1

Beauty and Body dissatisfaction experienced by young Indian women exposed to foreign print advertisements found in International fashion Magazines targeted at women.

By Radhika Batra MA Marketing 2006-2007

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER 1

1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Objective of this Research

9-12 12

CHAPTER 2

Literature Review Part 1

2.1 Introduction 2.2 Cross Cultural Advertising 2.3 Magazine Advertising and Women 2.4 Conceptualising Beauty: The American Way 2.5 Changing Standards of Beauty:

13-14 14-16 16-20 20-24

3 A shift from white to coloured skin 2.6 The Construction of New Indian Beauty 2.7 Asian Beauty in Advertisements Of International Fashion Magazines 28-31 24-26 26-27

CHAPTER 3

Literature Review Part 2

3.1 Introduction 3.2 Female Body Dissatisfaction 3.3 Social Comparison theory 3.4 Impact of age on body dissatisfaction in women 3.5 Body Dissatisfaction in young ethnic women from Asia 3.6 Advertisements in Womens fashion magazines: Dissemination of the thin ideal 3.7 Summary and Research Questions

31 32-35 35-37 38-41 41-47

48-52 52-54

4 CHAPTER 4

Research Methodology

4.1 Introduction 4.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative paradigms 4.3 The Case for Qualitative Research Methodology 4.4 Qualitative research interviews 4.4.1 Using Semi structured interviews 4.4.2 External Stimuli and Magazine Selection 4.5 Research Sampling 4.5.1 Pilot Study 4.5.2 Recruiting the participants 4.5.3 Interviewee Profile 4.5.4 Reviewing the interview process 4.6 Summary

55

56-58 58-60 60-62 60-61 61-62 62-68 63 63-64 65 66-68 68-69

CHAPTER 5

Analysis and Interpretation of Qualitative data

5.1 Introduction

70

5 5.2 Semiotic analysis of white women portrayed in contemporary print advertisements of International fashion magazines 5.3 Coding categories of qualitative data 5.4 Emerging themes and voices of young Indian women 5.4.1 Deconstruction of beauty and the importance of physical appearances 5.4.2 Stereotyping white beauty in global beauty advertisements 5.4.3 Appeal of Indian female beauty and their westernised appearances in International fashion magazines 5.4.4 Real beauty 5.4.5 Social comparison theory 5.4.6 Female body image and feelings of body dissatisfaction 5.4.7 Threatening images of western beauty disseminated by International fashion magazines 5.4.8 Indianization of transnational magazines 5.4.9 Indian models Vs International models 5.4.10 Individual and Environmental factors triggering beauty and body dissatisfaction in young Indian women 5.4.11 Steps taken to deal with the far fetched norms of beauty established by global mass media 5.4.12 A Conceptual model representing various individual and environmental moderators which lead to 112-113 94-111 90-91 91-92 92-94 80-81 81-83 84-85 85-89 77-79 75-76 71-72 72-73 73-114

6 beauty and body dissatisfaction in young Indian women 114

5.5 Discussion 5.5.1 A Case for Advertising 5.5.2 A Case against Advertising 5.5.3 Implications for international marketing managers debating between the standardisation versus localisation of advertising appeals 5.6 Summary

115-119 115-116 116-118

118-119 119-120

CHAPTER 6

Conclusion

6.1 Overall Summary 6.2 Limitations of the Study 6.3 Directions for further Research References Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4

121 122 122-123 124-162 163-166 167 168 169

7 ABSTRACT

This dissertation has been greatly concerned with the impact of the advertising images in international mass media, mainly womens fashion magazines. Three advertisements, two from Cosmopolitan and one from Elle magazine, United Kingdom were used in order to test the impact of beauty and body image concerns in young Indian women. Literature has mainly concentrated on the portrayal of white women as advertising and cultural stereotypes in a global environment. Many studies have revealed that culture plays a very vital role in the way advertising and the visuals of women in them are perceived in society. Beauty has been always associated with superiority and global appreciation. Whiteness in particular is considered to be Gods gift to mankind and non white women are considered to be unwanted elements of society. However today trends are changing and even though women from the West are considered dynamically beautiful, advertising industry is also getting more and more appreciative of Asian beauty in international advertisements for cosmetic products. Body image is also one more important dimension that is explored in this dissertation and there is a general perception that fatness is associated with being ugly and since a very young age girls are affected by the discrepancies between their body image and the cultural body image. Thus body dissatisfaction is a very important concept that seems to be a concern of every young woman irrespective of ethnic origin. The objective of this study has been to understand these sensitive and personal issues from the eyes of young Indian women who are active members of this global environment and well versed with international fashion magazines.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am very grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Andrew Smith for his endless encouragement and support throughout my dissertation process. Without his invaluable guidance and advice this dissertation would not have been possible for me to accomplish. Dr. Smith has helped me through all my hard times and has always shown me the right direction to complete my research. In addition, Dr. Smith has been my mentor throughout my education in the University of Nottingham and I have always admired him as a teacher. I would also like to thank my parents and sisters for making my dream to study in the University of Nottingham come true. Their prayers and unconditional love for me has given me the strength to get through all obstacles during the dissertation process. In addition, I would also like to thank all my friends and all my research participants who were so understanding and helpful towards me. Without their cooperation this research could not have been completed. Thank you.

