Subjects rated 12 female body shapes with respect to their physical attractiveness, and the extent to which they would be expected to possess various personality characteristics. The shapes were varied using 3 levels of overall weight and 4 levels of body shapeliness. The sample was modified to control for socioeconomic factors and results are based on 297 undergraduates from Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic racial backgrounds. Loglinear analyses revealed that men and women, regardless of racial background, rated shapely underweight females as most physically attractive, sexy, and ideal for a woman, followed by normal weight figures of similar proportion. African Americans, women in particular, judged the shapely normal weight figures more favorably than the other subjects. Multidimensional scaling and subsequent frequency analyses showed that those figures judged as most attractive, sexy, and ideal were also expected to be fairly emotionally stable, and most successful and interpersonally competitive, but least faithful, kind, and family-oriented. Overweight female shapes, while rated as least physically attractive, sexy, and emotionally stable, were expected to be most family-oriented, kind, and faithful. Shapely normal weight figures were judged to be attractive and sexy, and were assumed to possess a moderate amount of the personality traits in question. The results suggest that Caucasian and Hispanic subjects prefer shapely underweight women, while African Americans, particularly women, find shapely underweight and shapely normal weight women to be physically appealing. African American women also rate shapely normal weight women favorably with respect to personality traits. This perceptual difference may help inoculate them from developing eating disturbances and account for the low prevalence rate of eating disorders in African Americans compared to women of other racial backgrounds. It is suggested that future research identify those beliefs, values or behaviors that seem to inoculate African American women from developing eating disorders. Once identified, mental health professionals may facilitate their development in those women who are likely to have eating problems.

[pt] Este trabalho consiste em um estudo sobre a anorexia nervosa sob a ótica psicanalítica. Apresentaremos primeiramente um histórico do conceito, enfocando a trajetória desta patologia, que foi inicialmente rara e atualmente é encontrada na clínica com freqüência. Discutimos as contribuições trazidas pela psicanálise ao estudo e à clínica da anorexia nervosa através das diversas tentativas de explicá-la nessa perspectiva, embora este não seja um conceito psicanalítico. Abordamos ainda a relação entre a anorexia nervosa e a magreza como ideal de beleza contemporâneo sobretudo a ênfase que é atribuída ao corpo magro pela sociedade contemporânea e suas conseqüências psíquicas. / [en] This work consists of a study about anorexia nervosa from a psychoanalytical perspective. Firstly, we will present a historical view of the concept, focusing the trajectory of such pathology, which was originally rare and has become frequent in current clinical practice. We discuss the contributions brought by psychoanalysis to the study and clinical management of anorexia nervosa throughout its various attempts to explain it, even though anorexia nervosa is not a psychoanalytical concept. We also approach the relationship between anorexia nervosa and thinness as a contemporary beauty ideal, especially the emphasis assigned to the thin body in actual society and its consequences.

Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2016-08-16T15:42:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianarodriguesdealmeida.pdf: 1113663 bytes, checksum: e061cf7db453d51bed223d5057d273c6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-08-17T12:51:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianarodriguesdealmeida.pdf: 1113663 bytes, checksum: e061cf7db453d51bed223d5057d273c6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-17T12:51:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianarodriguesdealmeida.pdf: 1113663 bytes, checksum: e061cf7db453d51bed223d5057d273c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-27 / Na sociedade moderna, é inegável a crescente supervalorização do corpo como um instrumento de inclusão social e obtenção de poder. Aqueles que não se encaixam em um certo perfil estético, acabam vítimas de preconceitos e discriminação. Esta realidade pode ser agravada ainda mais quando as alterações corporais, decorrentes de cirurgias ou outros procedimentos médicos, encontram-se associadas a um adoecimento, como no caso do câncer da mama. Considerada uma das patologias mais temidas pelas mulheres por atingir um órgão carregado de significações ligadas à sexualidade, feminilidade e ao desempenho da maternidade, o câncer da mama afeta não apenas o corpo biológico mas, principalmente, alguns aspectos psicossociais da paciente, dentre estes destaca-se sua imagem corporal. Dessa forma, cabe investigar a imagem corporal de mulheres submetidas à cirurgia mamária por câncer da mama e o possível impacto do corpo ideal veiculado pela cultura contemporânea. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo qualitativo com uma amostra composta por doze mulheres que passaram por cirurgia, total ou conservadora, após o diagnóstico de câncer da mama. Os resultados foram trabalhados à luz da Análise de Discurso pecheutiana e do referencial psicanalítico. / In a modern society, it is undeniable the increasing overvaluation of the body as an instrument of social inclusion and obtain power. Those who do not fit in right profile aesthetic, become victims of prejudice and discrimination. This situation may be further aggravated when the body changes resulting from surgery or other medical procedures, are associated with a disease, such as breast cancer. Considered one of the most feared diseases by women because it reach a body part full of meanings related to sexuality, femininity and performance of motherhood, the breast cancer affects not only the biological body but mainly some psychosocial aspects of the patient, among these stands your body image. Thereby it is important to investigate women body image submitted a breast surgery because of a breast cancer and the possible impact of the ideal body aired by the contemporary culture. Therefore, we performed a qualitative study with a sample of twelve women who had surgery, total or conservative, after breast cancer diagnosis. The results were worked out through the pecheutiana Discourse Analysis and psychoanalysis.

Abstract The purpose of this essay is to discover the driving forces in top athletes, concerning training, body image and social positioning. Furthermore the object is to study how important being fit is for social reasons in today’s society. The athletes have been interviewed face-to-face and described their personal drive regarding training, their goals and the significance of the sport. They have also described how they see the image of the ideal body that currently exists within the field of sport and society and how training affects their own body image. The interviews also covered views of the physically inactive as a group and their personal thoughts concerning this. Status varies regarding driving forces and some are considered more favorably than others, in other words they are the ‘good driving forces´. The most important positive driving forces that have been highlighted are the pleasure principle and the challenge principle . The pleasure principle is characterized by the sport itself having its own intrinsic value, while possible positive effects connected with or after training are secondary. The activity alone is a real pleasure. The challenge is characterized by a desire to test oneself and see how far one can go. Competing is connected with personal achievement and not with comparisons with others. At the same time the feeling of winning is emphasized as an important driving force and these factors (challenge and win) tend to act simultaneously. Driving forces that are seen to be low-status, i.e. the ´bad driving forces’ are aesthetic reasons as well as winning for competitive reasons. Training for aesthetic reasons in order to be body beautiful is not considered a positive driving force. On the other hand it is pointed out that looking fresh and healthy is desirable. This is described as personal characteristics such as ´nice’ or ‘fresh’ and not as a physical description of someone’s body. Competitions are essential but should be seen first and foremost as proof that training gives results, and not to prove oneself better than anyone else. However the thrill of winning a competition is described as important and worthwhile. Top athletes inspire each other and are not only seen as role models but also help form one’s own identity and social position. Being physically active in sports is seen as a lifestyle and is the most important part of a social group and its identity. This is emphasized by distancing oneself from the physically inactive as a group and their characteristics. This group is described in terms of being overweight, unhappy and unsocial. They use food and alcohol excessively, do not take personal responsibility for their future health and are unwilling to change. Keywords: Sports, training, the ideal body, social positioning.

In light of the recent trend of body positive advertisements, the question arises if they are having the positive outcome intended. The purpose of this study is to investigate how women create meaning in relation to two recently launched body positive commercials from KappAhl and Lindex. This is explored through studying how women experience and assess the selected ads, how they perceive body positive advertisements more generally, and how they experience their potential to change the perception of the ideal body in society. The primary material consisted of semi-structured interviews which were analyzed through Schrøder’s multidimensional model of media reception, objectification theory and commodity feminism. The main results showed that the reception of the body positive message is complex. Overall, the women had a predominantly positive attitude towards both the ads and body positive messages in general. Regarding the advertisements, the main critique concerned the authenticity of the message, where the women emphasized the importance of genuine and realistic portrayals of both the models and the scenarios in the ads. Body positive messages were generally perceived as creating identification and representation of diversity, as well as broadening the view of what is normal. A recurrent critique was that companies are exploiting a trend which led to the women questioning the companies’ intentions. Concerning the potential to change the perception of the ideal body, the conclusion is that it would be possible through long term exposure and more companies contributing to the change. This research provides insights regarding how distancing women from the negative effects of the thin ideal can contribute to strengthening their prosperity and empowering them.

