Explore the vast range of titles available.

While numerous sociopsychological factors affect one’s acceptance of cosmetic surgery, little is known about the sociopsychological influences that lead to cosmetic surgery acceptance based on one’s prior experience with cosmetic surgery. The present study identified the differences between two groups: women with cosmetic surgery experience and women without prior cosmetic surgery experience. A research model was developed with five hypotheses to identify the four sociopsychological influences on cosmetic surgery acceptance: upward appearance comparison, awareness of an emphasis on beauty ideals, internalization of beauty ideals, and body surveillance. Data were collected from 651 South Korean women in their 20 s to 40 s and were analyzed using second-order confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group structural equation modeling. In the cosmetic surgery group, upward appearance comparison, awareness of an emphasis on beauty ideals, and body surveillance had a positive effect on cosmetic surgery acceptance. Internalization of beauty ideals and body surveillance also had a positive effect on cosmetic surgery acceptance in the no cosmetic surgery group. Additionally, the effects of upward appearance comparison, awareness of an emphasis on beauty ideals, and internalization of beauty ideals on cosmetic surgery acceptance varied significantly between the two groups. The findings add insights on the design of therapeutic programs to prevent cosmetic surgery addiction and education programs to increase body appreciation.

Research suggests that exposure to social networking sites portraying a thin and often sexualized beauty ideal reduces young women’s body satisfaction, while exposure to body-positive content improves it. However, it is unclear whether sexualization could impair the beneficial effects of body-positivity messages. Young Italian women were exposed to one of three experimental conditions showing sexualized beauty ideals, sexualized body positivity, or non-sexualized body positivity that appeared either on Instagram (Study 1, N = 356) or TikTok (Study 2, N = 316). Across the two studies, results showed that, regardless of sexualization, exposure to body positivity increased body satisfaction and positive mood compared with pre-exposure measures, while exposure to sexualized beauty ideals reduced it. Participants in the sexualized beauty ideal condition also engaged in upward appearance social comparison whereas body positivity elicited downward comparison. Problematic social networking sites’ use moderated the effects of condition on body satisfaction, appearance social comparison, and positive mood, while downward comparison mediated the relation between condition and body satisfaction and positive mood. Our results highlight both beneficial and critical aspects of body positivity that should be taken into consideration when designing body image interventions and policymaking.

This engaging introduction to Japan's burgeoning beauty culture investigates a wide range of phenomenon—aesthetic salons, dieting products, male beauty activities, and beauty language—to find out why Japanese women and men are paying so much attention to their bodies. Laura Miller uses social science and popular culture sources to connect breast enhancements, eyelid surgery, body hair removal, nipple bleaching, and other beauty work to larger issues of gender ideology, the culturally-constructed nature of beauty ideals, and the globalization of beauty technologies and standards. Her sophisticated treatment of this timely topic suggests that new body aesthetics are not forms of \"deracializiation\" but rather innovative experimentation with identity management. While recognizing that these beauty activities are potentially a form of resistance, Miller also considers the commodification of beauty, exploring how new ideals and technologies are tying consumers even more firmly to an ever-expanding beauty industry. By considering beauty in a Japanese context, Miller challenges widespread assumptions about the universality and naturalness of beauty standards.

The widespread propagation of beauty ideals has made their influence inescapable for women worldwide. Numerous studies have suggested the negative consequences of the internalization of beauty ideals. However, researchers have mostly focused on Western cultures, with only a few studies addressing China. Given that Chinese traditional Confucian values emphasize more reproduction and family duties of women, women suffer more pressures in China. However, not all women experience and respond to cultural practices in the same way. The present study aimed to examine the mechanism underlying the link between the internalization of beauty ideals and ambivalent sexism and the differences in this link among subgroups of Chinese women. Data were collected from a sample of 293 (146 heterosexual women, 147 sexual minority women). The results showed that the associations of the internalization of beauty ideals with hostile sexism and benevolent sexism were mediated by the objectification of women. Furthermore, the link between the internalization of beauty ideals and the objectification of women depended on women’s sexual orientation. More specifically, for lesbian and bisexual women but not heterosexual women, the internalization of beauty ideals was positively associated with the objectification of women. The present study addressed a major gap by examining how and for whom the internalization of beauty ideals was associated with increased hostile sexism and benevolent sexism among Chinese women. Sociocultural factors and implications are discussed.

The overwhelming objectification environments and the burgeoning of consumerism have encouraged people to value their physical appearance. Previous research has examined the causes of self-objectification and perceptions of cosmetic surgery. However, few have examined the effect of both objectification and consumerist culture on Chinese women’s views of cosmetic surgery. The present study examined the mechanisms underlying the relationship between internalized ideals of beauty and body surveillance as well as perceptions of cosmetic surgery among Chinese women, from the dual perspective of the objectification theory and the consumer culture impact model. Specifically, we proposed that the internalization of beauty ideals increases Chinese women’s body surveillance and cosmetic surgery consideration through beliefs of body as currency and women as sex objects. Results showed that women as sex objects belief mediated the relationship between internalization of beauty ideals and consideration of cosmetic surgery. Moreover, both beauty as currency belief and body surveillance mediated the relationship between internalization of beauty ideals and consideration of cosmetic surgery. The present study provides insight into how objectification environment interplays with materialism values to affect women’s self-objectification and cosmetic surgery consideration, which extends the objectification studies by taking consumer culture impact model and Chinese sociocultural factors into account.