9 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1:

The global movements of peoples, cultures, ideas, goods, products and information are all pointers to the fact that one must think more and more in terms of networks of communication as providing the all-importantly linking, yet penetrable boundaries of the times (Munshi,2001).

Mass media is all pervasive and advertisements are always seeking out to grab peoples attention. Every day people are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful looking models, who vow to make every womans life perfect. In other words, it appears as though the advertising industry thrives on peoples vulnerability to buy into the beauty myth which the people in media have successfully stereotyped (Mayne, 2000). Globalisation of the American beauty industry seems to be spreading like wild fire in every corner of the world. By setting unrealistically high standards of beauty accompanied by a skinny body image, this $230 billion global beauty industry capitalizes on every womans concern for self beautification. Since the end of World War 2, the American beauty industry has been dominated by the white ideal. Caucasian women who are blessed with blonde hair and blue eyes set the perfect norm for beauty in society (Jones). Research indicates that most adolescent women exposed to the inescapable images of mass media seem to have absorbed the cult of thinness rather unhealthily. Body dissatisfaction and an obsession with physical appearance are by products of the American capitalistic culture (Hesse-Biber, 1996). In fact this multi billion dollar beauty and body industry in America has been popularized in many parts of the world. The

10 global media is a strong tool that sets painfully thin standards of female beauty. Also, research shows that with time this fixation on thinness seems to get worse and is continuously exported across the globe through hedonistic advertisements. Today with economic developments taking place in many parts of the world it seems as though we have entered into an era of cultural globalisation (Leavy). Many transnational corporations have gained recognition and a strong foothold in many fast developing countries. Perhaps this cross cultural acceptance can be attributed to Theodore Levitt, who claimed that the global corporation looks to the nations of the world not for how they are different but for how they are alike (1983).

To further proceed with this discussion on globalisation, mass media and homogenisation of beauty, my research takes on an inductive approach and uses semi structured interviews to explore these issues from the perspective of young Indian women. Most importantly, the primary objective of this dissertation is to capture different perspectives on the role of international fashion magazines as prominent mass media vehicles in disseminating images of faultless feminine beauty. In the present dynamic scenario of digital and web related mass communication, magazines constitute an underrated medium of mass communication. Yet, what really differentiates magazines and gives them an added advantage from all other contemporary channels of communication is their ability to provide meaning to advertising content. Not only do they engage their customers visually by using captivating imagery but magazines also pose as important outlets for branded goods to get peoples attention (McCann, 2005). Globalisation of the Indian economy poses an immense pressure for India to meet international standards of beauty. In India, magazines rank first in carrying a major chunk of advertisements (Sanghavi,

11 1990) and seem to also exhibit gender role portrayals very effectively (Das, 2000). Research on body dissatisfaction in young women holds beauty advertisements that emphasize cross cultural differences, responsible for extending this dissatisfaction in adolescents from India (Shroff and Thompson, 2004). With cultural differences between Eastern and Western societies phasing out, research conducted by Shaw (1999), indicates that international fashion magazines targeted at adolescents have gained extensive coverage in many parts of the world (cited by Frith Sheng and Shaw, 2004). By homogenizing femininity and womens magazine Ferguson (1983), states that womens magazines represent a social institution which serves to foster and maintain a cult of femininity. There seems to be widespread research on the influence of internationally circulated magazines on teenage girls. These magazines happen to disseminate a classless and race-less representation of adolescent women under the assumption that every teenage girl desires to attain perfect beauty. Trends in contemporary fashion magazines make every effort to bind women to a common socio cultural milieu. Nevertheless, in reality advertisements that get featured in womens magazines depict Asian women in role quite contradictory to the roles of American women (Sengupta, 2006).