This study investigates the impact of sociocultural mediators in relation to eating disorders among male undergraduates. Literature on eating disorders has demonstrated that a thin body shape ideal depicted in the media directly contributes to eating pathology among females, but little research has investigated the direct effects of ideal body shape images among men. The focus of the present investigation was to assess the direct effects of exposure to the ideal male body shape on men’s affect, self esteem, body satisfaction, and endorsement of U. S. societal ideals of attractiveness. In addition, the relation of these variables to bulimic symptomatology was examined. Modeling a study conducted on women (Stice & Shaw, 1994), male undergraduates between the ages of 18 to 25 participated in premeasure (N = 169) and post measure (N = 95) conditions. Participants in the post measure were randomly exposed to pictures from magazines containing either male models depicting the ideal body shape, an average body or pictures of clothing without models. Results from repeated mulitvariate analysis indicated that exposure to the ideal body shape condition did not demonstrate significant negative changes in men’s affect, self esteem, body satisfaction or endorsement of U. S. societal ideals of attractiveness. Indirect support for the sociocultural theory of eating disorders was provided by multiple regression analyses which demonstrated that increased body mass, self esteem, stress and anxiety predicted bulimic symptomatology in men. Future research should direct itself toward investigating possible sociocultural influences of eating disorders on certain male subenvironments, such as athletes or homosexual males that place a greater emphasis on maintaining lower body mass and an ideal body shape.

Syfte Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka vilken betydelse kroppens form och utseende har för utövare på träningsanläggningar. Metod Metoden som har använts i denna studie är enkäter. Urvalet i denna studie har bestått av 51 individer som bor i en medelstor svensk stad, mellan 18–65 år, kvinnor och män som tränar på gym. Resultat Resultatet visar att de som tränat i över två år känner sig nöjda med sin kropp i mycket större utsträckning än de som tränat mindre än två år och att ålder inte spelar någon större roll. Män är generellt sett mer nöjd med sin kropp än kvinnor. Män tränar även fler pass i veckan samt fler timmar än kvinnor. Resultatet visar även att äldre alltid varit mer nöjd med sin kropp än yngre men att de yngre i högre utsträckning både blivit mer och mindre nöjda med sin kropp efter att de börjat tränat. Yngre lägger mer fokus på hur andras kroppar ser ut och fokuserar även mycket på hur deras egen kropp ser ut samt har för form. Ett annat resultat av denna forskning var att ganska långt ifrån alla som befinner sig på gymmet trivs där, men att de flesta blivit mer nöjda med sig själva efter att de tagit sig till gymmet regelbundet, framförallt de som gjort det i över två års tid. Slutsatser Många men långt ifrån alla som befinner sig på gym trivs där. De flesta blir däremot mer nöjda med sig själva när de tränar regelbundet. Ålder spelar en viss roll, äldre bryr sig i lägre utsträckning om sin egna kropp och andra kroppar jämför med yngre. Män är mer nöjda jämfört med kvinnor över sina kroppar samt att män tränar fler och längre pass. / Purpose The purpose of this assignment was to examine what meaning the body’s shape and form has on an active person who works out in gym. Method We have used a survey as our method in this assignment to get the results. The people that we have asked to answer the survey are 51 individuals, between 18- 65 years old that lives in a medium-sized Swedish town. All of these women and men are regularly working out at a gym. Result The results of this survey have shown that those who has work outed for over two years, feels satisfied with their body shape in a wider perspective then those who