The Thin Ideal

INTRODUCTION TO THIN IDEAL 

The thin ideal is the concept of an ideally slim female body. The common perception of this ideal is that of a slender feminine physique, a small waist and little body fat. The size of the thin ideal is constantly decreasing, whilst female obesity is increasing. This in turn makes the iconic slim body difficult for real women to achieve and furthermore, maintain. This creates a gap between the actual appearance of the average womans' body and its expected appearance, which depending on the extent to which the thin ideal is internalised, may have serious physiological effects. Women generally relate the ideally thin body to positive life outcomes such as happiness, confidence and romantic success. Consequently a majority of women value the thin ideal to some extent. 

LINK TO OBJECTIFICATION THEORY

Social studies have linked exposure to media that contain ultra-thin ideals to increased body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalisation, self discrepancies and eating pathology in young women. 


After researching into the thin ideal a little bit, i can clearly see the link between the thin ideal and objectification theory and i can see how both of these ideologies can help me research and construct an essay that explores the physiological impact that advertising and media can have upon women of society.