Are models getting thinner and more androgynous?
In 1980, Garner and colleagues published what was to become a seminal paper in the eating disorders. In this paper, they measured the 'vital statistics' of models appearing in a well-known men's magazine and 'Miss America' contestants and in order to examine cultural shifts in the 'ideal' body shape for women. They showed that beftween 1959 and 1979 the Body Mass Index of models (a measure of weight taking account of height) dropped signficantly. This change occurred alongside an increase in the weight of the normal population over the same period. There was also a suggestion that the measurements of hips and bust has decreased relative to waist measurements, indicating a move towards a more androgynous, straight up and down shape.
Garner and colleagues' study was recently updated by Voracek and Fisher in an article available on the British Medical Journal website. Their study suggests that the move towards a more androgynous shape has continued, along with a further reduction in body mass index. This finding suggests an ever-increasing divide between the ideals which are seen in the media, compared to the reality of increasing body weight amongst the general female population. It seems likely that such changes will increase body dissatisfaction, particularly amongst young women, and may lead to dieting, depression and possibly to increased levels of eating disorders.
REFERENCES:
Garner, D., Garfinkel, P., Schwartz, D., & Thompson, M. (1980). Cultural expectations of thinness in women. Psychological Reports, 47, 483-491.
Voracek, M. & Fisher, M. (2002) Shapely centrefolds? Temporal change in body measures: trend analysis. British Medical Journal, 325:1447-1448.
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