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STEREOTYPES IN
PERCEPTION OF IDEAL BODY SIZE FOR DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES
MICHELLE A. JACKSON
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS
Sponsored by
MUKUL BHALLA(bhalla@loyno.edu)
http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/369.asp
ABSTRACT
This study was
designed to assess whether or not stereotypes exist as to what
body type is considered acceptable for White women and if this
differs from what is considered acceptable for Black women. 69
college students participated in the study (27 males and 41
females). Of the participants were 47 White, were 11 Black, and
10 were Other. They were shown slides of both Black and White
women of varying sizes and asked to record their perception of
each woman’s satisfaction with her body. It was hypothesized
that all participants will rate overweight White women as
significantly more dissatisfied with their bodies than Black
women of the same size. Participants generally rated heavier
Black women as more satisfied with their bodies than White
women, but rated both very obese and very skinny women as being
very dissatisfied with their bodies, regardless of the race of
the woman. The results showed that stereotypes do indeed exist,
but not at extreme weight levels.
INTRODUCTION
Stereotypes in
Perception of Ideal Body Size for Different Ethnicities
Western
societies place a large amount of pressure on their women. They
are expected to act, speak, walk and look a certain way.
Emphasis is especially placed on a woman’s looks, and
expectations of conformity to the ideal image are becoming
increasingly higher. Everywhere women turn they see what is
considered ideal: in movies, on TV shows, in magazines, on
runways, on billboards. There is no escape from the media
saturation of the idea that “thin is in”. This has been so ever
since a model aptly named Twiggy appeared on the scenes in the
late 1960’s. Twiggy led a wave of supermodels and actresses
whose thin frames and size 0 bodies became highly desirable, but
which was usually unattainable for most women. Eating disorders,
such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, have been linked to the
constant media saturation that thinness is the ideal body image
(Johnson & Petrie, 1995).
It is common
knowledge that White women suffer from more eating disorders
than do Black women (Crago, Shisslak & Estes, 1996). Studies
have shown that White women also report significantly lower body
satisfaction, more disordered eating behaviour and a higher
drive for thinness on a Body Esteem Scale than Black women
(Henriques, Calhoun & Cann, 1996). Research conducted by Bissell
(2002) showed that in 80% of cases where White women reported a
greater desire than Black women to look like models, the models
were thin. Furthermore in the other 20% of cases where Black
women had the greater desire to look like the model shown, the
model was overweight. This is indicates that not only are White
women more dissatisfied with their bodies than Black women, they
also seek to be thinner. Black women on the other hand appear to
be more satisfied with their bodies and if given the choice
would rather be overweight than underweight (Bissell, 2002).
It is also
interesting to observe what males find attractive in terms of
women’s body size and weight. Investigations by Demarest and
Allen (2000) showed that men of different races did not differ
significantly in what body size they found attractive. While all
the women in this study believed that men would find thin bodies
most attractive, there was a significant disparity in the level
of thinness Black women and White women would have expected the
men to find attractive. The Black women estimated closest to
what men chose as ideal, whereas the White women believed that
men would find extremely thin women to be most attractive.
Bissell’s (2000) research asked male respondents to rate
pictures of female models of varying sizes both on
attractiveness and their willingness to date someone looking
like the model. They were also shown a chart and asked to circle
the body size closest to their perception of the ideal body
shape for women. It was found that while White males chose a
thinner body as more ideal, it was not a significant disparity
from the ideal body chosen by Black males. White males were more
likely to rate overweight women as most unattractive, and were
less likely than Black males to date an overweight woman.
While many
investigations exist into the disparities of body satisfaction
of White and Black women, no literature has been found
discussing whether women of each race holds a different body
ideal for their own race than for the other. Furthermore, no
investigations exist that show whether males view the ideal body
size White and Black women differently from each other. No
research has been conducted to unearth stereotypes in body
ideals for White and Black women. We therefore examined whether
or not stereotypes exist as to what body size is considered
acceptable for White and Black women on a whole, by both males
and females. We predicted, based on previous research, that all
participants will rate overweight White women as significantly
more dissatisfied with their bodies than Black women of the same
size.
METHOD
Method
Participants
The sample consisted of 69 Loyola Undergraduate
students, recruited using convenience sampling. They came from
all four standings: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. The
participants were both male (n=27) and female (n=41) and not
discriminated against based on race, and thus a wide variety of
races participated. There were 47 White participants, 11 Blacks
and 10 who fell into other categories (such as Latino or Asian).
