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The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective

  • Chapter
The Body Beautiful

Abstract

According to a recent survey of 3,300 girls and women across 10 countries, 90 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest (Etcoff, Orbach, Scott, & D’Agostino, 2004). This finding suggests that women’s anxiety about their appearance is a global phenomenon, observed in every country studied from Saudi Arabia to the United States. Beyond body dissatisfaction, a stunning 67 per cent of all women aged 15 to 64 worldwide reported that they actually withdraw from life-engaging, life-sustaining activities due to feeling badly about their looks. These activities include giving an opinion, meeting friends, exercising, going to work, going to school, dating, and going to the doctor.

I’m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That’s deep enough. What do you want — an adorable pancreas?

∽ Jean Kerr

It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.

∽ Leo Tolstoy

I wanted to get rid of my stomach, but [I have] no money... [I] asked my doctor, ‘Don’t you have a pill to give me bulimia?’

∽ Dillaway (2005: 13)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, USA

    Rachel M. Calogero (received her M.A. in Psychology)

  2. Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, USA

    Michael Boroughs (faculty researcher)

  3. Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, USA

    J. Kevin Thompson (Professor of Psychology)

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  1. Rachel M. Calogero
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  2. Michael Boroughs
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  3. J. Kevin Thompson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Liverpool, UK

    Viren Swami (Research Associate) (Research Associate)

  2. University College London, UK

    Adrian Furnham (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

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© 2007 Rachel M. Calogero, Michael Boroughs, and J. Kevin Thompson

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Calogero, R.M., Boroughs, M., Thompson, J.K. (2007). The Impact of Western Beauty Ideals on the Lives of Women: A Sociocultural Perspective. In: Swami, V., Furnham, A. (eds) The Body Beautiful. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230596887_13

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