…………………………………………………………………………60 APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………....69 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I dedicate this dissertation to my parents, for your unwavering love and supportthrough my entire university career and alwaysI thank you.

I would like to thank all of my loved ones for their continued help and support throughout my MA year. I appreciate your understanding that my college work came first in times of stress and for your continued good humour and laughs when I needed it.

To my dissertation supervisor, Mr. Brian Maye, thank you for answering any and every question of mine. Thank you for your time, guidance and knowledge throughout the semester also. Your hard work is appreciated greatly.

Thank you to all who participated in the research for this dissertation; without you all this would not have been possible. INTRODUCTION

This dissertation asks the question: Does image-focussed media contribute to the development of disordered eating behaviours among women between the ages of 15 and 45? There are three sub-questions put forward also to aid in answering the question critically and clearly. They are as follows:

(i) Do fashion magazines and their online counterparts induce self objectification among women aged 15-45? (ii) Do the images in fashion magazines and their online versions directly contribute to the development of disordered eating behaviours among women between the ages of 15 and 45? (iii) Do the images in fashion magazines and their online versions contribute to social comparison among this age group?

Much research has been done on the topic of female body image and its influences. The phrase “normative discontentment” was coined to describe the pervasive feelings that women experience towards their bodies in present culture. Body image concerns involve disturbances in how one views their appearance, dissatisfaction with one's body, or the overvaluation of one's appearance in defining their sense of self. Women are exposed to the social representations of the female body through various forms of media, which are a conveyor of the beauty ideal of thinness (Striegel-Moore and Franko, 2008).

Mass media are a powerful source in the promotion of the thin-ideal and aesthetic beauty for young women. Being exposed to images of the thin-ideal can change the attitudes, values and beliefs of women about their body image (Lopez-Guimera, Levine, Sanchez-Carracedo and Fauquet, 2010; Veldhuis, Konjin and Seidell, 2014; Conlin and Bissell, 2014). Repeated exposure to these idealised images can lead to internalisation. The idealised body images shown within media are linked to unrealistic body aspirations and numerous other pathological issues such as dieting, depression and eating disorders (Knobloch-Westerwich and Crane, 2012). These links are developed further in this dissertation. Mass media are a primary socialising agent and transmitter of information. For this reason and for the fact that accessibility of media images in western society is on the increase (Lopez-Guimera et al., 2010), partly due to the shift to digital, it is important to research the harmful and dangerous effects that the media can have on young women. These effects can be both direct and indirect.

This research project sets out to draw attention to the prominent issue of the depiction of thin-ideal images within the media, with particular attention to fashion magazines and their online homepages. Media surveys indicate that fashion magazines are read by up to 83% of women (Tiggemann and Boundy, 2008). Through the main research question and accompanying sub-questions, the issue of the media's influence on young women's body image is discussed. Fashion magazines and their online counterparts are a type of media laden with images of the thin-ideal, and exposure to these images can have damaging effects, which will be explored. Issues of internalisation, body dissatisfaction, self-objectification and eating disorders are a number of the effects that are discussed. As this can be a complex issue, theories of social comparison and objectification are drawn upon to help better understand how these images have an impact on the way young women feel about their bodies, and primarily if these kinds of images can contribute to the development of disordered eating behaviours among women between the ages of 15 and 45.

The concepts of the thin-ideal, internalisation, objectification and disordered eating behaviours are used throughout this work. The thin-ideal can be described as the current societal standard of beauty and the emphasis of the desirability of thinness (Tiggemann and Boundy, 2008). Internalisation is then the extent to which an individual buys into this ideal and accepts it as the social norm (Thompson and Stice, 2001; Veldhuis et al., 2014). Objectification is the internalising of an observer's perspective as the primary view of their physical selves, which can lead to habitual body monitoring (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997). Disordered eating behaviours include a wide umbrella of issues ranging from body dissatisfaction, mental health issues, dieting, and bulimic symptomology, among others (Bessenoff, 2006; Thompson and Stice, 2001; Tiggemann, 2002). From deep internalisation harmful effects can develop, which is the core aspect of this study. Therefore, these concepts are central to this research.

