Ecclectica: April 2006

Personal Statement:

I became interested in the influences on young girls' body image through my Body Image class discussions. As a class, we often critiqued the Western ideal of thinness and beauty and sought to trace its origins. In grappling with the question of "who decided thin was good?" it was clear from our own personal experiences that we as young girls had all been taught from a very young age that if you were thin, then you were pretty, which was equated with popularity and success. Although the answer to our question was something that we could never fully explain, in a not so profound way, the class decided that we are a part of "them"—that is, by soaking up these images and words and accepting them as truth, we are complacently helping to perpetuate the thin status quo.

In terms of personal relevance to my paper, I must admit that my weight has never been an issue for me; however, being one myself, I am acutely aware of the media's tremendous influence on young women. The malleability of girls is something that I feel popular media and marketing often take advantage of in order to perpetuate an impossible image of female beauty. After examining this topic, it seems to me that the media and other people, in fact, may have more to do with shaping an individual's body image than the person herself, which I think is a pretty scary and sad reality to face in a culture that puts so much emphasis on uniqueness and individualism. In effect, our culture seems to be telling young girls to "be yourself, as long as you look like everyone else."

Humans are inherently social creatures who are constantly shaping and being shaped by the world around them. The highly organized environment in which people live, although a structure which works to create social norms and to prevent societal chaos, can also prove to be a detrimental factor in influencing how a person should look and act compared to the larger society. Studies have shown that both women and men, young women and girls in particular, are highly influenced by sociocultural factors concerning body image and eating habits, the latter of which is closely correlated to self-image.[1] The current trend in Western society equates a beautiful woman with a slender body type, sending the message to girls and women that in order to be attractive, they must be thin.

The overall desire in Western cultures for women and girls to be thin is so prevalent that some "researchers are suggesting that it is becoming a normative behaviour."[2] "[S]uch body dissatisfaction carries a number of negative health consequences,"[3] for example: improper dieting and weight-loss strategies, eating disorders, and poor mental health such as low self-esteem. Therefore, in regards to body image, I have chosen to focus my discussion on the main sociocultural influences on negative self-image and eating patterns of young girls and adolescents.

Since socialization is a process that is necessary for every child to be accepted into society, it is important to examine the factors that are internalized at a young age regarding a person's self-concept. A poor self-concept can render individuals insecure about their appearance and in turn can increase their susceptibility to outside influence about how they should look. Although there are numerous sociocultural variables that children are exposed to, this paper will focus on three key influences, namely the affects of parents, peers, and the popular culture/media on girls' body image.

In terms of applying a sociological theory to the social influences of young girls, I am using the symbolic interaction paradigm. When examining the influences on body image and body dissatisfaction, it is important to recognize the role of the individual and how people interact in order to maintain the "thinness ideal." Pressures for young girls to diet stem largely from interactions between individuals, namely parents and peers. It is also necessary to consider that these interactions and influences are not static; sociocultural influences can change, and so too can a person's self-concept.

It is evident from examining the literature that familial and social influences have a strong impact on girls' self esteem and body image disturbances. Studies suggest that the yearning to become thin or maintain a certain body weight has been established in girls as young as age 7 or 8.[4] In an interview conducted among 8 year-old girls, "they agreed that they wanted to be thin, both now and when they grew up[;] when asked whether they worried about how they looked, they said they worried about getting fat."[5]

It is the root of this unhealthy need to be skinny at such a young age that researchers are concerned about: although the incidence of obesity is increasing among teenagers, "average weight adolescent girls are almost as likely to be dieting as their overweight peers,"[6] the desire to be thin does not only affect girls who are considered medically overweight, but also girls who are at a healthy weight. Reasons given by children for wanting to lose weight are rather varied and include "teasing by peers, pressure from family, feeling 'uncomfortable' or 'embarrassed', wanting to 'feel better' or 'look better', changing sports ability, not liking [current] weight, and wanting to 'be healthier'."[7] It is interesting to note that these reasons are often cited by adults as a basis for dieting, suggesting that children internalize the actions of adults and reflect it in their own behaviours.

Which adults, then, influence children the most about dieting and related eating behaviours? When a group of 12-year olds was asked where they first heard about the concept of dieting, "77%...heard about dieting from a family member, usually a parent."[8] This overwhelming response suggests that although there are other factors that influence dieting and a person's self-concept, socialization starts at home: "knowledge, beliefs and behaviours surrounding weight and shape may be transmitted both indirectly through parental modelling, and directly through specific instruction and verbal comments."[9] Parents and family members have the highest impact on children, particularly girls; "a daughter's eating behaviour may command greater attention than that of a son due to the importance placed on women being thin in…society."[10] In terms of parental modelling, a mother's own level of body dissatisfaction "and associated weight loss behaviours"[11] has been found to be directly related to daughters' self image. Direct influences may include comments regarding the "child's own weight or shape or to encourage the child to diet[;] in the case of younger children…instructions may be given regarding [appropriate] eating behaviour."[12] In relation to the direct emphasis placed on girls' weight, it appears that girls are also more attuned to indirect parental judgments with respect to body size: "parental teasing of females, but not of males, was related to body image dissatisfaction."[13] Parents, then, must become aware of the potential repercussions of the covert messages sent to young children regarding the child's weight.