Research on body dissatisfaction and social comparison theory reveals that some women experience joy when they view images of advertising models. Then there are those women who appear to be oblivious to images of beautiful mass media spokespersons. A third category of women comprises of adolescents and young adults who get adversely affected by images of lean models depicted in print campaigns (Wilkox and Laird, 2000). At present, Indias population mainly comprises of the youth below the age of 25. Consumers belonging to this demographic segment are regarded as

12 highly brand conscious and many multinational companies see this as a great opportunity to seize this target market.1 In fact studies indicate that most young women between the ages of 25 to 44 prefer the Glam Look and older women falling between the ages of 45 to 64 are likely to use products that fight their aging process (Ebenkamp, 2006). Amidst such richly written literature on the universal concept of beauty and the ideal female body, my research steps in to add another dimension to the consumption of these critical issues from an Indian perspective.

-Objective of this Research 1.1.1:

My dissertation is primarily concerned with conducting qualitative research. This is because as a humanistic and idealistic approach (Leach, 1990), qualitative research has been the most appropriate tool for helping me to unleash idiosyncratic stories of young Indian women. By using semi structured interviews I was able to get a deep insight of the way these women absorbed and reacted to print advertisements as cited in international fashion magazines. The research purposefully centres on physical beauty of women that was originally American oriented. However, it becomes eminent to fathom whether beauty and body dissatisfaction are now regarded as global concerns that have possessed women irrespective of their colour, race and nationality. Throughout my research I have also incurred that my gender, age and nationality acted as my greatest assets that propelled me to unravel the beauty and body image concerns of women of my ethnic origin.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4174

13 Chapter 2

Literature Review: (Part 1)

Introduction: 2.1

North Americans are notorious for worshiping an individuals possession of physical attractiveness (Dion, Berschied and Walster, 1972) and deem such people to be highly generous, successful and influential (Berschied and Walster, 1974). Physically attractive women are particularly seen as being gregarious, high spirited and emotionally well balanced (Feingold, 1998 as cited in Davis, C., Dionne, M. and Shuster, B., 2001). Besides being socially advantageous, physical attractiveness is directly associated with an individuals potential to become popular (Perrin,1921) and be an ideal match to get married to. The growth in transnational trade, mass communication, technology and free movement of people from one country to another has resulted in the coming together of people with similar tastes, ideals and standards of living (Schaefer, Hermans and Parker, 2005). Emerging from this line of thought it can be said that advertising and culture appear to share a very difficult relationship (Albers-Miller, 1996). On one hand advertising affects cultural values and on the other hand it gets affected by culture (Albers-Miller and Gelb, 1996). As avid receivers of advertisements, consumers view advertising as a primary tool that fulfills some unsatisfied need (Crosier, 1983). Emphasis on the visual appeal of advertisements can be credited to the ability of images to increase persuasion and garner a larger audience (Mitchell, 1986). International advertisers are often urged to use female spokespersons that get appreciated and relate to various needs of their consumers (Bjerke and Polegato, 2006). Literature on cultural influences and

14 consumer behaviour has used Maslows (1954) hierarchy of needs to substantiate that (a) all needs are moderately steady across all cultures, (b) some needs are more important in one culture than in another and (c) people from different cultures get satisfied with different needs (Usunier, 1996). When women see a gap between their actual self and the idealized self, they tend to relate positively with a female advertising presenter who embodies the viewers ideal self (Bjerke and Polegato, 2006). Thus this chapter essentially reviews literature on the various facets of beauty as a culturally biased construct by Americans and also the evolution of the beauty industry that has now learned to accept beauty that is rooted in Asian culture.

Source: Huitt, (2004), Maslows hierarchy of needs2

Cross cultural advertising: 2.2

Understanding culture has always been a difficult task as this complex construct is defined as those beliefs and values that are widely shared in a specific society at a particular point in time (Pressey and Selassie, 2002). Emerging from this dynamic
2

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html

15 definition of culture, the international advertising industry has always juggled with the standardisation versus adaptation approach to advertising (Jain 1989 and Levitt, 1983). Proponents of a standardized advertising approach contend that the needs and wants of consumers everywhere are alike. They believe that by standardizing representations of advertising campaigns, multi national companies will not only achieve economies of scale but also send across a consistent message worldwide. On the flip side, opponents of a standardized advertising campaign in a cultural context argue that people around the world are different and marketers cannot neglect consumers idiosyncratic cultural and media related preferences (Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos, 1997). Research conducted by Kanso (1992), Hornic(1980), Tse et al (1986) and Graham et al (1993) all support the claim that advertising appeals need to be adapted to meet cultural needs (cited by Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos, 1997). For example it is believed that Western and non Western countries are not just separated from one another geographically but also from peoples different self concepts (Geertz, 1984). Cultural practices in the West are guided by discourses such as that of individualism and detachment whereas those in the East are more representative of collectivism and interdependency (Wang, 2000). The individualism and collectivism dimension has been highly applied to the field of advertising (Cho et al, 1999). Based on the separateness and connectedness schemas used to classify cultures, research indicates that when advertising is consistent with this type of schema, separateness in advertising advocates individuality, independence and uniqueness. Conversely, connectedness in advertising advocates societal value, mutual reliance on others and a social role (Wang and Chan, 2001). In addition, advertising in the West stresses on cognitive appeals such as excess information and hard sell whereas