This work is merely a small aspect of the large and ever changing relationship between the media and body image. A lot of research has been done on this topic from the fields of media psychology, health psychology, eating disorders and mass communication to name a few (Lopez-Guimea et al., 2010). This study is done from a communication and journalistic perspective; therefore it does not address the work in medical terms. Although the research outlined in this project is interesting and current, many more areas could be studied such as other forms of media, how these images affect men, and the influence of celebrity culture. Further research could be done on how to combat the development of disordered eating behaviours also, perhaps through the studying of children's behavioural patterns.

Chapter one, the Literature Review, gives an insight into previous work done on the topic of the media's influence over the female body image. The literature review is divided into two parts and compares and contrasts all relevant literature on this topic. The chapter analyses the work of academics in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and relevance to this dissertation.

Chapter two is the Methodology section, and it outlines the research methods adopted for the purpose of this study. Each method of research chosen for this work is explained and reasoning's for the choice of methodologies are given.

The Research Findings chapter gives a breakdown of what was found through each of the methods implemented for this study. Trends in data collected are touched upon and the discussion for the findings of this study is set up.

Chapter four is the Discussion section where the research findings from the previous chapter are analysed in a coherent manner. It brings together the information gained in the literature review and the research findings sections. Critically these findings are discussed and answers to the research and sub-questions of this work are provided. The concluding chapter ties together the overall dissertation. The achievements of this study are stated and an overview of the previous chapters is given. The contribution that this work has made to the knowledge of this academic field is also noted.

A limitation of this study was the time allocated to complete it. Had more time been available the content analysis and survey would have been more extensive adding more scope to this dissertation. This, again, leaves room for further research on this topic. LITERATURE REVIEW

For the purpose of understanding this research question, it is imperative that both literature and theoretical frameworks relating to this field be analysed. The literature review is therefore divided into two sections: 1.1 looks at literature on the topic of the media/body image relationship. This section allows for the development of core academic perspectives and analyses the many facets of the media/body image relationship. Section 1.2 gives detail on two specific theoretical ideas, giving this research a strong foundation.

1.1 Media/Body Image Relationship

Media Influences on Body Image

Bierma defines body image as a person's subjective perception of how they think they appear to other people (2003). In other words, it is how an individual perceives his or her physical attributes when he or she looks in the mirror (Bale, 2008). Garner and Garfinkel et al. noted that by the 1980s a trend had established that depicted feminine beauty as being ultra thin, and this became the ideal female image (1980). It has since become a widespread consensus that eating disorders occur as a result of sociocultural factors, and the mass media are a contributing social pressure for women as they try to achieve extreme slenderness (ibid).

Crisp (1992) argued that there were two areas of sociocultural developments that led to the prevalence of body image: sexual relationships and communications and mass media. The mass media transmit ideas, values, norms, attitudes, and behaviours that socialise and construct the social reality of those who use them for a wide variety of reasons (Bryant and Oliver, 2009). As a means of socialisation, it provides both men and women with a wide variety of information, including how to look. There is a mediated norm for the female body image in present-day culture, and it is characterised by bodies that are extremely thin (Hendriks and Burgoon, 2003). The idealisation of slenderness in women is often viewed as a product of a historical evolution that has occurred over the past century. Within Western industrialised cultures, there have been many changes over the years in the body shape and size that is considered attractive and healthy, especially for women (Grogan, 2008). Studies of the portrayal of the female body in the media have found that models became increasingly thinner between the 1960s and 1980s. For example, models in Vogue magazine became gradually thinner and even Playboy centrefolds became taller and leaner. In the 1990s then came the emergence of waif-like models with very thin body types, the kind that are seen in today's media (Grogan, 2008).

Hendriks noted that the mediated thin-ideal is present in mainstream media, and that the mainstream media are a source women turn to for information about how to look (2002). According to Body Image and Advertising, the idealised female body images presented by the media represent standards of femininity that are unachievable and unrealistic for most women to obtain. These images create frustration and disappointment for many women in Western society because they exemplify unattainable body standards, which can then lead to unhealthy eating behaviours (2000). For women in particular, media such as fashion magazines provide a societal standard of female beauty and emphasise the desirability of thinness (Tiggemann, 2002). Magazines reinforce cultural norms and values to women about body image and weight loss. They set a standard for how women should look and provide them with methods to achieve it. Not only this, but fashion magazines provide unrealistic expectations for women to aspire to because they use expensive computer technology to airbrush photographs, correct blemishes and hide figure flaws (Derenne and Beresin, 2006).

By depicting body image content, magazines have the power to shape the thought process of their readership; women's magazines therefore have the power to shape how women think about weight loss and body image (Conlin and Bissell, 2014). Magazines aid in developing the ideology of young women who read them. It has been studied by the Kaiser Family Foundation in America (2004) that magazines aimed at females have increased in number and availability in recent years. An estimated 33 million 12-19 year olds are spending upwards of $175 billion annually on them and being provided with a distorted vision of the world, and of how they should look. They also noted that the most salient content of magazines aimed at adolescent females was focused on appearance (ibid). Women are exposed to unhealthy framing of the body and they receive conflicting information about weight loss and body image through the media. They are exposed to the thin-ideal on magazine covers and throughout and these appearance frames make women more likely to experience shame about their own body image (Conlin and Bissell, 2014).

Body weight and beauty are often epitomised as representing success and social desirability in the media, especially in thin-ideal media which refer to media that contain noticeably thin female characters, such as fitness and fashion magazines. Thin-ideal media promote the idea that thinness is advantageous (Harrison, 2000). Slimness is seen as a desirable attribute for women in prosperous Western cultures, and is associated with self-control, elegance, social attractiveness and youth (Orbach, 1993; Bordo, 2003). It has been argued that this emphasis of the thin-ideal is a major contributor to current high levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in women (Tiggemann, 2002). This is true for women of a variety of ages. In a study done on women between the ages of 16 and 63 by the Manchester Metropolitan University, it was found that all women interviewed reported dissatisfaction with and objectification of their bodies; with particular reference to the stomach, buttocks and thighs (Grogan, 2008). Body dissatisfaction can be described as the negative evaluation of one's body and the tendency to compare it to other people or to images (Bessenoff, 2006). Therefore the representation of the thin-ideal and the extent to which one buys into or internalises it should be discussed.

Thin-Ideal Internalisation

Park (2005) found that the body size of women seen in the mass media has been steadily getting smaller. Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann and Ahrens found similar results when studying the portrayals of female beauty icons from 1959 and 1978. They observed that over half of them met the medical criteria for the eating disorder anorexia nervosa (1992). Noting this, it is not surprising that body-image disturbance and eating disorders have since become a significant physical and mental-health issue in western cultures. Internalisation of the societal standard of attractiveness has been proven to be a causal factor in this (Thompson and Stice, 2001). According to Thompson et al., thin-ideal internalisation “refers to the extent to which an individual cognitively ‘buys into' socially defined ideals of attractiveness and engages in behaviours designed to produce an approximation of these ideals” (ibid, p. 181). It is thought to foster body disturbance because this thin-ideal is virtually unattainable for most women (Thompson et al., 1999). People internalise attitudes that are approved by significant or respected others, specifically agents of socialisation, therefore the media, family and friends. They reinforce the thin body image for women; the media in particular play a pivotal role by glorifying ultra-thin models (Thompson and Stice, 2001). When women compare their bodies with images presented in the media, they will invariably find themselves wanting. Repeated exposure to such images may lead women to internalise the thin-ideal, so much so that it becomes accepted by them as a reference point against which to judge themselves (Tiggemann, 2002). It has also been found that thin-ideal internalisation predicted increases in body dissatisfaction, dieting and bulimic symptoms (Stice, 2001).

Fashion magazines are a pervasive source of thin-ideal images. Cross-sectional studies have shown that the average amount of time women spend viewing appearance-focussed media, such as fashion magazines, is directly correlated to body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, bulimic symptomatology and internalisation of the thin-ideal (Levine and Murnen, 2009). More research done on undergraduate women has compared magazine exposure, awareness of societal ideals about body image and the degree to which individuals internalised socio-cultural messages about body shape as indicators of body image impressions. This shows that adolescents use magazines as points of comparison (Wykes and Gunter, 2005).

Tiggemann analysed that the extent of reading fashion and beauty magazines was related to internalisation of the thin-ideal. This mediates the relationship between reading fashion magazines and body dissatisfaction (2003). In fact, in relation to perceived media pressure, young women have nominated the media and fashion models as the most potent sources of the pressure to be thin. In addition to this, women who have been diagnosed with eating disorders have often stated that the models in fashion magazines were a trigger for their disorder (Tiggemann, 2002). This research supports the view that exposure to fashion magazines promotes internalisation of the thin-ideal. Stice and colleagues (1994) found there to be an indirect pathway between the thin-ideal standard and the experience of body dissatisfaction.

