According to a new study by the University of Arizona, ads featuring bigger models don’t actually make most women feel very good about themselves. Apparently, pretty much everything makes women feel like crap about how they look.
According to the researchers, larger women feel better about themselves when ads don’t include any models at all, average-sized ladies actually have lower self-esteem after looking at ads with plus-sized models rather than uber-skinny ones, and thin folk prefer the traditional tiny models. The study did, however, come up with one icky way bigger models can be used to actually influence product sales: ” … if a normal-size woman sees moderately heavy images in ads for weight-loss products, she might feel overweight and be more inclined to buy a diet plan or gym membership.” This is basically saying ads could use plus-sized models to make women feel bad enough about themselves that they want to spend more money on gym memberships and diet products.
What do you think about this study? How does seeing both plus sized models and thin models in magazines make you feel about your own body? What thoughts go through your mind when you view them?
Personally, thin and toned models give me more esteem because I know that with work I could have that. I feel like seeing a lot of plus sized models would just depress me.
The yahoo article about this study had a picture of similarly built women as the picture above and no joke described them as not fit, not thin, heavier, and plus size. Is there any wonder that describing these thin fit women as big old fatties affects women’s self esteem? They are fat shaming women who are already thinner than the average woman. If these average to thin ladies are unfit and heavy, where does that leave average size women or actually big woman? It is not, I would propose, seeing these women that makes people feel shame, but seeing how these women are described as unfit, fat, heavy, and plus size.
Is there a link to the yahoo article?
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Cathy, I understand why someone would feel bad about their body if they read an article where women their own size were described an unfit and and heavy, but that’s not what this study was based on. It was based on just seeing these women in the pages of fashion magazines and ads, where there were no descriptions calling them anything, but yet people still feel bad after viewing them. I’m actually a little confused and curious about why.
This is an interesting study, and I wouldn’t have predicted the outcome. Thanks for posting it. I’d be interested to see whether similar results apply to men.