Parents are not the only individuals who have a high impact on girls' perceptions about weight and dieting, however; friends and peers also play an integral role in shaping attitudes concerning body image and weight-loss behaviours. For younger girls aged 8 to 13, it has been found that "the strongest influences [are] mothers and best female friends"[14] concerning the pressure to lose weight. Peers and close friends are often seen as credible sources on the subject matter of dieting, particularly if they seem knowledgeable in controlling weight-related behaviours.[15] In fact, "adolescent girls reported their peers as one of the primary sources of information on weight control and dieting,"[16] confirming the large role that friends and peers play on self-image. In addition, girls' "perceptions of peers' negative messages and increased likeability by being thin influence their body image and overall concerns,"[17] suggesting that it is not necessarily the messages themselves but how they are perceived by the individual that is important in whether the messages are attended to.

Another aspect of peer influence on weight-related behaviours is the exposure to older children. It has been speculated that "older children who have already internalized the cultural norms for body shapes may display these attitudes to the younger children who spend time with them."[18] Consequently, this involvement between different age groups could lead to further awareness and internalization of the thin body type by younger children.

Friends and classmates are not the only peers who help to shape young girls' self-image, however. One of the most powerful systems for shaping attitudes, the media is no exception when it comes to perpetuating the thin-as-normative-and-good model. Young girls everywhere are showered with photos of popular icons that are extremely thin and seemingly derive their popularity on the basis of their slim figures. Images of attractive, slim young women serve to inform girls that the "norm" is to be thin, and that in order to engage in a desirable lifestyle, girls must have a slender body. It has been found that "exposure to images of thin models decreases body satisfaction,"[19] even in girls as young as 7 or 8.

Young girls' dissatisfaction with their bodies at a young age implies that perhaps "slimming" media messages aimed at older age groups are being ingrained into younger populations to which they should not apply; young girls' bodies still have many natural changes to undergo during the process of puberty.[20] Puberty is associated with natural weight gain; if a girl who is unhappy about her body shape prior to the onset of puberty begins to gain weight, she may not attribute the change in weight to the process of maturity, and consequently, display disordered eating attitudes and behaviours as a way to deal with this change.[21] In addition, many girls compare themselves to models who have already physically matured, making the changes involved in puberty difficult to accept.

The literature I examined focused on the three main influences discussed above: parents, peers and media. I feel that these factors are not only important individually, but also that they work together to bombard children with countless messages that skinny is beautiful and desirable, and that being "average" or "fat" is bad and undesirable. Consequently, this inescapable combination of influences makes the "thinness ideal" hard to ignore.

In addition to this omnipresent ideal, the extent to which weight-related attitudes and behaviours are attended to depends on the importance of the source to the child. Parents, peers, and media act as important informants to young girls, as the "impact [of a message] is determined by the [credibility] of the source."[22] As individuals, we like to believe that the people we look up to, whether they be parents, friends, or favourite singers, are good and honest people, and that their actions and beliefs are valid. Therefore, if a parent loses weight through dieting and cites the reason for becoming thin as "looking better," a girl is likely to see the behaviour as legitimate simply because the figure performing the action is seen as knowledgeable and trustworthy. I feel that the magnitude of these influences should be made salient to individuals who communicate with young girls; perhaps simply re-wording messages may leave more positive impressions with girls regarding their weight and the way they feel about themselves.

Finding long-term solutions to these problems, however, may be rather difficult. In the case of parental influence for instance, even if parents alter the messages they send to girls regarding body size, many will not stop dieting or controlling their own weight; the thinness norm, after all, applies to adults as well. The "do as I say, not as I do" approach is often weak in controlling the extent to which children model parents. In other words, even if the verbal influence is eliminated, the visual influence still persists.

In terms of the recommendations that have been made with respect to solving the increase in dieting among peer groups, I find that some researchers suggest over-simplified answers to complex problems. One study, for example, suggests separating the older and younger girls by creating schools for pupils within the same age range[23]: one school that hosts children 5–9 years, another with 9–13 years, and so on. The logic behind this idea is that separation from older children will help to stall the rate at which younger girls become dissatisfied with their bodies as they will only interact with those from their immediate age group, who presumably have not yet internalized slim ideals. While the logic appears to be sound, I feel that separating children based on age would only temporarily pacify peer influence. This solution largely ignores the role that older siblings and their friends have on young girls; while it is true that teasing and other attitudes regarding weight may be reduced within the schools themselves, peer influences operate in other settings as well.

