Women’s Studies Project: Body Image

By Katie Aranas

When first signing up for Woman’s Studies, I did not think it was going to be anything like it is. This class has opened my eyes to the struggles that both genders face. In this class, a few of my classmates and I were asked to put together a survey about body image. My group handed a survey out to 14 females and 12 males, for a total of 26 participants. We asked them a series of 5 questions, all pertaining to body image and confidence.

Our Results:

The first question of our survey displayed how different individuals would react to an “unattractive” individual on a date. 65.4% reported that they would stay and continue the date, 26.4% reported that they would walk away and 7.7% reported that they would attempt to make an excuse for leaving the date.

The second and third question of our survey asked participants for their perceptions of their personal body image. 61.5% reported themselves as being moderately attractive (4-7), 30.8% rated themselves in the highest range (8-10) and 7.7% rated themselves as not being very attractive (1-3). For the third question, equal amounts of individuals reported they would or would not receive plastic surgery.

The fourth question asked individuals about the extent to which they feel the media influenced them. Half of participants reported that they are moderately influenced by the media, in regards to their personal body image.

The final question of our survey asked individuals to choose 3 out of 5 desirable traits. The listed traits were: intelligence, nice body, good looks, a sense of humor and wealth. According to the data, the three most desirable traits were intelligence, good looks and a sense of humor.

It was evident that physical appearance was important to many individuals. Our data shows that individuals regard physical attributes highly in themselves and in others. While many rated their appearance in the higher ranges, it was also apparent many were not fully content with their physical appearance. Body image is an aspect that affects many people of various genders and age ranges.

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