Body Size and Image, Female Attitudes and Perceptions about

Robyn J. Abeles Silverman

The ways in which young women perceive and judge their bodies in light of the societal demands placed on them and the feedback they receive relative to their body size and attractiveness—perceptual and attitudinal components—are instrumental in the formation of their body images. In particular, any distortion in the perceptual component can lead to a misinterpretation of the size, shape, or appearance of one's body, while a disturbance in the attitudinal component can result in dissatisfaction with one's bodily appearance and functional ability (Monteath & McCabe, 1997). Just as culturally “appropriate” judgments and discrimination of fat individuals have been identified among 5-year-old children or younger, body dissatisfaction and negative feelings about one's own body fat begin at a young age. Even at the young age of 5, lower self-concept has been found to be associated with being heavy or overweight (Davison, Earnest, & Birch, 2002). Contextual issues such as parental ...

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