for both deleterious and salutary effects, not only the former, as a means to create a model that is malleable enough to provide heuristic value for future empirical research in this area. The current paper includes a United States-focused review of the recent research about online social support groups (OSGs) and internet-based health interventions that include social media applications and suggests that these media and their related effects be included in the proposed model moving forward. The current paper also contends that more concerted and prominent attention to the form, function, attributes and/or affordances of social media is needed in the proposed agenda and related model. The theory of affordances offers a comprehensive way to address the complexity of how social media is used and the related outcomes they bring about for a particular group of people (i.e., young women with body image concerns) and is therefore also suggested as an addition to the proposed model. Other related augmentations, addendums and revisions are suggested near the end of the current paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence indicates that interactive media-based web technologies, such as social networking sites, have an appreciable effect on users' perceptions of and attitudes toward their own bodies, as well as resultant weight and shape control behaviours. However, little research has been done to investigate whether social media differentially influence gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, who are known to be at increased risk of body image disorders compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The current paper aims to address this gap by surveying and extending existing theory, using a critical review methodology, to derive a provisional theoretical model that explains how social media influence body image and weight and shape control behaviours of sexual minority men in particular. Our proposed model serves as an extension to the transactional model of social media and body image concerns, which includes additions to individual vulnerability factors (perceived self-discrepancy, gender nonconformity, minority stress) and psychosocial mediating processes (sexual objectification, sociocultural processes, online disinhibition). We conclude by identifying gaps in empirical evidence that would lend support to our proposed pathways as well as additional directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who self-objectify perceive their bodies as objects which exist for the pleasure of others. Personality traits are important factors that might moderate the pathway between self-objectification and body image concerns. In the present paper, we explore if narcissism moderates this relationship, and we do so by exploring the facets of grandiose narcissism (associated with an inflated sense of self-importance) and hypersensitive narcissism (a more defensive and insecure narcissism). A convenience sample of 277 young Australian women (Mage = 21.34 years, SD = 3.25, range = 18-30) completed an online battery comprising measures of self-objectification, subclinical grandiose and hypersensitive narcissism, and measures designed to capture concerns related to body image. We found that hypersensitive narcissism, but not grandiose narcissism, predicted higher levels of self-objectification. Grandiose narcissism scores predicted lower levels of body shame and less weight discrepancy, indicating more positive body image, and also moderated the relationship between self-objectification and body shame (i.e., women who report lower levels of narcissism are more vulnerable to body shame associated with self-objectification). In contrast, hypersensitive narcissism scores predicted higher levels of both body shame and discrepancies in actual-ideal weight. These findings suggest that grandiose narcissism may have a protective relationship regarding body image in this population, whereas hypersensitive narcissism may be a risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper presents constructions of gender roles among Taiwanese sexual minority women with different gender identities (i.e., butch and femme, known as T and Po , respectively, in Taiwan) and associations between their views toward their own breasts and breast healthcare intentions and behaviour. A total of 37 face-to-face interviews were conducted among women aged 20 years or older who self-identified as lesbians or women who partnered with other women in four areas of Taiwan between August 2012 and October 2012. The majority of the T -identity lesbians held negative views toward their own breasts. The T-identified lesbians' negative intentions toward breast cancer screenings were associated with their negative views toward their own breasts and body construction process. All Po-identified lesbians reported positive views toward their own breasts; these views facilitated positive breast healthcare intentions and behaviour. The study findings can be used to help healthcare providers in understanding the importance of providing competent cultural care to sexual minority women and to help policymakers in formulating suitable policy to meet women's healthcare needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuing the theme of our special issue (Calogero and Tylka, Sex Roles, 63, 1-5. ), we present a collection of novel studies that detail how gendered experiences of the body constrain and impact body image. Specifically, Part II of the special issue explores gendered body image from vantage points of intersectionality and diversity-importantly recognizing that culturally-prescribed appearance ideals for women and men combine with multiple individual variables and identities (e.g., gender role identification, developmental stage, culture and cultural identification, family environment, sexual orientation, and personality) to mold body image. Each study advances our understanding of how individual difference and identity variables, such as the above, shape the experience of gendered body messages in western societies. To facilitate the presentation of the studies, we organized this research into three streams. The first stream explores how gendered messages are inscribed onto the body in childhood and speaks to the stability of gendered body image throughout adolescence and adulthood. The second stream investigates macro- (culture) and micro- (family environment) level body and appearance ideals that tend to shape body-related self-perceptions. The third stream illustrates the complex connection between gendered body ideals, the adoption of these ideals as a personal standard, and behaviors geared toward altering the body to become more consistent with these ideals. Part II concludes with a discussion of how these papers may be used to promote positive body image for girls/women and boys/men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has demonstrated that interpersonal weight-related pressures and criticisms are related to body dissatisfaction among college women. Further, research has suggested that romantic partners, in comparison to family and peers, play an increasingly important role in college women's body dissatisfaction. However, research has been inconsistent on the roles that these sources of interpersonal weight-related pressure and criticism play in college women's body dissatisfaction. The influence of romantic partners on college women's body dissatisfaction is important to examine given that college women are developmentally at a time in their lives where issues related to romantic relationships become more salient. Even more, understanding of the influences on college women's body dissatisfaction and resultant disordered eating is critical so that effective prevention and intervention efforts can be developed. Thus, this study examined the influence of family, peer, romantic partner, media weight-related pressures and criticisms on body dissatisfaction and resultant disordered eating (i.e., dieting and bulimic behaviors) among college women. Participants included undergraduate college women ( N = 246) recruited from introductory psychology courses from a mid-sized U.S. Midwestern university. Women completed paper and pencil surveys for course credit. Path analytic results demonstrated that partner and media pressures were related to internalization of the thin ideal, and that family, peer, and media pressures along