Relationship of magazine advertisements to male body image and body shame.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to investigate the media's influence on male body image. A specific interest included the assessment of the media's effects on more traditional males versus non-traditional males. Participants were 345 men and women attending a large southern university. Participants participated in either a control group, which viewed five pictures of average looking males in advertisements, or the experimental group, which viewed five pictures of muscular males in advertisements. The participants than completed the Body Esteem Scale Revised, The Body Shame Questionnaire, and the males in the study completed the Traditional Liberated Content Scale. Results indicate that mindset, be it traditional or liberated has no relationship to body image dissatisfaction. Likewise, there was no difference in body image dissatisfaction in those individuals who viewed muscular men in advertisements versus those individuals who viewed average looking males in advertisements. However, results did indicate that the Body Esteem Scale Revised and the Body Shame Questionnaire are body measuring related constructs. Implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed.