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- Jan 2, 2015
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In my Abnormal Psych class, we've been having quite a bit of discussion about how culture & the media affects self-esteem in regards to body image and more specifically, how it relates to the development of eating disorders.
In class, the professor showed us this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrp0zJZu0a4
It's a three minute video which shows how female "ideal body image" has changed across time and cultures. If you watch it, you'll notice that there is a HUGE discrepancy between some of these body types. In fact, a lot of them are polar opposites. What's interesting to me is that not only were these body images considered ideal, but they are also considered to be most attractive for their given time period.
This is weird to me because the only girl who I would consider to have a 10/10 body in that video is the one which represents postmodern standards for beauty (2000-Present). Conversely, there are some women in it who I would find to be straight up disgusting (e.g. the ones which represent the Italian Renaissance & Victorian England).
What this means to me is that environment has HUGE influence on what we deem attractive. Up till now, I always assumed attraction was purely biological. But given that this video is credible, it would seem that this is not the case. This leads me to believe that what are considered to be "attractive courtship behaviors" might also evolve over time. Which means that it's quite possible that a lot of the things we learn here on GC might eventually become outdated.
Thoughts on all this?
In class, the professor showed us this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrp0zJZu0a4
It's a three minute video which shows how female "ideal body image" has changed across time and cultures. If you watch it, you'll notice that there is a HUGE discrepancy between some of these body types. In fact, a lot of them are polar opposites. What's interesting to me is that not only were these body images considered ideal, but they are also considered to be most attractive for their given time period.
This is weird to me because the only girl who I would consider to have a 10/10 body in that video is the one which represents postmodern standards for beauty (2000-Present). Conversely, there are some women in it who I would find to be straight up disgusting (e.g. the ones which represent the Italian Renaissance & Victorian England).
What this means to me is that environment has HUGE influence on what we deem attractive. Up till now, I always assumed attraction was purely biological. But given that this video is credible, it would seem that this is not the case. This leads me to believe that what are considered to be "attractive courtship behaviors" might also evolve over time. Which means that it's quite possible that a lot of the things we learn here on GC might eventually become outdated.
Thoughts on all this?