There is an opposing view to this, however, stating that there are moderating effects to the extent that one internalises the thin-ideal. These include prior body dissatisfaction, low social support, and age (Lopez-Guimera, Levine, Sanchez Carracedo and Fauquet, 2010). These effects can lead to low self-esteem in women, which is an important internal factor to consider when examining body dissatisfaction as it can lead to further problems such as disordered eating (Kinnally and Van Vonderen, 2012). It is apparent that the media are a significant reference point for internalisation of the thin-ideal, but these other social and environmental factors should too be considered.

Self-Objectification

Sexual objectification of female bodies, specifically by the media, teaches women to internalise an outsider's perspective on themselves, such that they come to see themselves as objects to be evaluated by others. This tendency is known as selfobjectification (Aubrey, Henson, Hopper and Smith, 2009). Individuals who selfobjectify tend to define themselves in terms of how their body appears to others. This is very much a dehumanising view of the self and one that privileges how a person looks rather than how they feel (ibid). The role of sexual objectification in the lives of girls and women is an obscure concept. It can be argued that the sexually objectifying experiences encountered by girls and women in their day-to-day environments lead women to internalise this objectifying gaze and turn it on themselves. Therefore, they come to view themselves from the vantage point of an external observer (Calogero, Tantleff-Dunn and Thompson, 2011). “In contemporary patriarchal culture, a panoptical male connoisseur resides within the consciousness of most women: They stand perpetually before his gaze and under his judgement. Woman lives her body as seen by another, by an anonymous patriarchal other” (Bartky, 1990, p. 72). Not surprisingly, exposure to sexualised or ultra-thin depictions of women in the media causes women to self-objectify. The media contributes to the culture of sexual objectification. It also likely provides a socialising function of self-objectification (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997). The media encourages women to objectify themselves by emphasising the sexual objectification of female bodies. This intense focus on women's bodies and body parts provokes women to objectify their own bodies (Aubrey et al., 2009). A number of studies demonstrate that exposure to these thin, sexualised images of other female bodies increases women's negative perceptions of their own bodies (Calogero, 2004). It was also established that reading contemporary women's magazines for appearance and beauty advice has been related to further self-objectification (Kim and Ward, 2004; Morry and Staska, 2001).

Susie Orbach argued the point that women are taught from a young age to view their bodies as commodities. She explored how women's bodies are used to see products in Western consumer culture, and how the fact that these bodies are objectified creates body-image dilemmas for women (1993). “The receptivity that women show to the idea that their bodies are like gardens - arenas for constant improvement - is rooted in the recognition of their bodies as commodities. A consumer society in which women's bodies perform the crucial function of humanising other products while being presented as the ultimate commodity creates all sorts of body-image problems for women” (Orbach, 1993, p. 17).

Women who self-objectify are at greater risk of harbouring negative feelings towards their bodies, but are also exposed to issues of depression and disordered eating (Slater and Tiggemann, 2002). Noll and Fredrickson (1998) found that selfobjectification was related to greater body shame, which in turn was related to eating-disorder symptomatology. Tiggemann and Slater also confirmed links between self-objectification and appearance anxiety, body shame and disordered eating (2001). In an effort to cope with external pressures to meet beauty ideals, self-objectification appears to be a normative view of the self for many women (Costanzo, 1992). It is the primary psychological mechanism that accounts for the link between experiences of sexual objectification at a cultural level, and the health and well-being of women at an individual level (Calogero et al., 2011). Self-objectification is proposed to lead directly to several psychological and physical consequences, some of which are mentioned above. These consequences are known to occur at a disproportionately higher level among girls and women. They also come in the form of other harmful effects including decreased awareness of internal bodily needs such as hunger and fatigue, depression and sexual dysfunction (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997).

Harmful Effects

Evidence from various studies in the fields of eating disorders, media psychology, health psychology and mass communication indicates that mass media are important sources of information and reinforcement of the thin beauty ideal and how to achieve it (Lopez-Guimera et al., 2010). As has been described, the media's representations of the thin-ideal can have harmful effects on young women such as body dissatisfaction, internalisation and self-objectification. Unfortunately, repeated exposure of these images can induce even further negative body perceptions and lead to eating disorders (Derenne and Beresin, 2006). Such eating disorders include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia can be defined as self-imposed starvation where the sufferer develops an obsession with becoming thin and losing weight. Bulimia is characterised as a series of binge-eating sessions, generally followed by induced vomiting or the use of diuretics to rid the body of the food consumed previously (Robles, 2011). While body image is a psychological construct, anorexia and bulimia are behavioural syndromes and they are both closely linked to self-esteem and social stability (Wykes and Gunter, 2005). The dangers associated with these disorders are extensive. The symptoms and behaviours of eating disorders that sometimes develop in females include: tooth decay, cessation of menstrual periods, fatigue and fainting, dehydration, heart disease, bone density issues, kidney failure and gallbladder disease (Department of Health and Human Service's Office on Women's Health, 2000). Dittrich (2004) also made the point that of all psychiatric disorders, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate.

In a study done by Botta (2000), it was found that exposure to and reading of fashion magazines led to an increase in bulimic tendencies in adolescent women. This indicates a link between media images, negative body image and eating disorders. Cory and Burns (2007) state that many women fail to meet the desired media thin-ideal and as a result they develop eating disorders. They also note that such illnesses tend to develop during adolescence and early adulthood. The increase in young women starving themselves, sometimes to death, has become a cause for concern in the areas of medicine, psychology and politics. As a result of this, in 2000 a meeting known as the Body Summit was set up to discuss the media's role in these young women's behaviours. It was found that the media disseminates ideas of what is ideal and that magazines depicting waif-like models were having detrimental effects on young women. This was then paired with the emerging self-destructing attitudes towards food (Wykes and Gunter, 2005). This evidence shows the correlation between media exposure and the development of harmful effects including eating disorders. In contrast to many existing studies, Bissell explains that disordered eating behaviours are no longer just found in young women and girls; in fact they are becoming increasingly prevalent in older women, in some cases occurring for the first time at midlife or recurring after years of remission (2004). In the cases of some older women, they become overly accommodating to age-related changes. They come to believe that their bodies are less competent and attractive, which in turn leads them to experience less bodily satisfaction and lower self-esteem (Whitbourne and Skultety, 2002). Allaz and colleagues found that many older women continue to engage in dieting, despite being a normal weight. This reflects the continued pressure felt by women to lose weight (1998).

However, as was the case with the internalisation of the thin-ideal, there are other views and opinions on this matter. It can be said that the media affect young women's body satisfaction levels indirectly, along with other contributing factors. These include: peer comparisons, social and environmental influences, and selfesteem (Kinnally and Van Vodernen, 2012). The social context of media is crucial as it influences the way people interpret and are affected by said media (Milkie, 1999). Mere exposure to the images can cause dissatisfaction but is not enough to cause more serious harmful effects. It is the meanings attached to the images, the extent to which one compares their body to the images, and the size of the perceived gap between the idealised images and the self that need to be looked at to determine the effect of exposure (Grogan, 2008). Fashion magazines provide a plethora of images depicting the thin-ideal, and it is important that these images are examined from a theoretical perspective to fully understand the effects that they can have. For the purpose of this study Objectification Theory and Social Comparison theory will be used.

1.1 Meta-Level Theory

Objectification Theory

Objectification theory was originated by Barbara Frederickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts. It provides a framework for understanding, researching and intervening to improve women's lives in a culture where women are sexually objectified, and women's worth is equated to how they look (1997). “Objectification theory posits that girls and women are typically acculturated to internalise an observer's perspective as a primary view of their physical selves. This perspective on self can lead to habitual body monitoring, which, in turn, can increase women's opportunities for shame and anxiety, reduce opportunities for peak motivational states, and diminish awareness of internal bodily states” (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997, p. 173). It offers a formal and focussed framework for investigating the consequences of living in such a sexually objectifying cultural milieu that socializes girls and women to view and treat themselves as objects to be evaluated on the basis of their appearance (Calogero et al., 2011). Objectification theory proposes that sexual objectification of women's bodies encourages women to internalise an outsider's opinion of themselves; therefore they begin to see themselves as objects to be evaluated (Aubrey et al., 2009). Although there are many influences on self-objectification (interpersonal, cultural, social and biological), mass media must also be considered. Fashion magazines in particular sexually objectify bodies through the visual representations of models, and by the thematic context that emphasises the importance of appearance (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997).

The theory conceptualises the types of effects that would be expected from sexually objectifying media exposure (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). When objectification theory is applied to the context of image-focussed media, the process in which women compare themselves with the images they see becomes clear. A number of studies have demonstrated that various types of media exposure are related to body self-consciousness and self-objectification (Aubrey, 2006). For example, Morry and Staska (2001) found that for female respondents in their study, reading beauty magazines predicted an increase in self-objectification, and that relationship was mediated by the internalisation of appearance ideals. Orbach linked objectification and distancing of the body to the rise of anorexia nervosa, which the author categories as a metaphor for which women use their bodies as statements about their discomfort with their position in the world (1993). This thought is supported by objectification theory, which states that women's bodies are socially constructed as objects to be watched and evaluated (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997). In a specific study carried out by Fredrickson (1998), female students were randomly assigned to groups and they were asked to try on either a swimsuit or a jumper; the swimsuit was intended to increase self-objectification. When compared, the swimsuit group had high levels of body shame, ate less when food was available and performed more poorly on a mathematics test. The data collected suggests that body surveillance can cause body shame and reduced cognitive performance. In addition to this study, over a decade of research on objectification theory has provided evidence for the development of dangerous mental and physical issues, such as disordered eating behaviours among women. This thereby empirically links selfobjectification to more negative experiences and higher mental-health risks in girls and women (Moradi and Huang, 2008).

Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) offer a model for objectification theory that describes how its process is played out in women's lives, and how self-objectification can be potentially dangerous. The first step is cultural practices of sexual objectification (media, comments from social peers), next is self-objectification (internalised view of self as object), next is self-surveillance (habitual body monitoring), psychological consequences (body shame, appearance anxiety) and finally mental-health risks (eating disorders, depression). Although this model proves that self-objectification is heavily influenced by the media, it also shows that social factors come into play. Therefore objectification theory is not enough of a framework for understanding if image-focussed media can contribute to the development of disordered eating behaviour among women. Social concerns must too be considered, and for that reason social-comparison theory will also be considered.

Social Comparison Theory

Social-comparison theory was originated in 1954 by Leon Festinger. According to Festinger people are constantly evaluating themselves, and do so by comparing themselves to others (1954). It examines how individuals evaluate themselves in relation to peers, groups, and/or social categories (Milkie, 1999). The theory proposes that we desire objective evaluations of our abilities and attitudes (Grogan, 2008) and that we, as individuals, tend to prefer similar others to engage in comparison with (Knobloch-Westerwick and Crane, 2012). Originally the theory dealt with comparisons within groups and face-to-face comparisons; however, recently it has been recognised that individuals compare themselves to larger social categories, such as models in the media (Richins, 1991). There are two types of comparisons: downward and upward. Downward comparisons occur when people compare themselves to someone else and find the other person to be lacking. Upward comparisons are when people compare themselves to someone else and find themselves to be lacking (Kinnally and Van-Vodernen, 2012). Tiggemann and Slater suggested that “the process of social comparison may provide the mechanism by which exposure to media images induces negative effects” (2003, p. 50).

When applied to the context of media, social comparison denotes the process in which women compare themselves with images of the thin-ideal (Lopez-Guimera et al., 2010). These images generally project a standard to which women are expected to aspire, even though that standard is almost entirely impossible to achieve (Schooler et al., 2004; Thompson and Coovert, 1999). Adolescent and young women who tend to compare themselves with the ideals represented in the media are more likely to show greater body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviour than those who do not engage in the process of social comparison (Lopez-Guimera et al., 2010). Evidence is plentiful for the negative effects of young women's social comparison with media images. A study done with undergraduate women who were already dissatisfied with their bodies showed that they tended to compare their appearances to a wide range of body-shape standards, including other students, fashion models and celebrities (Trampe et al., 2007). Other research found that women who report comparing themselves frequently with other women, particularly women in the media, were more likely to show signs of negative mood and bodyimage disturbance (Schooler et al., 2004). Another study using female students, done by Milkie, stated that they found the images in magazines to be unrealistic and far removed from reality. Despite this, however, they found it hard to opt out of the comparison process (1999).

It is important to note that peers play a central role in the extent that women compare themselves with the thin-ideal presented in media such as fashion magazines. If young women have peers that consider thinness to be important, then they are more likely to value thinness and have lower self-esteem. Peers reinforce the thin-ideal, making it more likely that it will be embraced as reality (Kremer, Giles and Helme, 2008).

Social-comparison theory provides reasoning for why women internalise the thin ideal. METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research Design

This research project is a mixed-model design study which aims to understand if image focussed media contributes to the development of disordered eating behaviours among women between the ages of 15 and 45.

“Mixed methods approach…employs strategies of inquiry that involve collecting data either simultaneously or sequentially to best understand research problems. The data collection also involves gathering both numeric information as well as text information so that the final database represents both quantitative and qualitative information” (Cresswell, 2003, p.18).

The fundamental rationale for mixed method research is that it combines the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative analysis while also compensating for the weaknesses of both (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The complementary strengths component should be noted. It says that all data collected can be used for potentially relevant purposes, for example in development, expansion, complementarily, triangulation etc. (Greene et al., 1989). A strength of mixed methods research is that it is designed to converge and diverge when necessary, in a way that results in overall usefulness. It has been stated, however, that more research needs to be done on the integration of quantitative and qualitative measures, and that this issue needs to be looked at further before being fully explicated (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie and Turner, 2007).

The quantitative data is gathered and analysed first. This is followed by the qualitative, building upon the quantitative findings. This sequential order is implemented in this study as it allows for a general understanding of the research in question, and then that analysis can be refined and explained further by statistical results (Rossman and Wilson, 1985; Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998; Cresswell, 2003). As an extensive review of literature on the issue at the centre of this work has been done, the texts analysed are used as the groundwork for the research methods implemented in this research design. The literature review is used as qualitative research to give a full insight into the subject at hand in this dissertation. Content analysis and a survey are then done to test the findings of the books and journals reviewed to provide statistical or numeric information.

All data collected and obtained is used in various ways through the noting of text interpretations and key information, a coding sheet and online graphs.

2.2 Literature Review

Although it is technically not a research method, the literature review is worth noting in this section. McKee stated that a text is something we make meaning from. Analysing texts is a means of understanding the ways human beings in various cultures and subcultures make sense of who they are, and how they fit into the world they live in (2003). In the case of this dissertation, books and academic journals are researched to gain knowledge on the relationship between the female body image and the mass media. Analysis of these texts brings about new and versatile information on the topic. All texts are analysed equally and all information gained is considered. Key terms such as objectification, thin-ideal, internalisation and the importance of the role of fashion magazines are stated and described in the studied texts. Theoretical frameworks are also broken down and understood thoroughly so that they can be adapted for this study. All texts studied allow for various interpretations of reality to be considered. Notes were taken on all texts and these notes were then compared and contrasted. A deeper understanding of these texts allowed for a better rounded argument to be made, backed up by legitimate information. Without the analysis of the texts used in this project, the other research methods would be irrelevant.

The texts analysed provide the necessary information to formulate a coherent argument for this research question: Does image-focussed media contribute to the development of disordered eating behaviours among women between the ages of 15 and 45?

2.3 Content Analysis

“Content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the context of their use”. It provides new insights, increases the researcher's understanding of particular phenomena and informs practical actions. It's a scientific tool (Krippendorff, 2004, p. 18). In the case of this study a content analysis is done on the images that appear in fashion magazines and on their online counterparts, as they are a form of image-focussed media. It is done for purely quantitative purposes.

Images in fashion magazines are examined to quantify how many times images of the thin-ideal appeared. Where the images appear in the magazine (e.g. within articles or as part of advertisements) is taken into account also. Reviewing literature on the topic allows for a greater understanding of the causes and effects of the thinideal, whereas the content analysis provides the numbers for how many times these images are portrayed. It is necessary to analyse these numbers as the information provides a clearer understanding into the complex issue of female body image. A more in-depth argument can be formulated, and inferences can be made, through the data collected.

Although there are differing opinions as to whether content analysis is a qualitative or quantitative, quantitative measures are best practice for this study. Silverman (1993) stated that content analysis a quantitative method. Berelson (1952, p. 18) also stated that content analysis is “a research technique for the systematic, objective and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication”. It is used to “tally the occurrence of wholly manifest content”, or to count the number of occurrences of specific content (Rourke and Anderson, 2004, p. 6).

By implementing quantitative content analysis on the images of the thin-ideal the frequency in which they appear is counted through specific coding. An identical coding sheet is used for this process and the findings are easy to collect and make meaning from.

For the purpose of this study, six fashion magazines are analysed for three months, between February and April 2016. Three British and three Irish fashion magazines are chosen so that the research isn't biased or one sided. The magazines analysed

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