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Television Viewers' Ideal Body Proportions: The Case of the Curvaceously Thin Woman

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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.

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Correspondence to Kristen Harrison.

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Harrison, K. Television Viewers' Ideal Body Proportions: The Case of the Curvaceously Thin Woman. Sex Roles 48, 255–264 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022825421647

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