Participation was on a purely volunteer basis, although some
participants received course credit where offered by their
professors. The participants were recruited through the
Psychology participant pool, from on-campus organisations and
from the investigators own classes. The results of one White
male were removed from the study, with his permission, because
he felt that he was not in a position to determine whether or
not the women were satisfied with their bodies. He responded
‘neutral’ for every slide shown.
Materials
The test packet contained consent forms, a demographic question
sheet and a body-satisfaction survey. Pictures of women’s bodies
(Stunkard, Sorenson & Schulsinger, 1983) of different sizes and
colored by the investigators were used in conjunction with the
body-satisfaction survey. The pictures were not included in the
test packet given to the participant as they were shown as
slides controlled by the investigators. The participants used
pencils provided by the investigators to answer the questions.
The demographic question sheet was compiled by the investigators
(See Appendix A). It contained questions regarding age, race,
sex, class standing, nationality and sexual preference.
The body-satisfaction survey was done using a 5-point Likert
Scale answering the following question for each of the eighteen
slides shown: “I think that this woman is satisfied with her
body”. The answers ranged from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly
Disagree”. (See Appendix B)
The pictures of women’s bodies were duplicated, and one set
colored peach to represent White women, and the other set
colored brown to represent Black women. (See Figure 1)
Design & Procedure
The study was a within subjects factorial design. The
participants were subjected to each and every combination of the
levels of the independent variables and there were equal numbers
of participants in each cell (69 per cell). The independent
variables were race of the woman, as represented by the color of
the drawing of the woman; and the size of the woman. For the
I.V. of race, the levels were brown and peach, to represent
Brown and White women respectively For the I.V. of the size of
the woman, the levels were the pictures, each of which was
assigned a number, as seen in Figure 1.
Race Size of woman – as assigned in Figure 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9
Peach 69 69 69 69 69 69 69
69 69
Brown 69 69 69 69 69 69 69
69 69
The dependent variable was the response on the
Satisfaction survey. This D.V. would then be used to determine
whether or not stereotypes exist by examining whether people
gave significantly different satisfaction ratings for Black and
White women of the same size. The Sampling method was a
convenience method and as a result the participants were
randomized as they were not put into certain time slots by the
investigators, but rather chose times themselves. The
participants acted a control against themselves, and being that
they were shown all the slides in one sitting no temporal
effects were expected.
The study was conducted in Loyola University classrooms. The
participants were tested in groups, one group every 45 minutes.
The participants were seated and given pencils with which to
answer the questions. They were told that they were
participating in a study on body ideals – no specifics were
given. They were given two consent forms: read, signed and dated
each, and kept one copy for themselves and returned the other to
the investigator. The first part of the test packet, the
demographic survey, was handed out. Participants were given 5
minutes to fill out the survey. The survey was then collected.
Participants received the second part of the test packet, the
body-satisfaction survey. They were presented images on a
projector screen of 18 women, 9 White and 9 Black. These images
were shown individually and in a previously chosen random order
(this order remained the same for all test groups). The
participants were given 10 seconds to make their response on the
body-satisfaction survey. This survey was then collected.
Following this, the participants were debriefed. They were told
that the study was an investigation into stereotypes held by
people towards ideal body types for Black and White women. Any
questions were answered. The investigators also signed
participation slips for those receiving extra credit.
RESULTS
Results
Our hypothesis was that heavier Black woman would be rated as
more satisfied than White women of equal size by all
participants. To test this we analyzed the mean satisfaction
rating for the White and Black women that made up each pair
using a Paired Samples T-test on SPSS software. We analyzed all
data for p<.05, two tailed. These analyses showed that there
were significant disparities in the mean satisfaction ratings of
five pairs. These were women 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 (see listing in
Figure 1). For Pair 3 the Black woman was rated significantly
more dissatisfied than the White woman (t (67) = 2.921, p =
.009). For Pair 4 the Black woman was rated significantly more
dissatisfied than the White woman (t (66) = 3.278, p = .026).
For pair 5 the White woman was rated significantly more
dissatisfied than the Black woman (t (67) = 5.097, p = .001).
Pair 7 also had the White woman rated as more dissatisfied than
the Black woman
(t (66) = -3.647, p = .006). Likewise for Pair 8 (t (67) =
-4.254, p = .004). (See results in Table below). Pairs 4 and 5
support the hypothesis that heavy Black women would be rated as
more satisfied than White women of the same size.