with internalization of the thin ideal were related to body dissatisfaction. Moreover, body dissatisfaction was related to maladaptive dieting and bulimic behaviors. Prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the impact of various forms of weight-related pressure, especially the media, appear crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we provide a commentary on Perloff's theoretical perspectives and agenda for research that examines the effects of social media on young women's body image concerns. Social media are the main form of mass media being used by the youth of today, and researchers in the U.S. and Australia have commenced studying how these may be affecting body image concerns. However, the processes underlying how social media may influence young people's body image appear to be no different from underlying other forms of mass media. Research is needed to more fully evaluate youth's experiences of online appearance culture and how this may foster both negative and positive peer interactions. We also need more studies which compare the influences on social media with other media forms as there is no clear evidence that social networking sites and other forms of social media are more detrimental to one's body image than other forms of media. We also consider factors that may protect young people from internalizing appearance ideals that are promoted by the mass media. In addition, we consider broader conceptualizations of body image so that a wider range of human experiences can be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an article in this issue of Sex Roles, I proposed a transactional model of social media effects on body image concerns that emphasizes the role played by individual vulnerability characteristics, gratifications sought from social media, and a host of mediating psychological processes. Commentators offered thoughtful responses to the model, pointing to strengths, but also targeting a number of areas for additional emphasis and ameliorative attention. This article, with a focus on the U.S. context, reviews each of the papers. It summarizes their main suggestions, and pulls together the host of forward-looking ideas, including the role played by cultural forces, the interplay between social and conventional mass media, and an emphasis on the salutary effects of social media on body image processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linda Stein's recent sculptures are abstracted human figures tightly encased in black leather. Some hang on the wall, some are free standing; all are headless, armless, and have truncated legs. The scavenged leather 'skin' is old jackets and bags that reveal their original uses in the embossing, zippers, and buckles that Stein uses for textural accents. This paper will survey the new work's claim, as stated in the exhibition title, to represent the 'Fluidity of Gender.' The tactile nature of the medium itself prompts certain questions about the role sensuality plays in gendered experience, and how sexuality and power are intertwined. The distressed surfaces of the sculptures suggest the paramount significance of experience as contributing materially to body image. In conclusion, this essay will explore the way representations of bodies whose gender is unfixed may influence the viewer's body image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes key findings of a study exploring how a cohort of 16 rural Australian women aged over 60 years think, feel and respond to the prevalence of sexualised imagery in the media. The qualitative research framework was informed by Feminist Standpoint Theory. Participants in three focus groups responded to semi-structured questions and prompts, interspersed with viewing examples of sexualised images. Five strong thematic categories emerged: concern for the harmful impacts of sexualised images on the vulnerable, the media's portrayal of sexual content with a focus on physical appearance and youth, descriptions of the impact of viewing sexualised images, moderators of the impact of sexualised images on well-being, and marginalisation of women in the media. Findings from this research indicate that sexualised images in the media do have an impact on older women's self image and mental health in numerous ways and in a range of situations. Emotional impacts included sadness, anger, concern, envy, desensitisation, marginalisation, and discomfort that their appearance was being judged by others. A strong sense of self apart from appearance, feeling valued by family and community, ignoring or overlooking media content, and being aware that media images are not real and attainable helped buffer the link between sexualised images and well-being. Another important finding is that the impact is variable: women may experience different responses to similar sexualised content depending on a range of social, health and lifestyle factors affecting them at any given time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-deprecating judgements of body size are a robust exception to the general tendency for people to make self-enhancing judgements of themselves. This paper investigates whether the failure to make self-enhancing body size judgements also generalises to judgements of other physically grounded attributes, namely, physical attractiveness and sexiness. Sixty Australian women and men aged between 18 and 88 years of age were photographed, and their own ratings of their body size, attractiveness and sexiness were compared with those made of them by others. Women and men made self-deprecating judgements of body size, but made self-enhancing judgements of attractiveness and sexiness. We suggest that the unambiguous nature of cultural standards for body size, rather than low self-esteem, accounts for the self-deprecating judgements of body size made by men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between gender role and body image was examined in this research. Females and males who differed in their gender roles (i.e., masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated) completed the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (B. A. Winstead & T. F. Cash, ‘Reliability and Validity of the Body-Self Questionnaire: A New Measure of Body Image,‘ paper presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1984) and a measure of self-esteem. Results indicated that feminine females valuated their physical appearance less favorably than androgynous females, although physical appearance was equally important to both groups. The importance of the masculine component of gender role was reflected in the favorable body-image ratings of androgynous and masculine females in all domains (i.e., physical appearance, physical fitness, and physical health), and in the unfavorable ratings of feminine males in the physical fitness domain. Regression analyses to predict body-image ratings indicated that while self-esteem was an important predictor, it did not account for the relationships between gender, gender role, and body image. Implications of the findings for future research on the relationships between gender role, body image, and indices of mental health are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by the Tripartite Influence Model and Objectification Theory, we examined whether parents' attention to their children's appearance was related to higher body shame in girls and boys. In Study 1 (N = 195) and 2 (N = 163), we investigated 7-12-year-old children's metaperceptions about parents' attention to their appearance and its association with children's body shame. In Study 3, we examined the link between parents' self-reported attention to their children's appearance and children's body shame among parent-child triads (N = 70). Results demonstrated that both children's metaperceptions and fathers' self-reported attention to children's appearance were associated with body shame in children. Furthermore, when mothers' and fathers' attitudes toward their children were analyzed simultaneously, only fathers' attention to their children's appearance was associated with greater body shame in girls and boys. Notably, no gender differences emerged, suggesting that parents' attention to their children's appearance was not differentially related to body shame in girls and boys. These results remained significant when controlling for other sources of influence, namely peer and media influence, both of which were found to have a strong association with body shame in children. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital media use represents a central part of young adults' daily life, within which social interactions increasingly center on visual content. While visual content, such as representations of self, may facilitate positive social interactivity, it may also increase susceptibility to harmful social interactions, such as appearance-related online victimization. Black women's bodies are often the target of gendered racial microaggressions and sexual victimization which can contribute to body image concerns. Still, the online victimization–body esteem link among Black women remains unexamined. This study used structural equation modeling to examine the associations between four categories of online victimization (i.e., general online victimization, online individual racial victimization, online vicarious racial victimization, online sexual victimization) and body esteem. We further examined whether womanism, an identity-based factor, moderated the relationship between online victimization and body esteem. A sample of 1,595 young Black women completed an online survey. Results showed that online sexual victimization was significantly negatively associated with body esteem and that high levels of womanism buffered the harmful impact of general online victimization on body esteem. Future research is needed to examine Black women's and gender expansive people's experiences with online gendered racial victimization along with other forms of online intersectional oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women’s bodies are often objectified and evaluated, which may result in body dissatisfaction associated with sexual difficulties. This study of 384 college women confirmed that contextual body image during sex was more associated with a lower self-confidence to refuse sex, poorer sexual functioning, and reduced sexual assertiveness than general body dissatisfaction, and the level of contextual body image mediated the effect of body dissatisfaction. Moreover, greater contextual body image was associated with lower sexual self-efficacy, more ambivalence in sexual decision-making, and more emotional disengagement during sex with a partner, implying that contextual body image is a better predictor of women’s sexuality than general body image. Findings are discussed in relation to needed research and their implications for clinical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersectionality, minority stress, and social ecological theories have all been important frameworks for understanding mechanisms that create and maintain sexual and gender minority health disparities. In this study, we integrated these frameworks to guide a grounded theory examination of identity-related experiences in specific settings among 33 Black, White, and Latino young sexual minority cisgender men who lived in Chicago. Analyses identified four key categories: Racism Manifests in Context- and Sexual Minority-Specific Ways, Sexual Orientation Can Mean Feeling Safe and Seen or Threatened and Alone, Gender is a Matter of Self-Expression, and Bodies Are Not Always Made to Fit In. Participants reported both identity-based privilege and marginalization as well as unique forms of minority stress at the intersection of specific identities. Across these categories, participants' experiences of their intersecting identities and associated forms of minority stress were embodied in their physical appearance, situated in specific neighborhoods and contexts, and co-constructed through their interpersonal interactions with others. Further, participants' narratives provide powerful insights about the nuanced ways in which young sexual minority men understand and negotiate their lived experiences. Findings highlight how experiences of identity and minority stress are both intersectional and located within specific social ecological contexts, which has important implications for research, clinical practice, and advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the framework of objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts in Psychology of Women Quarterly 21(2): 173–206, 1997), the current studies explored how often women (vs. men) reported wearing clothing that is painful, distracting, and/or restricting (PDR clothing). Additionally, we examined differences in body surveillance (i.e., chronically monitoring the appearance of one's body) and body appreciation between those who reported wearing various types of PDR clothing and those who did not. In both a sample of U.S. college students (n = 545) and a broader sample of U.S. adults (n = 252), results indicated that women were substantially more likely to wear PDR clothing than men. Across both samples, the largest differences between men and women were in wearing uncomfortable or painful shoes and in wearing clothing that is distracting because it requires ongoing monitoring or adjusting. Women and men with higher body surveillance were more likely to report wearing PDR clothing. Though some findings pointed toward a negative association between body appreciation and wearing PDR clothing, these results were inconsistent. Overall, results were consistent with the notion that the gendered nature of clothing might reflect and provoke chronic vigilance of the body's appearance. Gendered differences in the extent to which clothing promotes comfort and movement vs. discomfort and distraction has clear implications for women's quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The female appearance ideal has undergone considerable changes in recent years, resulting in increases in drive for muscularity among Brazilian women. The Female Muscularity Scale (FMS) was developed to assess muscularity concerns among U.S. women and was shown to be a promising measure of muscularity-related attitudes and behaviors. The present studies aimed to translate and culturally adapt the FMS to Brazilian Portuguese and to explore its factorial structure among Brazilian women (Study 1: n = 202, Mage = 24.40, SD = 5.03) and to confirm the factor structure as well as evaluate convergent and divergent validity and reliability of the FMS for young adult Brazilian women (Study 2: n = 382, Mage = 22.71, SD = 4.32). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure (Attitudes and Behaviors subscales), each comprising five items. Confirmatory factor analysis upheld the original two-factor structure with good fit indices. The full scale and its subscales presented convergent validity through associations with measures of body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, body-ideal internalization, body checking and avoidance behaviors, disordered eating, and exercise engagement. Evidence of divergent validity was obtained in relation to self-esteem and depressive symptoms. The Brazilian version of FMS also presented adequate values for internal consistency and 2-week test-retest reliability. These findings support the Brazilian version of the FMS as a useful tool for investigating muscularity-related aspects of body image and body change behaviors that are increasingly a source of concern for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the use of digital self-tracking devices has increased exponentially. Although these devices are positioned as health-tools, an emerging empirical literature has started to document relationships between the use of such technologies and body image and eating concerns. To date, however, these explorations have not been guided by an integrated theoretical framework. The present manuscript aimed to fill this gap by providing a framework to guide and stimulate this area of research. The proposed framework integrates elements of critical sociocultural theories that have been successful in accounting for the development and maintenance of body image and eating concerns and other body change behaviors, including theories of Biopower and those that highlight the role of objectification and self-surveillance, and it extends them to describe how self-tracking devices, and specifically body performance tracking tools, may contribute to pressures to monitor, discipline, and mold the body to unrealistic appearance ideals through the consumption of products and services. The framework focuses on how these processes promote the pursuit of an outperforming ibody, a perpetually optimizing body that leverages technological advancement to fine-tune its appearance and performance. In addition, the integrated framework describes the role of gender, and how women may be disproportionately vulnerable to their negative effects. Thus, such devices may be unhelpful to vulnerable individuals and perpetuate cultural discourses that hinder positive embodiment. The framework laid out here will hopefully contribute to stimulating research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The belief that sexualization might be used as a source of power for women in Western societies is spreading (Anderson 2014; Erchull and Liss 2013). The present research aims at evaluating the interpersonal consequences for women endorsing this belief. In three experimental studies with Belgian and French participants (100 college men in Study 1; 135 men in Study 2; 203 women in Study 3), we examine how women who intentionally self-sexualize (i.e., endorse a sex-is-power belief; SIPB) are perceived on four facets of social judgment (i.e., agency, morality, competence, warmth). Furthermore, we compare the perception of women endorsing SIPB to the perception of those who enact body surveillance (BSV), a behavior commonly associated with passive self-objectification, and we explore the expected and actual objectifying behaviors these targets elicit. Results indicate that women engaged in BSV were negatively evaluated on the four facets of social judgment, were perceived as more likely to experience daily objectification, and were more objectified by men than women who do not. The same pattern of results emerges for women endorsing (vs. not) SIPB, except that their agency is acknowledged. We discuss the societal consequences of intentional self-sexualization, whether empowering or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body image comparisons on social networking sites (SNS) have been found to be associated with disordered eating among western young women, however, the inner mechanism driving this association is largely unknown. Based on social comparison, sociocultural, and objectification theories, the present study aimed to investigate the association between body image comparisons on SNS and restrained eating, as well as the mediating role of body shame and the moderating roles of body appreciation and body mass index (BMI) among Chinese young adult women. A sample of 567 Chinese college women were recruited to complete a questionnaire assessing body image comparisons on SNS, body shame, body appreciation, restrained eating, and information about weight and height. Results showed that body image comparisons on SNS were positively associated with restrained eating and that body shame significantly mediated this association. Furthermore, body appreciation and BMI each moderated the association between body shame and restrained eating as well as the association between body image comparisons on SNS and restrained eating. These results not only have theoretical implications, but also provide guidance for prevention interventions targeting negative body image and disordered eating among college women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural trends in the United States may be shifting toward a curvy body ideal (defined as a body with a small waist and wider hips, such that the waist-to-hip ratio falls at.70 or below). As such, a thorough exploration of the curvy ideal is warranted, but an existing figural scale to explore this construct is lacking. We developed a computer-generated figural scale that assessed the discrepancy between actual versus ideal bodies on a 5 × 5 matrix crossing a 5-point scale of curviness and a 5-point scale of thinness simultaneously. In a modest-sized sample of young U.S. women (n = 319, age range = 18–34), Curvy Ideal Silhouette Scale (CISS) discrepancy scores related to scores on existing measures of body image discrepancies and disordered eating (Study 1a). Relationships between curvy (CDI) and fat (FDI) discrepancy index suggested the thin ideal and curvy ideal may be related, but distinct constructs. CDI scores were associated with decreased endorsement of body disturbance, dissatisfaction, and disordered eating. Finally, the CISS produced adequate 2-week test-retest reliability in a final sample (Study 1b). In all, the CISS shows utility in broadening body ideal research with potential for clinical utility as a component of a multidimensional body image assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined whether body talk on social networking sites (SNSs) was positively associated with body surveillance and body shame and whether body surveillance would mediate the relationship between body talk on SNSs and body shame. We also tested whether the links from body talk on SNSs to body surveillance and body shame would be moderated by self-compassion. Furthermore, the moderating role of gender in the mediation model was examined. The model was tested with 194 female and 119 male Chinese university students who completed questionnaires regarding body talk on SNSs, body surveillance, body shame, and self-compassion. Results indicated that body talk on SNSs was positively related to body surveillance and body shame. The relationship between body talk on SNSs and body shame was mediated by body surveillance. Furthermore, self-compassion moderated the association between body talk on SNSs and body shame. No gender difference was found in the mediation model. Findings from the current study provide new insights into the development of objectified body consciousness among women, as well as among men, and highlight the potential value of promoting self-compassion in the prevention of body image concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empowerment-themed advertisements are becoming an attractive marketing strategy for companies due to their popularity among female consumers, but there is no known empirical work examining their effectiveness at increasing women's felt empowerment. The explicit narrative of these ostensibly empowering advertisements seems empowering, but the visual messages still resemble traditionally objectifying campaigns, which have been known to lead to objectification in women. This series of two experiments measures the effects of nominally empowering messages on women's post-exposure feelings of empowerment and self-objectification. In Experiment 1, 135 U.S. college women were randomly assigned to view ostensibly empowering beauty advertisements, traditional beauty advertisements, or control advertisements. They then completed a measure of state objectification and participated in a 3-min public speaking exercise as a measure of apparent empowerment. In Experiment 2, a more diverse sample of 326 U.S. women completed an online version of the study with a new measure of felt empowerment. Results of both experiments indicated higher state objectification following exposure to traditional beauty advertisements as compared to control advertisements, with some evidence indicating that the ostensibly empowering beauty advertisements also primed state objectification. Reported self-efficacy (Experiment 1) and felt empowerment (Experiment 2) did not differ by condition, but speech performance was judged as more empowered for individuals who saw the ostensibly empowering ad. We discuss potential explanations for the findings and offering suggestions for improving the effectiveness of these advertisements while decreasing risk of self-objectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selfies are self-taken self-portrait photographs captured with mobile phones, and they are among the most common forms of self-expression on the photo-based social network Instagram. Selfies display their subject's face or body to social media followers and friends, making them particularly appearance-oriented images. As with other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Instagram posts garner feedback in the form of "likes" and comments from online audiences. When applied to selfies, such feedback can be interpreted as aggregated evaluations of their subject's physical appearance. We employ objectification theory to explore how value placed on selfie feedback among young women relates to markers of body image disturbance, including body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and bulimia action tendencies. We