have trained less then two years and that age do not play a big part of it. Men are in general more satisfied with their bodies than women are. Men also work out more hours per week then women. The result also shows that older people are more satisfied with their bodies then younger but the younger in a large perspective have become more or less satisfied with their bodies after they started working out. The younger generation put a lot more focus on how other people’s bodies look and how their own shape look. Another result this survey have had were that far from everybody who visited the gym feel at home there, but most of them have become more satisfied with themselves after they have gone to the gym more regularly, especially those who have done it over two years’ time. Conclusion Many but still far from everybody that work out at a gym feels at home there, however many who do work out regularly feel more satisfied with themselves. Age play a small part in it all, older people care far less about their body in comparison with the younger generations. Gender also seems to play a part of the comparison as men feels more satisfied with their bodies than women do. Men tends to have more and longer workout sessions at the gym.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om det fanns någonassociation mellan ett visst kroppsideal och valet av träningsform,samt att undersöka om det fanns en skillnad mellan män och kvinnorgällande kroppsideal och valet av träningsform. Syftet var även attundersöka om det finns en variation i viljan att framstå som perfekt(perfektionistisk självpresentation) mellan olika träningsformer samtmellan de olika könen. För att undersöka detta utfördes entvärsnittsstudie med enkäter med sammanlagt 82 deltagare, varav 42var män. Deltagarnas ålder varierade mellan 18 och 42 år med enmedelålder av 25.6 år. Resultatet visade att det fanns ett tydligtkroppsideal för männen respektive kvinnorna. Den mest valdaträningsformen bland båda könen var styrketräning, men det varnågot vanligare bland männen. För män som valt ett muskulöst idealvar det vanligast att träna styrketräning. För kvinnor som valt ettkurvigt ideal var det också mest vanligt med styrketräning, men detvar mer vanligt att träna konditionsträning än för männen. I viljan attframstå som perfekt fanns ingen signifikant skillnad mellan de olikaträningsformerna, men det fanns en signifikant skillnad mellan deolika könen. Sammanfattningsvis kunde vi konstatera att kroppsidealtill viss del är kopplat till vad man väljer för träningsform samt attkvinnorna i studien tenderade att ligga högre i viljan att framstå somperfekt. / The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was anassociation between a certain body-image and the choice of exercise,and to examine whether there was a difference between men andwomen. The second aim was also to examine whether there was anyvariation in the tendency to display a perfect self in front of othersbetween the different exercise types and whether there were anygender differences. To investigate this we performed a cross-sectionalstudy with questionnaires with 82 participants. There were 42 menand 40 women in the study and their ages ranged between 18 and 42years old. The results showed that there was a clear ideal-body forboth men and women. The mostly chosen exercise form for bothgenders were weight-training, but it was somewhat more common formen. For men who chose a muscular ideal-body it was mostlycommon to choose weight-training. For women who chose a curvyideal-body it was also most common with weight-training, although itwas more common with aerobic exercise. In the tendency to display aperfect self, there was no significant difference between the differentexercise types, but there was a significant difference between men andwomen. In conclusion, it seems that body-ideal is associated with thechoice of exercise form in some manner. Women tend to display aperfect self in front of others somewhat more than men.

