User:Channinged5/sandbox

Body shape refers to the many physical attributes of the human body that make up its appearance, including size and physique. Body shape has come to imply not only sexual/reproductive ability, but wellness and fitness. The Media portrays male and female body shape in a variety of ways through various mediums.

Magazines
Sypeck, Gray, and Ahrens state that "the apparent increase in eating disorders over the last several decades (Hoek, 1993) has coincided with a decrease in the media's portrayal of women's ideal body weight (Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992). Sypeck, Gray, and Ahrens examined the magazines Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Mademoiselle, and Vogue from 1959 to 1999.  Fashion models became increasingly thinner during the 1980s and 1990s.  This is especially important considering the large number of women exposed to print media. Researchers have estimated that up to 60% of Caucasian middle school aged girls read at least one fashion magazine regularly.  Pictures depicted the models' entire bodies significantly increased in number from the 1960s to the 1990s.  From 1995 to 1999 models were dressed in far more revealing outfits than they were from 1959 to 1963.

Television
In 28 primetime situational comedies, 33% of the central female characters were below average weight. As the thinness of a female character increased the number of compliments she received from men did as well. Research has shown below and above average weight female characters are over and underrepresented in situation comedies as compared to the norms of the US population. Male character often negatively comment on average and above average weight females' body shapes and weights and audiences usually react by laughing. Male characters are not immune to unfair representation. 33% of male characters were below average weight and 13% were above average weight. By comparison, approximately 30% of men in the US are overweight.