conducted an online survey of 177 English-speaking young adult (18–30 years-old) female Instagram users who were recruited through MTurk and who post selfies to examine the relationship between investment in selfie feedback and body image disturbance. We found that women who reported higher investment in selfie feedback were more likely to express body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness through the indirect influence of body surveillance, but this effect did not extend to bulimic tendencies. Our findings suggest that young adult female Instagram users who value audience responses to their selfies are more likely to exhibit disordered eating attitudes and intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research involved the initial development and validation of the 17-item Female Questionnaire of Trait Self-Objectification (FQSO), which measures Chinese women's trait self-objectification. In Study 1 (n = 663), an exploratory factor analysis identified two dimensions underpinning the FQSO: Physical Appearance and Physical Competence. In Study 2 (n = 421), results from a confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the two-factor model of the FQSO was superior to a one-factor model. Further, in Study 3 (n = 421), the validity of all FQSO dimensions was supported via their relationship with the Revised Self-Objectification Questionnaire and other body-image measures. Lastly, the results of the Study 4 (n = 32) supported the stability of the FQSO over a 1-month period. Collectively, results indicate that the FQSO demonstrates adequate validity and reliability in assessing self-objectification in Chinese women who express more concerns about facial appearance and skin than about sex appeal, firm/sculpted muscles, or measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainstream media's promotion of dangerously thin female images likely lowers self-image satisfaction and contributes to pathological body concerns and disordered eating among women. We tested upward and downward social-comparison effects on self-evaluations by exposing 145 Spanish women to images of thin (upward) or overweight (downward) models. We also tested whether explicitly asking or not asking participants to compare themselves with the models would moderate social comparison effects. Exposure to thin models deteriorated body image while increasing body dissatisfaction and anxiety. Conversely, exposure to overweight models improved body image and decreased body dissatisfaction but it did not affect anxiety. Whether participants were asked to compare themselves to the models explicitly or implicitly had no effect on the participants' responses. Furthermore, pre-existing body image concerns were not associated with the pre-to-post exposure effects. We propose that increasing the representation of normal weight and overweight women in media advertisements could help to neutralize or at least reduce the negative impact of media's practice to idealize thin and overly thin women as symbols of female beauty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of U.S. college-aged women experience body-image dissatisfaction, which puts them at heightened risk for the development of an eating disorder. However, evidence-based psychological interventions for body-image dissatisfaction in this population are not broadly available due to the limited number of trained counselors. We evaluated the efficacy of yoga as a novel treatment for body-image dissatisfaction in otherwise healthy U.S. college-aged women. Female participants between the ages of 18-30 were randomly assigned to twice weekly yoga classes for 12 weeks or to a wait-listed control condition. Compared to participants in the control condition, participants in the yoga condition reported significantly greater improvements in appearance evaluation and satisfaction with specific body areas at post-test. Participants in the yoga condition also reported larger reductions in the amount of time and energy spent preoccupied with their appearance. The results of the current study suggest that yoga, which is widely available across the country, could help college-aged women develop healthier relationships with their bodies. Health professionals and college administrators may want to encourage young women with body-image dissatisfaction to practice yoga in order to improve their self-image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor tanning among U.S. young women is a major public health concern that increases risk for skin cancer. Many young women engage in indoor tanning despite the risks, and prior evidence suggests that appearance-related motivations for tanning may outweigh health concerns. The present study examined appearance expectations as a mediator of the association between young women's self-objectification and indoor tanning behavior. Emerging adult college women (n = 332, 18-19-years-old; 66.9% White) provided reports of their self-objectification (operationalized as body surveillance), appearance-related tanning expectations, body esteem, and indoor tanning behavior. Results revealed that higher levels of self-objectification were indirectly associated with women's higher likelihood of indoor tanning. This association was mediated by positive appearance expectations for tanning. These associations appeared to be robust: The mediational model was significant whether body esteem was included as a control variable or not; whether the behavioral outcome was lifetime or past-year indoor tanning; and whether the sample included only White participants or was ethnically heterogeneous. Results suggest that young women who more frequently engage in self-objectification are more likely to engage in indoor tanning and that this association is explained in part by young women's positive appearance-related expectations for tanning. Furthermore, the findings point to indoor tanning as an important and understudied correlate of self-objectification. A deeper understanding of women's appearance-related motivations to tan may in turn facilitate the development of more effective interventions for this high-risk behavior, which remains troublingly common among young women in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectification of the female body is generating much research. Nevertheless, this has revealed little about whether women’s evaluations depend on the level of psychological intimacy with the perpetrator of that objectification. Intimacy theory predicts that objectifying comments would seem more acceptable coming from a close partner, especially for sexist women. The present study begins to fill these gaps by analyzing responses from 301 heterosexual/bisexual adult women in the United States (Mage = 37.02, range = 18-72) to appearance and sexual body comments made by four different male perpetrators: strangers, colleagues, friends, or partners. Measures assessed women’s perceptions of objectification, as well as reported enjoyment of these comments. As long as they were not negative, comments from heterosexual partners were perceived as the least objectifying and enjoyed the most; comments from colleagues, strangers, and friends were linked with greater objectification and less enjoyment. Additionally, sexist attitudes toward men and women—but more clearly toward men—linked with objectification and enjoyment. Future research directions and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is extensive documentation of the damaging psychological consequences of self-objectification, more research is needed to explain its antecedents. With the present study we (a) investigated the correlates of self-objectification by analyzing biological (age and body-mass index), psychological (self-esteem), and sociocultural dimensions (influence of mass media and significant others) in women and men; (b) examined the role of culture in self-objectification processes; and (c) tested the effect of gender as a moderator in the relationship between both psychological and sociocultural dimensions and self-objectification. A total of 770 heterosexual adults residing in Italy and Romania completed a self-reported questionnaire. Self-objectification was operationalized as Body Surveillance (BS) and Body Shame (BSH); however, because the the BS subscale was not satisfactorily reliable, our focus was restricted to BSH. The correlates of self-objectification for BSH were analyzed