Television viewers' ideal body proportions: The case of the curvaceously thin woman

Abstract

Dozens of studies have linked ideal-body media exposure to the idealization of a slim female figure, but none have examined the proportions of this figure. College women's and men's exposure to ideal-body images on television was correlated with their perceptions of the ideal female bust, waist, and hip sizes and their approval of surgical body-alteration methods. For women, exposure to ideal-body images on television predicted the choice of a smaller waist and hips, and either a larger bust (for those who perceived themselves to be smaller-busted) or a smaller bust (for those who perceived themselves to be larger-busted). For both women and men, exposure to ideal-body images on television predicted approval of women's use of surgical body-alteration methods such as liposuction and breast augmentation.