Is there an ideal body shape that is universally attractive? A recent study shows that beauty is more complex, and diverse, than that.
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Articles on Body image
Displaying 81 - 100 of 110 articles
It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still look fabulous. This message is sold to us by magazines, newspapers, the cosmetics industry, fashion labels and dating agencies. Think of the recent movie…
If you’re one of the world’s 1.3 billion regular Facebook users, you’ll know the feeling of being consumed by your news feed. If you don’t use Facebook, you need only get on a busy train or bus to see…
You probably aren’t beautiful. It’s statistical, not personal. Most of us are average, a few of us are ugly, and a tiny number of us are beautiful or handsome. Many of us struggle with our own attractiveness…
This month, the toxic combination of extreme heat and summer holidays will probably mean that you’re going to expose more flesh than you would like to someone whose opinion you care about. January is the…
Launched in 1959, named after the inventor’s daughter Barbara, and owned by 99% of 3-10 year old girls in the USA, Barbie has been a popular request on young girls’ Christmas wish lists for 55 years. So…
Our obsession with women’s weight and attractiveness manifests in different ways in the media, including being sold images that are far removed from reality and often impossible to achieve, or focusing…
Steroids are easy to scapegoat. Users are viewed as aggressive, violent and mentally unstable, able to snap at any moment and cause great harm to the people around them. Ostensibly, it is this perception…
Youth can be a difficult phase of life, as young people attempt to forge new identities, while facing challenges at school and in their social life. Many also experience pressure and stress related to…
What do you think the opposite sex finds attractive in you? If you’re a guy, do you think that women prefer bulging muscles and washboard abs? Or, if you’re a woman, maybe you think men prefer skinny girls…
Recent Winter Olympic sporting success raises critical questions about the limits of national campaigns’ ability to translate gold medal “inspiration” into everyday participation for women and girls in…
The growing number of Australians illicitly using the drug clenbuterol to lose weight and build muscle mass are putting themselves at risk of heart attack, researchers say. Clenbuterol is legally prescribed…
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When people think of mental problems related to body image, often the first thing that comes to mind is the thin figure associated with anorexia. Body dysmorphic disorder is less well known, but has around…
Stories on street harassment are popping up across the fat-o-sphere. Popular bloggers such as the Fat Heffalump are sharing their stories; and Adipositivity Project founder Substantia Jones has created…
Gender roles affect body-image illnesses, a new study has found. The study gave a questionnaire to 21 men with muscle dysmorphia…
The body is a gateway to experiencing and exploring the world. It’s the first thing people see when they look at us and it’s the canvas on which we express who we are. But the relationship we have with…
Body image may be the western world’s ugliest export. Images of thin, toned women and hyper-muscular men are conveyed via television, magazines, movies and the internet to the global market. The ideal…
The images women see play a more critical role than aspirational goals in determining their preference for a particular body size, according to a new UK study. The study, published in journal PLOS ONE…
Western society’s obsession with skin tanning is well recognised but we’re often less aware of the aggressive pursuit of fair skin by those with darker skin. In communities where light skin is associated…
Top contributors
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Professor of Social Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University
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Professor of Health Sciences, University of South Australia
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Emeritus Professor, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University
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Research fellow, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor in Health and Physical Education, Victoria University
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Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University
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Director, Master of Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology
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Senior Lecturer in Marketing, RMIT University
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Professor, Gender Equity in Sport, Griffith University
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PhD candidate, School of Psychology, University of Sydney
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Lecturer, University of Leicester
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Professor in Psychology, Durham University
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NHMRC Early Career Senior Research Fellow, Monash University
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Associate Professor of Marketing, Loyola University Chicago
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Associate Professor, The University of Queensland