separately by nationality in regression models. Overall, BSH emerged as a process influenced by agents rooted in biological and psychological domains, as well as in social and cultural domains. High educational level and high self-esteem (this last particularly in men) correlated with reduced body shame for the Romanian sample, whereas within the Italian sample, the internalization of media standards and influence of significant others emerged as risk factors for body shame. Taken together, these findings underline the need to identify cross-cultural constants of self-objectification, as well as differences across contexts, in order to better understand self-objectification and to promote protective factors in specific culturally situated interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explores how culture-based meanings and values toward skin color, which are associated with women's body image ideals and gender-role expectations, profoundly influence women's leisure behaviors. Using in-depth interviews with East Asian, Asian American, and Euro-American women ( n = 43), results revealed how leisure behaviors are tied to cultural perceptions of skin color. People from different cultural backgrounds construct meanings and values pertaining to skin color, including beauty-related standards, social class, gender roles, and lifestyles. Culture-based values, such as the preference for tanned skin among Euro-Americans and for lighter skin among East Asians, affect a wide range of daily behaviors. These behaviors include conscious as well as subtle daily decision-making regarding sun-seeking, sun-avoidance, and sun-protection behaviors; indoor versus outdoor leisure participation; and appearance modifications. The study's results add knowledge to how perceptions and attitudes toward skin color and appearance manifest in women's daily behavior in general and leisure behavior in particular. In addition, the current study shows how individual behaviors reflect cultural meanings and values toward body image, specifically skin color, by emphasizing the links between cultural values and women's day-to-day lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi and Shields 1984) has been a primary research tool for over 30 years, yet its factor structure has not been fully assessed since its creation, so a two-study design examined whether the BES needed revision. In Study 1, a series of principal components analyses (PCAs) was conducted using the BES responses of 798 undergraduate students, with results indicating that changes were necessary to improve the scale's accuracy. In Study 2, 1237 undergraduate students evaluated each BES item, along with a select set of new body items, while also rating each item's importance to their own body esteem. Body items meeting minimum importance criteria were then utilized in a series of PCAs to develop a revised scale that has strong internal consistency and good convergent and discriminant validity. As with the original BES, the revised BES (BES-R) conceives of body esteem as both gender-specific and multidimensional. Given that the accurate assessment of body esteem is essential in better understanding the link between this construct and mental health, the BES-R can now be used in research to illuminate this link, as well as in prevention and treatment programs for body-image issues. Further implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS) is a prominent measure of key constructs in the body image literature. Despite the impact and popularity of the OBCS, however, investigations of its factor structure have been limited. To our knowledge, the present study is the first since the instrument's development 20 years ago to provide a detailed evaluation of the replicability of the factor structure of OBCS data in a sample of U.S. college women, the population for which the measure was originally developed and is used most frequently. Specifically, we used confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the structure of OBCS data and identify areas for measure refinement. Internal consistency reliability and convergent validity were also examined. A sample of 368 U.S. college women completed the OBCS along with measures of body esteem and thin-ideal internalization as convergent validity indicators. Findings revealed that OBCS Control Beliefs items were poor indicators of the factor. A two-factor structure composed of Body Surveillance and Body Shame was supported. Support for internal consistency reliability and convergent validity was also garnered. Additionally, abbreviated versions of the Body Surveillance and Body Shame subscales produced good model-data fit without sacrificing reliability or validity. These results support the use of the OBCS Body Surveillance and Body Shame subscales to assess critical aspects of body image in research and practice contexts; the abbreviated versions of these subscales can address demands for brevity in these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on antecedents of women's self-objectification mainly focuses on situational factors whereas our study examined whether women's values on materialism would predict their self-objectification and body surveillance in a sample of 218 undergraduate women in south China. Specifically, we proposed that materialism would increase women's tendency to regard sexual attractiveness as capital for them to gain positive life outcomes (i.e., capitalization of sexual attractiveness, CSA), and the tendency to have appearance-contingent self-worth (i.e., appearance CSW), which would in turn predict their self-objectification and body surveillance. Results provided support for the proposed theoretical model. Specifically, CSA and appearance CSW mediated the relationship between materialism and women's self-objectification, whereas appearance CSW mediated the relationship between materialism and women's body surveillance. These results expand the scope of investigation by incorporating Chinese samples and suggest that in addition to socio-cultural and interpersonal predictors, women's values can contribute to the development of an objectifying perspective on themselves. Therefore, interventions on women's values combined with attempts to change sexually-objectifying environments are both critical in reducing self-objectification and body surveillance in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined whether exposure to sexually objectifying images in a potential romantic partner's virtual apartment affects discrepancies between people's perception of their own appearance (i.e., self-perceptions) and their perception of the body ideal that is considered desirable to a romantic partner (i.e., partner-ideals). Participants were 114 heterosexual undergraduate students (57 women and 57 men) from a northeastern U.S. university. The study used a 2 (Participant Gender) × 2 (Virtual Environment: Sexualized vs. Non-Sexualized) between-subjects design. We predicted that women exposed to sexually objectifying images in a virtual environment would report greater discrepancies between their self-perceptions and partner-ideals than men, which in turn would contribute to women's body consciousness. Findings support this hypothesis and show that perceived discrepancies account for the relationship between exposure to sexually objectifying images and body consciousness for women but not men. We also found gender asymmetries in objectification responses when each component of perceived discrepancies, i.e., self-perceptions versus perceptions of a romantic partner's body ideal, were examined separately. For men, exposure to muscular sexualized images was significantly associated with their self-perceptions but not their perceptions of the body size that is considered desirable to a romantic partner. For women, exposure to thin sexualized images was significantly associated with their perceptions that a romantic partner preferred a woman with a smaller body size. However, exposure to these images did not affect women's self-perceptions. Implications for gender asymmetries in objectification responses and perceived discrepancies that include a romantic partner's perceptions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined young women's weight-influenced self-esteem (WISE) in response to imagined weight gain and weight loss, and its relations to body satisfaction, body comparisons and global self-esteem. Young women from two different regions, that is, from the north of The Netherlands ( n = 157) and from the Willemstad area (the capital of Curacao; n = 162), completed a questionnaire. It was expected that Dutch women would show lower self-esteem in response to imagined weight gain than women from Curacao, and that self-esteem in response to imagined weight gain would be negatively related to general self-esteem and body satisfaction, and more so among Dutch women than among Curacaoan women. Finally, it was expected that body comparisons would be predictive of lower self-esteem in response to imagined weight gain. As expected Dutch women showed lower self-esteem in response to imagined weight gain than Curacaoan women. Moreover, findings showed that among Curacaoan women self-esteem in response to imagined weight gain was not related to general self-esteem or body satisfaction and that body comparisons were less predictive of lowered self-esteem in response to imagined weight gain than among Dutch women. Findings are discussed in light of cultural differences in ideal body shape and the supportiveness of women's social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative effects of viewing images of thin and attractive models have been well documented. However, these models are typically presented in an objectified, passive form with a focus on the aesthetic qualities of the body. Little is known about women's responses to models presented in an active form, with a focus on athleticism and performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test body conceptualization theory by exposing women to models presented with a focus on the body-as-object (BAO), the body-as-process (BAP), or images of scenery, and to examine whether a desire to achieve an athletic body interacted with these effects. A convenience sample of 160 women was recruited from the general public, gyms, and university in a regional Australian area. Participants completed pre- and post-test measures of state mood, fitness and body satisfaction as well as a trait measure of athletic internalization. Results showed that exposure to either BAP or BAO images produced similar negative outcomes compared to exposure to scenery. Thus, emphasis on performance cues still elicits negative self-evaluations. However, differences between women high and low on athletic internalization were primarily found in response to the BAO images. That is, women who desired an athletic physique reported greater depression, anger and feelings of fatness after viewing the posed models compared to women who expressed less desire for an athletic body shape. Further research is needed around the ways in which athletic images and athletic internalization can be used to foster a more positive body image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the heightened attention to visual impression management on social media websites, previous research has demonstrated an association between Facebook use and objectified body consciousness among adolescent girls and young women in various Western countries, including the U.S. (e.g., Meier and Gray ). The current study aimed to test whether both young women and men using social networking sites are vulnerable to objectified body consciousness, and to extend this line of research to sexual health outcomes. We tested a path model of Facebook involvement, objectified body consciousness, body shame, and sexual assertiveness and examined whether the negative health consequences of objectified body consciousness were greater in magnitude for women than men. Participants in this study were U.S. college students in the Midwest, 467 women and 348 men, who on average reported using social networking sites for 6 years. They completed survey measures assessing their involvement in Facebook, body surveillance, appearance self-worth, and enjoyment of sexualization. They also reported on feelings of body shame and sexual assertiveness. For both women and men, Facebook involvement predicted objectified body consciousness, which in turn predicted greater body shame and decreased sexual assertiveness. The link between objectified body consciousness and body shame was greater in magnitude for women, but no gender difference was found in the association between body shame and sexual assertiveness. We suggest that social media foster a heightened experience of the self from an observer's point of view, which has consequences for body image and sexual agency among women as well as men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although adolescents frequently use social network sites, little is known about whether the highly visual and self-presentation-centered character of such sites affects body-related outcomes such as investment in appearance and appearance-changing strategies. Due to gender differences in appearance pressures and appearance ideals, these effects of social network sites on body-related outcomes may differ between boys and girls. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the relationships between social network site use, appearance investment, and desire for cosmetic surgery among adolescents and to compare the experiences of boys and girls. We used data from a two-wave panel study among 604 Dutch adolescents (aged 11-18). Structural equation modeling showed that social network site use positively predicted adolescents' desire to undergo cosmetic surgery indirectly through increased appearance investment. The relationships found between social network site use, investment in appearance, and cosmetic surgery desire applied to boys and girls and were not moderated by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peers may influence the body image concerns and disordered eating behaviours of adolescent girls through the creation of appearance cultures within friendship cliques. The present study investigates the role of friendship cliques and school gender composition in impacting upon adolescent girls' body image concern and disordered eating behaviours, using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM), a statistical procedure employed in the analysis of nested data. A sample of 156 girls was drawn from four private schools located in the capital city of Western Australia (one single-sex school and three mixed-sex schools). Eighty students from the single-sex school and 76 female students from the mixed-sex schools, comprising 35 friendship cliques, completed questionnaires assessing body image, disordered eating, and a range of variables that have previously been associated with body image concern and disordered eating, including appearance-based social comparison, frequency of appearance-based conversation, appearance-based criticism, friends' concern with thinness, media influence and media pressure. Hierarchical linear modelling analyses found that friendship cliques in all-girls schools exhibited similar levels of body image concern and dieting behaviours, with various peer and other media influence variables accounting for these similarities. Friendship cliques in mixed-sex schools were not found to be similar with regard to body image concern or disordered eating. These findings support the notion that friendship groups can be an important source of influence on the body image concerns of adolescent girls in single-sex schools, and show that both individual and friendship clique level measures of attitudes and behaviours make independent contributions to the prediction of these body image concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has investigated males' reactions to non-objectified media images of women, including those that depict women in instrumental activities like playing a sport. Using a survey methodology, this study examined U.S. adolescent boys' open-ended responses to images of performance athletes, sexualized athletes, and sexualized models. Participants were 104 adolescent boys from California (ages 12-17, primarily European-American). They remarked on the performance athletes' physical competence and focused on the athletic context depicted in the photograph. In contrast, participants focused on the physical appearance and attractiveness of the sexualized athletes and sexualized models. Overall, findings suggest that performance images of women evoke instrumental evaluations of women from male viewers, while sexualized images induce objectified appraisals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that appearance focused social comparisons are associated with body image disturbances. This study utilized ecological momentary assessment to examine associations between appearance focused social comparisons to media images and peers and body image disturbance and affect. Appearance focused cognitive distortions were examined as a moderator. Ninety-three undergraduate women from a large public Midwestern university in the United States completed questionnaires assessing the nature, frequency, and consequences of appearance focused social comparisons. Compared to no comparison, media comparisons were associated with greater body checking, negative affect, and guilt; peer comparisons were associated with greater body checking and guilt. Cognitive distortions moderated the relationship between appearance focused social comparisons and body checking. Specifically, the relationship between peer comparisons and body checking was strengthened at higher levels of appearance focused cognitive distortions. When only upward comparisons were considered, the relationships between both media and peer comparisons and body checking were strengthened at higher levels of appearance focused cognitive distortions. These results have implications for the treatment of body dissatisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on media exposure and body image focuses on TV and magazines, rather than the under researched types of media heavily consumed by adolescents, such as music videos. The present research, involving 199 adolescent girls (aged 14-16) from South-East England, examines girls' media consumption (types and genres) and identification with media models, then uses an exposure experiment to investigate whether the different media formats in which 'body perfect' ideals are presented affects their impact on body image. 'Study 1' showed that neither type nor amount of media use was related to body dissatisfaction, however media model identification was. 'Study 2' demonstrated that regardless of media type, experimental exposure to the body perfect led to significantly higher body and appearance dissatisfaction, compared to control images, but primarily amongst those girls who strongly identified with media models. Theoretical and intervention implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image was adapted to examine the role of body satisfaction, perceived pressure to have cosmetic surgery, and internalization of societal appearance ideals in understanding cosmetic surgery attitudes. Participants were 2,048 men ( N = 445) and women ( N = 1,603) American college students from Florida who completed a range of measures that assessed levels of body satisfaction, perceived appearance pressures, internalization of appearance standards, and cosmetic surgery attitudes. A structural equation model was used to test hypothesized relations independently for men and women. Results indicated a moderate-good fit to the data, with both internalization and body satisfaction mediating the effect of perceived pressures on cosmetic surgery attitudes. Invariance testing revealed significant differences in pathway estimates between samples of men and women. The findings offer further support for the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image and indicate potential factors that may influence cosmetic surgery attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture specifies standards for women's and men's body appearance and display. In Western cultures, these standards are both concentrated and ubiquitous in the media, represented as gendered body ideals for citizens to aspire toward. Because gendered body ideals are revered, individuals try to construct and portray their body consistently with these ideals. Furthermore, because gendered body ideals are narrowly defined and restrictive, individuals constrict their behavior, relationships, and perceptions of themselves and others to fall within the parameters of these ideals. The third and final issue of this series showcases innovative studies within two streams. The first stream investigates the many ways individuals invest effort into constructing and/or portraying their body to fit the gendered body ideal. The second stream addresses the diverse ways internalization of these ideals constrict individuals' relationships, freedoms, and perceptions of others' bodies and lifestyles. We discuss the empirical articles alongside points raised in films by Jhally () and Clark () that emphasize how media portrayals of gendered body ideals foster body-related constructions and constrictions in viewers. We emphasize intersectionality when presenting the articles, recognizing that gender combines with multiple identities (e.g., sexual orientation, race, political affiliation, and age) as well as individual difference variables to mold the degree to which individuals construct and constrict themselves and others to fit gendered body ideals. We end with a discussion of how these articles can be used to generate social change by deconstructing and delegitimizing gendered body ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine if gender-role conceptualizations in adolescent girls were related to their global self-worth and several dimensions of their body image. Self-report surveys were administered to 335 predominantly Caucasian Grade 12 girls from religiously-based high schools in the midwestern part of the United States. It was hypothesized that adolescent females' gender-typing of themselves as well as their gender-related attitudes towards others would be significantly, and possibly divergently, related to their perceptions of themselves and their physical bodies. Obtained data were analyzed using multivariate canonical correlation procedures. The results of these analyses revealed support for the predicted overall relationship between gender conceptualizations and self-perceptions, but also indicated some differences in the way in which the two dimensions of gender-role conceptualizations (personal and attitudes towards others) were associated with adolescents' perceptions of themselves. Specifically, girls exhibiting more egalitarian gender-related attitudes towards others scored higher on global self-worth and lower in body appearance orientation. In addition, higher self-endorsement on the masculine subscales was linked with higher global self-worth, lower social physique anxiety, and higher use of competence to evaluate the physical body. In contrast, high self-endorsement on the feminine subscales exhibited mixed links to the set of self-perceptual variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By inviting two generations of ethnically diverse men to define masculinity, this study makes visible ways men conform to, negotiate, and resist forces of hegemonic masculinity in the 21st century. Masculine gender role conflict theory provides underpinning for a textual analysis of empirical evidence gathered among U.S. young college men ( N = 80) in focus groups and their fathers/uncles ( N = 27) during interviews. Findings suggest that masculinities predominantly are defined in non-physical terms. Perspectives offered by African-American/Black, Asian, Caucasian/White, and Hispanic/Latino men offer nuanced cross-cultural constructions and meanings of masculinities and influences that shape their sense of self. Reported overall was anxiety, confusion, and frustration-especially with regard to the metrosexual and (in)ability to measure up to media-promoted male body images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined attitudes about body image and racial identity among Black women at a predominately White college in the United States. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 34 women about their school experiences, family, racial identity, self-esteem, and body image. We found that early childhood influences including family and school environment had profound impacts on their racial identity and body image. Through a qualitative analysis based in grounded theory, we found that participants' identification with White and/or Black culture produced levels of body satisfaction and a set of beauty ideals that generally corresponded to four racial identity groups: identification with White or Black culture, floating between both, or having a diverse self-identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]