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In Western culture, referring to first-world cultures including those of Australia, Western Europe, and the United States, an emphasis on physical appearance is considered a determining factor of personal worth, social standing, and desirability . The pressures and desire to be thin has been put forth and constructed primarily by Western media. This obsession with body image and weight has been set into the minds of women from non-Western countries through the vehicle of Western media as well as cultural pressures.

Background

The Western Ideal

Of the Western countries who are most dissatisfied with body image, the United States remains as one of top countries obsessed with body image. In the United States today, being extremely thin is considered a type of status symbol and the concept of inner beauty seems to be forgotten . Images in the media have started to alter and shape the way that Western women not only look, but feel about their bodies as well. Magazines such as Life and National Geographic have offered more image-based captions on pictures of Western women including words such as “natural” and “healthy” while captions for photographs of non-Western women include words that denote their eagerness to please along with their “fragility” . This stresses the Western ideal and importance of image, even from types of media that are perceived to be objective. Western women are subjected to numerous images on a daily basis, and almost every image or advertisement that is seen in the United States had been digitally distorted to reflect the unrealistically thin body type that Westerners strive to achieve . Even though women are aware of this computer-generated beauty, they continue to fast, purge, and exercise their way toward this image of “beauty” . Western women now live in a world where those suffering from an eating disorder exchange starvation-diet tips on the Internet, participate in group fasts, offer advice on how to hide one’s eating disorder, and share inspirational photos of anorexic women . In addition, there is an ongoing trend of over-exercising and extreme healthy eating that is considered a type of anorexia . Women who partake in this form of weight loss and do not purge or take laxatives believe that this method is acceptable . The media as well as cultural pressures continue to support this idea of “Western thinness” through the images presented in television, magazines, and movies.

The Non-Western Tradition

In opposition to the Western ideals, non-Western countries have a completely different view on a woman’s figure. Research has shown that non-Western countries do not favor the extreme thinness that is sought after in places such as the United States. In these more traditional countries, women being thick or having a “pudgy tummy” is considered to be desirable and normal by social standards. Non-Western societies favor plumpness in addition to associating heaviness with positive characteristics such as wealth, fertility, and femininity . In traditional countries such as Pakistan, a woman who is fat with a bit of a stomach is seen as being authoritative is assumed to have come from a good family . Therefore, having a small portion of extra weight is considered to be seen as a status symbol in a Pakistani community. In Fiji, traditional ideals desire a preference for women who exhibit a robust body accompanied by a robust appetite . In addition to this, Fijian society discourages any effort of reshaping the body by diet or exercise and views a woman who is not thin as attractive . Thus, the common Fijian ideal reflects one in which women leave their bodies in their natural state as well as retain a healthy if not hefty diet. In traditional Latino culture, a woman is considered most appealing if she is larger and has a curvier physique . In conclusion, the common thread of a curvy, thick woman is the ideal for most non-Western countries.

Causes of Body Dissatisfaction

Media

Much research has been conducted on the media’s effect on eating pathology in Western countries such as the United States, but not until recently has there been any research done on the connection between the two in non-Western countries. Generally, the notion that is accepted is that non-Western and Third World countries are “cut off” from the rest of the world and would not be affected by a problem of this nature. However, research over the past ten years has shown otherwise.