Mean Std. Deviation
Black White Black White t df p
Pair 1 4.57 4.54 .68 .69 -.497
64
67
67
66
67 .621
Pair 2 4.47 4.47 .72 .80 .000
67 1.000
Pair 3 4.38 4.10 .81 .79 2.921 67 .005
Pair 4 3.54 3.85 .75 .61 3.278 66 .003
Pair 5 2.79 2.79 .89 .84 5.097 67 .000
Pair 6 3.03 2.82 .86 .86 1.524 67 .132
Pair 7 2.63 3.15 .95 1.22 -3.647 66 .001
Pair 8 3.28 3.90 1.06 1.02 -4.254 67 .000
Pair 9 3.84 4.01 1.03 1.11 1.841 67 .070
In terms of descriptives, woman 1 was rated as most dissatisfied
of the White women (M = 4.54, SD = .69) and Figure 6 was rated
as the least dissatisfied of the White women (M = 2.82, SD =
.86). Woman 1 was also rated as most dissatisfied of the Black
women (M = 4.57, SD = .68). It should be noted that there was no
significant difference in the means of the two colors for woman
1. Woman 5 was rated as the least dissatisfied Black woman (M =
2.79, .89). (See results in table above).
DISCUSSION
Discussion
Two of the
heavier Black women (4 & 5) were rated significantly less
dissatisfied with their bodies than the White women of the same
size. This was congruent with our hypothesis that heavier Black
women are perceived as more satisfied with their bodies than
White women of the same size, and indicates that stereotypes do
exist as to what size is acceptable for Black women and White
women. However, the ratings for woman 3 contradicted our
hypothesis as the White woman was rated significantly less
dissatisfied than the Black woman. There was also no significant
difference in dissatisfaction rating for the two heaviest sets
of women (1 & 2), which also contradicted our hypothesis.
Although this
was not part of our hypothesis, we also examined the significant
difference in ratings for the smaller women. Due to previous
studies that showed that White women were more likely to want to
be skinny than Black women (Henriques, Calhoun and Cann, 1996)
and that Black women would choose to be overweight rather than
underweight (Bissell, 2002), we were surprised to see that for
women 7 and 8, both of who were at the skinnier end of the
scale, the Black women were rated as less dissatisfied with
their bodies. This is also inconsistent with the images we see
in the media that show White women constantly trying to lose
weight, or being presented with very skinny supermodels and
actresses (versus fuller models and actresses such as Tyra Banks
and Queen Latifah). We would have expected that the White women
at this end of the scale would have been rated as less
dissatisfied with the Black women.
We also noticed
that at either extremity of the scale (very obese or very
skinny) there were no significant differences in the
satisfaction ratings for the different races of the pair. Race
was not an issue but both were rated as very highly
dissatisfied. This leads us to believe that while stereotypes
may exist in terms of what weight is acceptable for White women
and Black women, there is no difference at extreme weights.
Neither too obese nor too skinny is considered to be
satisfactory.
There were
several limitations to the present study that should be
accounted for if further investigation into this idea is
undertaken. First, and possibly most important, was that when
the slides were projected onto the screen the colors were not as
distinctive as planned. The peach drawings looked White and the
brown drawing looked light brown. Upon questioning some
participants after debriefing, there were mixed responses to
their viewing of the slides. Some participants said they did not
notice there was a color difference, some said that they noticed
the difference but did no attribute it to different races, and
some said that they both noticed the colors and attributed it to
different races. By the time we realized that the colors were
not having their full effect we had already collected a large
amount of data and due to time constraints were reluctant to fix
the problem and have to throw out all our data. In the future it
would be necessary to ensure that the colors show up properly
and that difference is notable, quite possibly by doing pilot
tests.
Secondly there
were several issues with the sample. The sample size was fairly
small (n = 68). If the sample size was larger we may have had
more power over the date. Furthermore the sample was made up of
college students from a predominantly White university, and we
feel the results may not be generalizable to the public at
large. Unfortunately we could not account for and possible
effects that the participants’ race may have had on their
ratings, since there was a large disparity in the number of
White and other races, specifically Blacks. We also could not
account for any possible effects that the sex of the
participants may have had on their ratings as the ratio between
men and women in the sample was very uneven. Future studies
should try to look at these aspects, and would need fairly large
and equal sample sizes for each to do so. We also did not
specifically take age into account, although being that we
sampled college undergraduates we assumed that the range would
have been between 18 and 24 for the most. We had several
participants who were much older. There were several in their
30’s and one woman who was in her late 40’s. Although we did not
examine whether or not age would have an impact on this
stereotype it is possible, and therefore these few outliers
could have had an effect on the results. Future studies should
either examine a wider variety of ages or have a requirement as
to the range.
