No longer just a pretty face: fashion magazines' depictions of ideal female beauty from 1959 to 1999

Objective: The print media's depiction of the ideal of feminine beauty as presented to American women was examined for the years 1959-1999. Method: Trends were investigated through an analysis of cover models appearing on the four most popular American fashion magazines. Results: Body size for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of eating disorders 2004-11, Vol.36 (3), p.342-347
Main Authors: Sypeck, M.F, Gray, J.J, Ahrens, A.H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Advertising. Marketing. Consume behavior
Americans
Applied psychology
Beauty
Biological and medical sciences
Body Image
body size
clothing and fashion
Eating behavior disorders
eating disorders
fashion magazines
Female
female ideal beauty
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
psychosocial factors
public opinion
Publishing - trends
social barriers
Social Desirability
society
thin images
United States
women
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Summary:Objective: The print media's depiction of the ideal of feminine beauty as presented to American women was examined for the years 1959-1999. Method: Trends were investigated through an analysis of cover models appearing on the four most popular American fashion magazines. Results: Body size for fashion models decreased significantly during the 1980s and 1990s. There was also a dramatic increase in the frequency with which the media depicted the entire bodies of the models from the 1960s to the 1990s. Discussion: Both the increasingly thin images and the striking increase in full-body portrayals suggest an increase in the value placed by American society on a thin ideal for women, a change that is concurrent with the increase in disturbed eating patterns among American women.
ISSN:0276-3478
1098-108X
DOI:10.1002/eat.20039