The Role of Body Image in Women’s Mental Health
Abstract
This article was inspired by the Body Image Summit on 21 June 2000 in London at which a panel, headed by Tessa Jowell, Minister for Women, led a discussion among representatives of the media and British fashion industry. The aims of the Summit were to consider the effects of advertising images on teenage girls and women and to develop a consensus from within these industries to incorporate a social and ethical awareness in their promotional activities. A negative reaction to this forum was the main result. In this article I offer both a sociological and psychoanalytically based discussion of the problem of body image for women. I also consider how society and women themselves could begin to counteract the pernicious effects of being sold unrealistically thin, ideal images of womanhood continually perpetrated by consumerism.
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This digital environment sets the stage for pervasive upward social comparisons, where users continuously measure their everyday realities against the idealized highlights of others.
“This digital environment sets the stage for pervasive upward social comparisons, where users continuously measure their everyday realities against the idealized highlights of others.”
Social media platforms inherently cultivate an ecosystem ripe for social comparison, characterized by a relentless stream of polished, edited, and often unrealistic portrayals of life and physical appearance.
“Social media platforms inherently cultivate an ecosystem ripe for social comparison, characterized by a relentless stream of polished, edited, and often unrealistic portrayals of life and physical appearance.”
Such interactions intertwine self-evaluation with digital perceptions of beauty and success, profoundly impacting psychological well-being.
“Such interactions intertwine self-evaluation with digital perceptions of beauty and success, profoundly impacting psychological well-being [31].”
Cites
Burke, E. K. (2017) · Yale University Press eBooks · doi:10.12987/9780300156829 · Cited by 374 · see citing works
Lasch, C. (1984) · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Kronsky, B. J. (1971) · Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy · doi:10.1007/bf02110241 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
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Merino, M., Tornero-Aguilera, J. F., Rubio-Zarapuz, A., Villanueva-Tobaldo, C. V., Martín-Rodríguez, A., & Clemente-Suárez, V. J. (2024) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare12141396 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
“Such interactions intertwine self-evaluation with digital perceptions of beauty and success, profoundly impacting psychological well-being [31].”
BackgroundFactors Affecting Body Image Distortion in Adolescents
Jung, E.-H., & Jun, M.-K. (2022) · Children · doi:10.3390/children9121944 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cussins, A. M.
- Corresponding author
- Cussins, Anne Marie
- Venue
- Feminist Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2001-08
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 105-114
- ISSN
- 0141-7789 (ISSN-L)
- 1466-4380
- OpenAlex
- W1972256047
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Feminist Review (publishedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Media, Gender, and Advertising
- Keywords
- body image, women's mental health, advertising imagery, fashion industry, media representation, adolescent girls, consumerism, ideal body image, psychoanalysis, sociology of the body
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