Thirdly, being
that the pictures were shown in a single preselected random
order there may have been order effects, which would have
affected the rating. For example, the Black woman 1 was shown
right after the White woman 8. Was the woman 1 rated more
harshly than woman 8 because of the size of her figure or
because of the comparison of a very skinny figure with a very
heavy figure? This contrast effect could have been avoided by
showing different groups the pictures in one of several
preselected random orders.
The
investigators themselves may also have had a subconscious effect
on the participants’ response. The investigators were two
females, one Black and one White, and one male of White-Asian
decent. They each conducted the experiment, sometimes alone,
sometimes in combination with one or both of the other
investigators. It is possible that the race and sex of the
investigator, or combination of investigators may have had an
effect on the response of the participant.
Furthermore,
several of the participants were friends of the investigators
and may have responded differently than other participants as
such. Although the investigators tried to minimize nuisance
variables in the room they still occurred, particularly when
participants who were friends came in together. They tended to
joke around, and this may have caused them not to the answer the
questions with the seriousness the study deserved or may have
acted as a distraction to the other participants. Other
disturbances which may have had an effect occurred when people
arrived after the study had already commenced and when the
equipment had technical difficulties.
In conclusion,
we can infer that stereotypes do exist as to ideal body types
for Black and White women, although at very extreme body types
race is not an issue. Knowledge of this could lead to a greater
awareness of one’s potential to hold stereotypes and therefore
maybe reduce pressure placed on women to look a certain way, as
they will see that what is expected of them is not necessarily
expected from others. Future research could focus on how
participant characteristics such as age, sex, race and sexuality
affect these stereotypes. Future research should also attempt to
examine whether stereotypes exist for more races than just Black
and White, such as Asian or Latino. It would also be interesting
to attempt to determine if biracial women suffer from competing
expectations for their body.
REFERENCES
References
Bissell, K.L.
(2002). I want to be thin like you: gender and race as
predictors of cultural expectations for thinness and
attractiveness in women. New Photographer, 57, 4-12.
Crago, M.,
Shisslak, C.M., & Estes, L.S. (1997). Eating disturbances among
American minority groups: A review. The International Journal of
Eating Disorders, 19, 239-248.
Demarest, J., &
Allen, R. (2000). Body Image: Gender, Ethnic and Age
Differences. The Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 465.
Garner, D.M.
(1997). The 1997 Body Image Survey Results. Psychology Today.
Retrieved December 1, 2002, from
www.psychologytoday.com/htdocs/prod/contents/PTO/PTO-19970201-000023.html
Henriques, G.R.,
Calhoun, L.G., & Cann, A. (1996). Ethnic differences in women’s
body satisfaction: an experimental investigation. The Journal of
Social Psychology, 136, 689-697.
Johnson, C., &
Petrie, T. (1995) The relationship of gender discrepancy of
eating attitudes and behaviours. Sex Roles, 33, 405-416.
Nelson, R.
(2002). Ethnicity does not influence body size, preference or
tolerance. Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, 5-6.
Stunkard, A.J.,
Sorenson, T., & Schulsinger, F. (1983). Use of the Danish
adoption register for the study of obesity and thinness.
Genetics of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, 115- 120.
APPENDIX A
Appendix A
Demographic Survey
Code ______________
Instructions: Please answer the following questions to the best
of your ability. Raise your hand when finished, and a
researcher will collect your sheet.
Sex
ć Male
ć
Female
Age _________
Nationality ______________________________
Race (check all that apply)
ć African American
ć Asian American
ć Caucasian
ć Hispanic
ć Other
Current Class Standing
ć Freshman
ć Sophomore
Major(s) _______________________________
ć Junior
ć Senior
ć Other
Sexual Orientation
ć Heterosexual
ć Homosexual
ć Bisexual
APPENDIX B
Appendix B
Satisfaction Survey
Code _______________
Instructions: For each slide presented, circle the answer that
corresponds to the way you would rate the statement “I think
this woman is satisfied with her body.”
Strongly Agree Agree
Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
1. SA A N
D SD
2. SA A N
D SD
3. SA A N
D SD
4. SA A N
D SD
5. SA A N
D SD
6. SA A N
D SD
7. SA A N
D SD
8. SA A N
D SD
9. SA A N
D SD
10. SA A N
D SD
11. SA A N
D SD
12. SA A N
D SD
13. SA A N
D SD
14. SA A N
D SD
15. SA A N
D SD
16. SA A N
D SD
17. SA A N
D SD
18. SA A N
D SD
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