Negative body image can cause serious psychological problems. In some Western societies, body image concerns can develop at a young age, with early preadolescents preferring thinner bodies and reporting body dissatisfaction. The aims here were to clarify the significant gaps in published research, and to challenge existing assumptions around weight, muscularity, and body satisfaction in children. In addition, this novel research focused on young children’s body dissatisfaction, particularly young boys (aged 4-11 years). Traditional measures of body satisfaction are limited and do not incorporate muscularity, assess individual body parts, or indicate the direction of dissatisfaction. Here, new visual measures were developed along with a prototype application for a touch-screen tablet to measure body satisfaction in children. Through 4 innovative experimental studies the current research explored factors influencing body image: including gender, age, ethnicity, BMI, perceived body size, and sociocultural factors (e.g. cultural ideals and body size stereotypes). Results consistently supported the findings of study 1 which showed gender differences in body satisfaction: boys were more dissatisfied with their bodies than girls, and their dissatisfaction varied over the different body parts (torso, arms and legs). Stereotypical idealised body perception was evident: boys wanted to be muscular and girls desired to be lean. In study 2, ideal body choices saw boys choosing more muscular figures and girls more lean figures for the self, than the ones they choose for another boy or girl. Boys desired more muscular ideal figures than what they perceived the opposite sex would choose. Study 3 revealed the pattern of assigning positive attributes was gendered. Boys viewed the hypermuscular figure the most positively and girls the normal weight and lean figures the most positively. However, both sexes did not want to look like the overweight figure as a child or adult. Study 4 showed parent’s body satisfaction and their perception of their child’s current body size predicted child’s body satisfaction, and exposure to media predicted the child’s ideal and future ideal adult figure choices. Overall, a combination of factors involved in the development of children’s body image were revealed, including sociocultural influences, age, ethnicity, and perceived body size. The research carried out within this thesis has extended our knowledge of pre-adolescent’s body dissatisfaction, has developed innovative measures for use with younger children, and revealed fascinating findings around young boys’ body image.

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"The Gordita's Guide to Body Positivity" is an autobiographical documentary reflecting on society's expectations of the female body image and how it affects Latinx women. Through personal recollections, media content, and archival material, the film explores beauty expectations, body discrimination, and body positivity. The document analyzes the documentary styles such as autoethnography and narration incorporated into the film and provides historical and theoretical context to body image in the Latinx culture and how the media has affected body image, beauty ideals, and eating disorders. In addition, the pre-production, production, and post-production process is detailed.

Research suggests that the associations between femininity, body image and eating disorders are intricate. How these constructs are linked to each other still needs to be determined. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of these links, examining the mediational relationship among these constructs. Also, the prediction that bulimia and binge eating disorder symptoms have a similar origin was tested and compared. Some researchers have suggested that the pathways leading to these disorders are equivalent and the main difference between the two is the dietary restriction, while others see them as distinct disorders with different etiology. A total of 355 female college students (ages 18 to 26) completed a set of questionnaires that assessed femininity, feminine gender role stress, body dissatisfaction, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Results showed that body dissatisfaction mediates the relationship between femininity or feminine gender role stress with bulimia symptoms, as well as the relationship between feminine gender role stress and binge eating disorder symptoms. Results indicate that body dissatisfaction related to femininity or to feminine gender role stress may contribute to higher levels of bulimia symptoms. The findings also suggest that body dissatisfaction related to feminine gender role stress may contribute to higher levels of binge eating disorder symptoms. Results did not support the mediational role of body dissatisfaction between femininity and binge eating disorder. However, the mediational role of feminine gender role stress between femininity and body dissatisfaction was partially supported, suggesting that feminine gender role stress might only be one pathway by which femininity may have an impact on body dissatisfaction. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to examine any differences that may exist among demographic variables such as gender, age, and race in regard to internalization of society and media messages leading to body dissatisfaction that may lead to disordered eating behaviors such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. A total of 324 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire for women, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Revised-Male-Version for men, and Rotter’s Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. The results of this study found, as predicted, that Caucasians reported higher internalization, higher body dissatisfaction, and higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than African Americans. This study showed no differences regarding men’s and women’s internalization or body dissatisfaction but did reveal that women reported higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than men. Regarding age, this study found that age did not predict internalization, body dissatisfaction, or preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint.