The aim of this content analysis was to gather further understanding the how body ideals are conveyed by the media, in particular Disney movies, to their target audience which are mostly children. Studies in the past have examined the relationship between the thin ideal portrayed by toys (Anshutz & Engels, 2010) and the sexualization of the ideal self under experimental conditions in children (Starr & Ferguson, 2012), all of which suggests the potential negative impact of media exposure on body image developments in young Other studies on Disney movies indicate that girls’ body image satisfaction decreased after exposure to Disney female themed movies (Hayes & Tantleff-Dunn, 2010; Asawarachan, 2014). As an extension of the former Disney studies, our research hoped to measure the unrealistic proportions of female and male characters in these movies in comparison to an average adult by calculating waist-to-hip and waist-to-chest ratios of female and male characters, respectively.
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al’s (2012) measurements allowed us to make a comparison between the WHR of female characters and the average WHR of an adult woman, as well as the WCR of male characters and the average WCR of an adult man. Our findings indicate that there is a significant difference between the general female body proportions in Disney movies and the average American woman. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the WCR of male characters and the average WCR of an adult man. Because there were only significant differences found in the female WHR, this suggested that a more unrealistic female body image, especially aligned with the thin ideal, is being conveyed to the audience. This aligned with previous findings, which suggested that female body dissatisfaction increased after exposure to content portraying the thin ideal in the media (Levine & Murnen, 2009; Hayes & Tantleff-Dunn, 2010; Slevec & Tiggemann, 2011; Asawarachan,
al’s (2012) measurements allowed us to make a comparison between the WHR of female characters and the average WHR of an adult woman, as well as the WCR of male characters and the average WCR of an adult man. Our findings indicate that there is a significant difference between the general female body proportions in Disney movies and the average American woman. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the WCR of male characters and the average WCR of an adult man. Because there were only significant differences found in the female WHR, this suggested that a more unrealistic female body image, especially aligned with the thin ideal, is being conveyed to the audience. This aligned with previous findings, which suggested that female body dissatisfaction increased after exposure to content portraying the thin ideal in the media (Levine & Murnen, 2009; Hayes & Tantleff-Dunn, 2010; Slevec & Tiggemann, 2011; Asawarachan,