CHAPTER 13
LECTURE EXTENSION
Sex Differences in Body Dissatisfaction in AdolescenceA study by Rosenblum and Lewis (1999) assessed body dissatisfaction, physical attractiveness, and body mass index among the same participants at ages 13, 15, and 18 years. Over the study period, girls' body image worsened, while boys' body image improved. Sex differences in body dissatisfaction emerged between 13 and 15 years of age and were maintained at 18 years. Although sex differences were not significant until age 15, even at age 13, 16 percent of the girls, but 0 percent of the boys were dissatisfied with their body image. The authors suggest that this change may be related to adolescents' emerging capacity for and increasing emphasis on self-evaluation.
Further results revealed that adolescent girls became increasingly dissatisfied with the body parts affected by puberty-thighs, hips, waist, and weight. In contrast, boys exhibited increasing satisfaction with certain body parts such as height. The authors attribute girls' increasing dissatisfaction with their body image to physical changes that occur as a consequence of puberty (such as an accumulation of fat around the hips and thighs) that are at odds with the dominant culture's standards of beauty. Boys' decreasing dissatisfaction is attributed to their increasing similarity to the masculine ideal of larger size and muscularity.
Rosenblum, G. D., & Lewis, M. (1999). The relations among body image, physical attractiveness, and body mass in adolescence. Child Development, 70, 50-64.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Observing Preschool Children for Instances of "Gender-Appropriate" Activities and BehaviorSuggest that students visit a child-care center or preschool and watch for instances of gender typing in children's behavior. Students can focus on observing the gender composition of peer groups, differences between boys and girls in choice of activity environments, and teacher behaviors that may encourage and sustain gender-stereotyped behavior (e.g., encouraging boys to play with masculine-stereotyped items and girls with feminine-stereotyped items; more often assigning girls to highly structured classroom activities that promote compliance and dependency). Ask students to summarize their findings and compare them with research reported in the text.