In this paper we consider the impact of digitally altered images on individuals’ body satisfaction and beauty aspirations. Drawing on current psychological literature we consider interventions designed to increase knowledge about the ubiquity and unreality of digital images and, in the form of labelling, provide information to the consumer. Such interventions are intended to address the negative consequences of unrealistic beauty ideals. However, contrary to expectations, such initiatives may not be effective, especially in the long-term, and may even be counter-productive. We seek to understand this phenomenon of our continued aspiration for beauty ideals we know to be unreal and even impossible. We draw on our respective disciplines to offer psychological and philosophical accounts for why this might be. We conclude that beauty ideals are deeply embedded in our aspirations, practices, and in our constructions of ourselves. Given this, it is not surprising that simply increasing knowledge, or providing information, will be insufficient to challenge them.

The effects of media on body image have been heavily investigated through the years. Recent research has shifted its focus to social media content and other behaviors on social media that can affect body and appearance satisfaction. This study aimed to test the contribution of media pressure to appearance satisfaction according to the prepositions of the Tripartite Influence Model on a sample of young Croatian women. A sample of 308 college students (average age 21.6) completed the BE-Appearance subscale of the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (Mendelson et al., 2001), Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (Thompson et al., 1991), and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (Schafer et al., 2015). Path analysis showed that media pressure positively contributes to both appearance comparison with people on Instagram and beauty ideals internalization and negatively contributes to appearance satisfaction in young women. Results also indicate a significant negative indirect contribution of media pressure to appearance satisfaction through appearance comparison and beauty ideals internalization. Findings suggest a strong relationship between media pressure and appearance satisfaction and are discussed in the context of further investigation of media content that could be harmful to appearance satisfaction in young women.

Purpose This research aims to draw on social identity theory (SIT) and social comparison theory (SCT) to examine how social and cultural contexts influence the construction and pursuit of beauty ideals. Design/methodology/approach Sixteen Lebanese women aged between 18 and 45, from a range of backgrounds, were recruited for the purpose of this research. Interview questions probed the respondents’ female beauty ideals in relation to themselves and others. Photo-elicitation was used to facilitate and enrich each discussion. Findings The pursuit of beauty involves rich processes and is motivated by the search for an authentic self. Participants construct and pursue beauty ideals by mirroring views of their national identity through conformity, identification and subversion. Practical implications The pursuit of beauty is influenced not only by global media and celebrity culture but also by how respondents conceptualize their national identity. Beauty consumption serves two opposing functions in identity construction: social membership and distinction. Beauty, like fashion, serves as an indicator of taste that simultaneously includes the singularity and subjectivity of individual tastes. Originality/value This study extends research on the pursuit and consumption of beauty in several ways: it is situated in a non-western cultural context, it illustrates the usefulness of SCT and SIT in understanding beauty consumption and it highlights the role of mirroring processes in identity construction and beauty consumptive practices.

Beauty ideals in the Caribbean are shifting with increased exposure to Western and European standards of appearance. Previous research has shown a consistent link between internalization of Western beauty ideals and depressive symptoms and other forms of psychological disturbance among diverse populations including Caribbeans. We examined the association between internalization of Western beauty ideals and depressive symptoms as well as the potential mediating role of self-esteem on this relation in N = 222 students (155 females, 79 males) attending a tertiary institution in Kingston, Jamaica. Internalization of Western ideals was inversely associated with self-esteem (r =− .35, p < .01) and positively associated with depressive symptoms (r =.13, p < .05). In a model adjusted for age and sex, results revealed a significant indirect effect of internalization of Western ideals of appearance on depressive symptoms via self-esteem (estimate= .21, SE = .05, 95% confidence interval [.13, .32]). The potent effects of culture must be better understood as intercontinental travel becomes less important as a mechanism for cultural exposure and exchange, and there is a significant increase of digital and internet access in the Caribbean. The current study suggest that Caribbeans are at significant risk for internalizing Western ideals of beauty, subsequently diminishing their self-esteem, and ultimately increasing depression symptomatology. The benefits and consequences of cultural exchange should continue to be a topic for research studies.

This pre-registered study assesses selfie editing and self-photo investment as outcome variables among young Chinese women from the perspective of the expanded version of self-objectification. Two hundred Chinese women aged 18–30 completed the survey. Results of hierarchical multiple regression show that neither self-objectification nor the culture-specific face surveillance is associated with selfie-editing or self-photo investment. Internalization of cultural beauty ideals and body surveillance are associated with composition-editing (but not subject editing) and self-photo investment. Body dissatisfaction is correlated with self-photo investment but not selfie-editing. Narcissism is correlated with only subject editing. The results also show that subject-editing, which concerns more with modifying facial features, is more popular among young Chinese women than composition editing, which involves altering non-appearance factors. The reversed model where self-objectification is the outcome variable shows that selfie-editing is not a significant predictor. Together, these results suggest that self-objectification may have little to do with selfie-editing among young Chinese women, and therefore we may need to understand both the drive and the consequences of selfie-editing among them from other perspectives. Reproducible data and codes are available at https://osf.io/c78z3/ .