Cross-cultural differences in the perception of female body shapes

Abstract

Whereas in Western societies there is an inverse relationship between high social class and low body weight, the inverse is true of less developed, non-Western societies. It has also been shown that the longer immigrants have been in Western societies, the less obese they tend to be. This study examined how Kenyan Asian, British and Kenyan British females from similar backgrounds perceived female body shapes. As predicted, the Kenyans rated larger figures more favourably and smaller figures less favourably than the British. Also, as predicted, it was found that the Kenyan Asian British were more similar to the British group in their perceptions. The results support the view that social and cultural factors play dominant role in the perception of one's own and others' body shapes. In addition, the results reveal that in Britain preferences for small body shapes to the point of being anorexic are not uncommon.