Studies Conducted

• One very prominent study conducted by Anne Becker on Fijian adolescent girls demonstrated the direct effect of television influencing eating disorders . In this study, Becker and her research team chose the Nadroga province of Fiji because of the area’s lack of contact with television until the mid-1990’s . The culture of this area supported the cultural of many other non-Western countries in concerns to image and beauty: thicker women with a large diet was preferred . The study involved introducing the area to television and measuring their feelings toward eating and body image using the EAT-26 test both before and three years after the introduction . Results demonstrated that after the introduction of television, which had Western television channels, more women in the study showed EAT-26 scores higher than 20 (the number associated with disordered eating) . Not only did the quantitative data support this claim, but the qualitative data collected in the study did as well. Of the women interviewed and who have taken a part in this study, 86% felt that television had influenced their friends and/or themselves to feel differently about or change their body shape or weight and 77% stated that the introduction of television had influenced their own body image . In addition, all subjects that were a part of this study had identified a way in which television had affected their traditional values and behaviors .
• Becker had also conducted another separate study in Fiji in order to reiterate the connection between media and eating pathology. In her second study, she wanted to determine if both direct and indirect exposure to television were associated with eating pathology . Becker used a group of adolescent girls aged 15-20 and used the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire to assess eating pathology and the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire to measure media influence on the subjects . In this study, direct mass media exposure was considered to be personal television or video viewing, while indirect mass media was considered to be any parental television viewing along with any perceived social network density of household television . The study’s findings supported Becker’s hypothesis that individual media influence explains part of the association between social network media exposure and individual eating pathology from both EDE-Q scores and the SATAQ-3 scores .
• Another study in South Africa was conducted by Carney and Louw that wanted to confirm, empirically, the relationship between media exposure and disordered eating attitudes . In this study, Carney and Louw used a sample of 221 undergraduate psychology students from the University of Cape Town along with the EAT-26 test and personal interviews on body image . The EAT-26 scores from the students demonstrated that women who were exposed to a higher level of media had a score greater than 20, which is conclusive of disordered eating . During the interview portion of the study, the students were asked to describe the ideal body type along with giving either positive or negative comments about pictures of celebrities and models . The students in the study gave positive comments to the extremely thin models and tended to look down upon or not favor the thicker models . Becker and her team of researchers concluded that exposure to these ideal images caused a deeper desire to change one’s appearance .
• In a similar study conducted on Latino teens by researchers Warren, Schoen, and Schafer, a sample of 263 Latino adolescents were tested under the SATAQ-3 as well as EAT-26 . But, this study also investigated the relationships between gender, generational status, in addition to the effect of media on eating pathology . The results of the study reflected a positive correlation between media and the pressure to be thin with the high correlation being that of Latino girls .
• Additional support for the relationship between media and eating pathology becomes prevalent when viewing women from Pakistan. A great deal of problems in Pakistan are related to health because there is a decent amount of poverty and malnutrition in the country . Yet, even though this is true, many women who a part of the higher or upper class are still prone to eating disorders because of the influences from Western society . A study was conducted with 369 schoolgirls from three English-medium schools in Lahore, Pakistan . In this study, the girls were tested using the EAT-26 and BSQ (body shape questionnaire) tests . 10.3 percent of the girls tested above the EAT-26 cut off point and 11.4 percent scored over the BSQ cut off point, meaning these percentages of women experience disordered eating . Therefore, the researchers have concluded that there is a shift in Pakistan tradition of a thicker body to a thinner one because of the pressures from Western media .
• In another study concerning the pressures of Western media on Pakistan women, it is maintained that females that comprise the upper levels of society in Pakistan are those who are most at risk for developing an eating disorder . It is also pointed out that currently in Pakistan, a great deal of women are considered to be located in the upper middle class, causing an outstanding number of women to be subjected to a plethora of Western media . This, in turn, causes an influence of Western culture on to the more traditional Pakistani culture adding the pressures to be thin . The arising issue of eating disorders becoming present in Pakistan is, again, baffling because of the fact that the country deals with many deaths due to malnutrition and lack of government aid for primary health care . This study conducted by many researchers including Abideen, Latif, Khan, and Farooq blame the Western media along with other problems such as stress, low self-esteem, as well as cultural pressures for the increase of eating disorders in Pakistan women .

Cultural Pressures

Researchers have given many different reasons as to why women from non-Western countries feel the need to go against their tradition and adapt the desire to be thin. Another one of the factors that play a role in causing an eating disorder is cultural pressures. Since different cultures have different sets of standards or both beauty and which is most desirable, being thicker or thinner, there is bound to be difficulty in the perception of each cultural standard . Women tend to have a negative body image because of incorrect perceptions of their cultural standards along with their own opinion of whether or not they meet that cultural standard . Another factor that influences body dissatisfaction and is associated with cultural pressure is the opinion of other members of their society . If members of a society do not agree on what is considered the “norm” or what is considered beauty, then a constant struggle with body image is bound to occur. Research has also shown that if a culture values image and attaches image to positive attributes such as success and acceptance, women of that culture will have a higher chance of developing an eating disorder . Even women who migrate from a non-Western culture into a Western culture are susceptible to cultural pressures .