Dividing schoolchildren by age is by no means the ticket to solving the larger cultural problem, either. Messages promoting the "thin is beautiful" ideal are ingrained into everyday life through media; young girls are subconsciously exposed to models and products that help to perpetuate the "thin" status quo. In my opinion, even increased awareness and knowledge of the negative effects of media on the self-image of girls is not enough to immediately alter the ideal body type from stick-thin to a shape that is more reflective of society. I feel that a shift in cultural definitions will have to occur over a long period of time in order for society to replace the "thin is beautiful" with "every body is beautiful."

Throughout my analysis of the material, I have applied the symbolic interactionist theory. Symbolic interactionism seeks to answer questions from a micro-level, such as "how is society experienced? And, how do human beings interact to create, sustain, and change social patterns?"[24] These questions are important to keep in mind when analyzing the influences contributing to negative self-image in girls. From a symbolic interactionist perspective, the thinness ideal is created and sustained through parents, peers, and media perpetuating the idea in young girls' minds that being thin is the only way to be beautiful. Young girls then reinforce this position by dieting and trying to maintain/achieve a certain weight themselves.

Using symbolic interactionism has helped me to better understand how many concepts such as the thinness ideal are created and sustained merely through interaction between individuals. It is interesting to note that although many of these ideals endure through interaction, they are also not static, which allows for change at both the individual and societal level. I feel that this societal flexibility will serve to provide one of the major solutions to the growing dissatisfaction of young girls with their bodies; changing the "thin is beautiful" mindset to encompass all body types may help to ease some of the cultural pressures to be thin. Since popular culture is largely defined and derived from media outlets such as television and magazines, it is up to the "trendsetters" to create interactions that embrace body types larger than the current cultural norm. Perhaps this change of definition at the macro level will, in turn, help to permeate the acceptance of all body types at the micro level.

From my analysis, girls' attitudes and behaviours regarding weight stem from three main sociocultural influences: parents, peers, and the media. It has been found that most young children discover the concept of dieting from their parents, either through parental attitudes or modelling. Parents also increase the likelihood of girls becoming dissatisfied with their weight through indirect ways, such as teasing. The role that peers have in terms of girls' body image is very similar to that of parents; peers are often a primary source of weight-control information and serve to influence other girls by pressuring them to lose weight through comments and teasing, and also by performing dieting behaviour themselves. These interactions between individuals, paired with the ever-present media, serve to perpetuate the thinness ideal. From a symbolic interactionist approach, the role that each of these influences play is determined largely by the level of importance that the individual places on both the source and the message. After examining each of these factors in turn, it is clear that the overall process of socialization for young girls contributes to the perpetuation of the thinness ideal, which for many girls increases body dissatisfaction and subsequent weight-control behaviours.

Works Cited

Balaam, Belinda J., Haslam, S. Alexander. "A Closer Look at the Role of Social Influence in the Development of Attitudes to Eating." Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 8 (1998): 195-212.

Edmunds, Helen., Hill, Andrew J. "Dieting and the Family Context of Eating in Young Adolescent Children." International Journal of Eating Disorders 25 (1999): 435-440.

Flaake, Karin. "Girls, Adolescence, and the Impact of Bodily Changes: Family Dynamics and Social Definitions of the Female Body." European Journal of Women's Studies 12, no.2 (2005): 201-212.

Grogan, Sarah. Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children. New York, NY.: Routledge, 1999.

Lowes, Jacinta, Tiggemann, Markia. "Body Dissatisfaction, Dieting Awareness and the Impact of Parental Influence in Young Children." British Journal of Health Psychology 8 (2003): 135-147.

Macionis, et al. Sociology: Fourth Canadian Edition. Toronto, Ont.: Pearson Education, Inc. 2002: 21.

McCabe, Marita P., Ricciardelli, Lina A. "A Prospective Study of Pressures from Parents, Peers, and the Media on Extreme Weight Change Behaviours among Adolescent Boys and Girls." Behaviour Research and Therapy 43 (2005): 653-668.

Phares, Vicky et al. "Gender Differences in Peer and Parental Influences: Body Image Disturbance, Self-Worth, and Psychological Functioning in Preadolescent Children." Journal of Youth and Adolescence 33, no.5 (2004): 421-429.

Schur, Ellen A. et al. "Body Dissatisfaction and Dieting in Young Children." International Journal of Eating Disorders 27 (2000): 74-82.

Shumow, Lee, Lomax, Richard. "Parental Efficacy: Predictor of Parenting Behaviour and Adolescent Outcomes." Parenting Science and Practice 2, no.2 (2002): 127-150.

Super, Charles M., Harkness, Sara. "Culture Structures the Environment for Development." Human Development 45 (2002): 270-274.

Thompson, Sharon et al. "Body Size Beliefs and Weight Concerns among Mothers and Their Adolescent Children." Journal of Child and Family Studies 8, no.1 (1999):91-108.

Wardle, Jane, Watters, Rachel. "Sociocultural Influences on Attitudes to Weight and Eating: Results of a Natural Experiment." published online in Wiley InterScience (2004).

Endnotes