Kroppen, i termer av kroppsliga vardagserfarenheter och unga tjejers kroppsliga gestaltning av lik- eller olikartade erfarenheter, som uppvisas inom en nätkultur på bloggar om hälsa och träning har använts som empirisk och analytisk grund. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur heteronormativ femininitet iscensätts, förhandlas och görs normerande i populära bloggar inom träning och hälsa samt varför de konsumeras av unga tjejer. Inledningsvis redogörs för en beskrivande bakgrund av moderna västerländska konsumtionssamhället och vad det kan innebära för individers identitetsarbete. Tidigare forskning inom området berör ungas förhållningssätt till kroppen, ideal och femininitet, kulturella framställningar av normer samt medier som verktyg för identitetsskapande. En netnografisk undersökning med text- och bildanalys har genomförts av tre stycken bloggar för både publicerat material och interaktiva delar, det vill säga bloggarens inlägg och läsarnas frågor och kommentarer. Tre grundläggande teman var specifikt framträdande i den funna empirin; tämjandet av kroppen, iscensättningen av heteronormativ femininitet samt konsumtion och klasskillnader. Vidare har analyser utgått ifrån grundläggande genusteorier som berör performativitet, klass, queerteorin, normalisering och makt och stereotyper och sociomentala relationer. Resultaten visar att tjejernas föreställningar om och iscensättningen av femininitet inom nätkulturen strukturerar såväl tankar som handlingar. Deras kroppar är eller strävar efter att vara bärare av viss slags ideal heteronormativ femininitet och kroppen fungerar som medium varigenom denna kan verka. Konsumtion och markörer visar sig vara medel som möjliggör iscensättningen och den ideala livsstilen. Relationen mellan skribenten och läsarna diskuteras i termer av makt, klass och expertkunskap. Diskussioner har även förts kring vilken betydelse och mening bloggarnas diskurser om femininitet och kroppsnormer kan ha för unga tjejers föreställningar om vad som krävs för att vara kvinna ”på rätt sätt” i dagens samhälle. / The human body, in terms of everyday experiences and young women’s body staging of similar or unequal experiences that is exposed among an Internet culture on lifestyle blogs about health and fitness has based the empiric analyses. The study aims to examine how young women practice and negotiate hetero normative femininity on popular blogs about health and fitness and what conveys girls’ interest to read and interact in these type of online communities. The main questions of the study concern what type of feminine body standards are negotiated and orchestrated in blogs consumed by young women, what messages and ideals about health are conveyed and communicated through text and images, what kind of femininity do the girls strive to achieve by active consumption of and communication in blogs and why is it desirable, what enables the staging and what legitimizes the writers position as a role model and how can young girl’s health as a discursive practice be analysed and related to a broader social perspective concerning norms and ideals. The theoretical framework of the study is based on gender theories such as performativity, class, queer theory, normativity, power and social control, stereotypes and sociomental relationships. The methodology for the study is a netnographic observation of three blogs with further text- and image analysis both for published material and interactive fragments - blog posts and readers’ comments and questions. The three main themes that were specifically disclosed in the results are modifying of the body, the implementation of hetero normative femininity according to ideal images and consumption and class disparities. The results are illustrating the girls’ notions and staging of a specific heteronormative femininity among the Internet culture. The ideas about the ideal female body and lifestyle can structure thoughts as well as actions. Consumption and various types of labels and markers are used as tools for enabling the staging of the ideal lifestyle. The relation between the writer and the readers has been discussed in aspects of power, class and expertise. Further analyses and discussions has been held in terms of the theoretical framework of the study.

The diploma thesis titled The Magazines for Adolescent Girls as a Risk Factor of Negative Body Image and Eating Disorders discusses a possible influence of the girl's magazines on adolescent girls' body satisfaction. The thesis is divided into two parts theoretical and practical. The theoretical part focuses on theoretical definition of the main issue and further it presents the results and findings that were the starting point of the overall focus of the thesis. This part is divided into five chapters when each chapter focuses on the theoretical definition of the specific area. These areas are the period of adolescence, self-concept, body image, factors that may influence adolescents' body image and finally girls' magazines which are considered as a risk factor of adolescents' body dissatisfaction due to its contents. The diploma thesis reflects the important findings related to the main issue which are served as the basis for the following practical part. The second, practical part of this diploma thesis, is presented as an empirical investigation focuses on a possible influence of the girl's magazines on adolescent girls' body satisfaction and on the overall body satisfaction with adolescent girls' bodies. Within this empirical investigation are set questions that the investigation tries to answered. The results of the empirical investigation are divided into three parts according to the method that was used in a particular part of investigation. In thesis was used these methods: Silhouette Test, questionnaire and analysis of the text and image content of the most popular girl's magazines in connection with the theoretical focus of the thesis.