Hourglass and Stick Figures

By Sally Raskoff

A recent article in the BBC News Magazine asked, “Does Christina Hendricks have a body women should aspire to?” The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, said “All women should aspire for hourglass size 14 figures, claims new equalities minister.”

If you haven’t seen the television show Mad Men you may not know that Ms. Hendricks plays a secretary whose silhouette is not typical for women in the media in 2010. The show is set in the cultural milieu of the 1950s-1960s, thus her hourglass curvy figure is certainly appropriate for the time depicted.

According to these articles, the British Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, issued a statement that Ms. Hendricks’ body is “absolutely fabulous” and that more women of this shape should be role models – and fashion models. She explains her advocacy for more curvy women role models by pointing to the social pressures women and girls may feel when all they see in the media are very thin women.

Ms. Hendricks dimensions are reported to be 36-32-36 or 38-32-38, either way her waist is much smaller than her bust and hips. This hourglass shape is the standard in our culture, historically, even as recent media images of the ideal female figure show an more modern hourglass with a larger bust, tiny waist and straighter hips.

Many sociological studies have pointed to the interaction between the media depictions of women and the lives of real women and girls. Even public information, such as Wikipedia, acknowledges the body image issues of women in the United States and other western countries.

The importance of women’s waist-to-hip ratio has been studied across cultures in many Evolutionary Psychology studies. They tend to agree that a ratio between 0.7 and 1.2 is seen as most attractive across most cultures. (To get the waist-to-hip ratio, simply divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement.)

The results of girls and women trying to achieve this ideal is reflected in a variety of data. For example women, especially white women, are more likely than men to be significantly underweight. The classic film by Jean Kilbourne, Still Killing Us Softly, nicely depicts how advertising shapes and reinforces our image of the ideal female body in more ways than we realize.

The funny thing about all the buzz surrounding the British government’s validation of Ms. Hendricks’ size as ideal is that it focuses on yet another body type that is not necessarily accessible to most women. The BBC article notes that other women could attain her very small waist with as lot of exercise or by virtue of “lucky” natural endowments. The article depicts a corset with the caption “one way to an hour-glass figure,” perhaps jokingly implying that you could also squeeze yourself into that shape with this undergarment or by undergoing some form of surgery.

Women (and men) come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Focusing on one type as ideal over another may not be a step forward in valuing women as people instead of objects to be used and judged.

Why doesn’t the media employ a wider variety of women and men so that a more diverse picture of humanity is depicted?

Sociologically speaking, a Marxian theorist would point out the ownership of the media and its relationship to the economy. Perhaps media creators depict a narrow definition so that more products can be sold to the viewers and consumers who strive to attain such shapes.

A functionalist theorist might point out the adherence of the media to our norms of beauty, shaped as they have been by history and society as it adapts to an ever-changing environment.

An symbolic interactionist would focus on how the meaning inherent in media depictions has deep salience for the consumers of that media. Because people consume these images subconsciously and consciously, the images do have an effect on what it means to be a woman (or a man) in this society. Some people might feel like in order to be more feminine they need to live up to the images presented as normative for women, thus explaining the higher prevalence of eating disorders among girls and young women than for boys and men.

What more specific theories could speak to this issue? What can it identify that will help us better understand the issue – and identify potential solutions to these problems?

Comments

[M Wms]

"Ms. Hendricks' dimensions are reported to be 36-32-36 or 38-32-38, either way her waist is much smaller than her bust and hips."

"Much smaller"?

"The BBC article notes that other women could attain her very small waist ..."

Is '32' the correct waist measurement? If so, when did a 32-inch waist become "very small"? Not that I'm complaining but I'm pretty doubtful.

[Jirka]

Even my measurements (37-30-38) are more "hourglass" than that and I am a man :-) 36-32-36 is not hourglass or curvy, just moderately fat all over and probably not very healthy.

[Derek Robinson]

If anyone's interested, I did a little bit of research, last year, into the connection between society and levels of obesity. I wrote up and discussed the research findings at http://bloggingsociologically.blogspot.com/2009/11/obese-individuals-british-society.html

Although people who regularly appear in the mass media may, to some extent, act as role models, I think we also need to look at other less obvious social factors to try to explain changes and increases in average body size/weight. We need, specifically, to consider the reasons why in the twenty-first century, people's energy output is decreasing while their energy intake seems to be increasing. These changes, I would argue, have come about, in part, because of changes in the occupational structure during the last century, increases in working hours and new patterns of family relationships and responsibilities.

In addition to my own research, I'd strongly recommend Nick Crossley's article, "Fat Is A Sociological Issue" (http://www.palgrave-journals.com/sth/journal/v2/n3/pdf/8700030a.pdf)

[rachel]

I really enjoyed reading this blog. I'm a 15 year old girl and I can really relate to this because I look at the media and think that I need to look like that to be attractive. Everyone should just love themselves in my opinion. Thanks for sharing.

[Jenna]

As a young woman growing up in a society immersed in the media, I am constantly surrounded by advertisements showing me what I should look like, think like, and act like to be the perfect female. With so much pressure to conform to society, it is sometimes hard to see what the right thing to do is, even when it is not popular. As an individual, I have come to terms with the fact that I don’t have to be extremely thin to be beautiful, but it has been a long and hard road to reach this point. I would consider myself lucky to have as positive of a body image as I do. This is not to say that I am happy with my body, just that I am aware that being almost sickly in appearance is not required to look pretty.

[Jacquelyn Albert]

I found this article interesting because recently in my sociology class we've been discussing how the media may be influencing young people to be violent or to committ crime. Our discussions, however, haven't covered the media influence on body image and beauty, which I have always found interesting. I love the show Mad Men and the portrayal of women in the media during the time period of the show is very telling of what a women was expected to look and act like. Although the criteria that the media portrays for women now is quite different, the influence is still there.

[Perry]

The influence of media on bust and waist-lines are far to explosive on women and girls thinking, the portrayal of images should go with a disclaimer saying this star was aided by a nutritionist, chef and almost killed herself and hated life while doing this activity.

[Gaelen Vasquez]

The issue the Raskoff presents is one that is very prevalent in our society and culture today. The media is such a powerful form of interaction because technology has consumed our culture, creating a way for it to reach us at all times. This never-ending flow of social influence that we absorb socializes members of society. From the values that the media projects, we internalize norms based on those values in our sense of self.
I was immediately drawn to this article because is it such a relevant topic in the most recent years to all members of the American society. The media plays an extreme role in dictating the way we view ourselves. Every woman can identify with the issue of body image that Raskoff presents in some way, shape, or form that is concerned with the media. It in many ways thinks for members of society, governing what we should think is beautiful, creating our values for us, which we base our norms off of.