16 advertising in non Western countries stresses on affective appeals such as status symbols and soft sell (Wang, 2000). Then again it has been argued that individuals cannot be only segregated on the basis of separated and connected self schemas, as reflected in most cross cultural advertisements (ibid.). They argue that international advertisers have been very short sighted in grouping their target markets on the basis of cultural orientations. Instead, they suggest that marketers must cater their advertising appeals to consumers on the basis of individual preferences as consumers within the same culture may have different tastes and preferences. Possibly, consumers from Western countries can prefer advertisements that foster a connected appeal and consumers from non western cultures can respond to advertisements that foster an individualistic appeal (ibid.). Others have supported this myopic contention by demonstrating that people within the same culture and belonging to a particular society can vary widely (Triandis, 1994). Within the same culture people can be categorized as either culturally congruent individuals or culturally deviant individuals, depending on their compatibility with the norms and values of their culture (Peach and Liu, 1998).

Magazine Advertising and Women 2.3

Culture creates a coherent background, a mould into which characters grow and by which they are shaped. Part of that mould, of that coherent background, is of course advertising and the world of womens magazine (Millum, 1975).

Advertising has long been blamed for projecting certain stereotypes that have a strong influence on society (Howard, 2003). In contemporary society womens magazines pose as fruitful platforms for advertisers to reflect cultural meanings that go beyond the mere

17 sales messages. The relationship between American women and American advertisements has caused great concern among many Western feminist scholars who have been opposing the stigmatisation of women as weak and inept elements of society (Frith et al., 2005). Gender stereotyping in magazines targeted at young women show that although stereotypical white women rule the mass media coverage on beauty advertisements, Asian women seem to be receiving attention in technology oriented advertisements (Sengupta, 2006). The opening of borderless markets (Sheth, 2001) has paved the way for people to migrate from one country to another. Consequently, rapid changes are taking place in the field of consumer behaviour in the form of acculturation (Luna and Gupta, 2001). Acculturation causes women to undergo an immense amount of stress and confusion due to cultural incompatibility. Especially when studying the impact of this phenomenon on young Asian women, migrated to the West, acculturation leads to low self esteem, disordered eating habits and an obsession with thinness. Some studies have observed that some Asian women when living in the West feel even more dissatisfied with their body and overall beauty appeal. The cultural setback among these practices has been ascribed to the widespread appeal of the Western Beauty Ideal in The East.3 International advertising and the world wide popularity of western magazines have been held responsible for representing women in an overtly sexual manner (Nelson and Paek, 2005). Literature on sexual objectification of women in magazine advertisements in the U.S. show that womens sexuality has become extremely illustrative as oppose to being verbose and at the same time very open and banal (Soley and Kurzbad, 1986, Reichert et al., 1999 and Reid and Soley, 1983). Print advertisements that feature good looking models rely on such visual imagery to
3

http://www.naapimha.org/issues/AAGirls.p

18 communicate meanings to people belonging to a particular culture (Warlaumont, 1993). Research conducted on the representation of sexual imagery in visual elements indicates that such images are subject to maximum standardisation in global advertisements (de Mooij, 1998).

Cosmopolitan magazine is a quintessential example for studying the degree of sexual consistency in print advertisements. Originated in the United States, Cosmopolitan magazine now publishes 110 editions in 28 languages and caters to around 36 million fun and fearless females from all over the world (Nelson and Park, 2005). When print advertisements from Cosmopolitan magazines which target young women were examined the results indicated that local differences in the representation of womens sexuality did actually exist (ibid.). Stemming from the above discussion on standardisation versus adaptation of sexual imagery, it has been pointed out that even among Asian countries, the role of women tend to differ magnanimously and that Asian women are also heterogeneous in nature (Munshi, 2001, Mahmud and Crittenden, 2007). For example, sexual imagery found in the Cosmopolitan magazine in China mirrored the Chinese culture, by curbing the degree of female sexuality portrayed in them. On the other hand, results obtained from the Indian edition of Cosmopolitan indicated that nonIndian models featured in advertisements were more sexually oriented than their Indian counterparts (Nelson and Park, 2005). Portrayal of women in Indian magazines such as India Today and Illustrated Weekly of India have been compared to those in American magazines such as Time and Life (Griffin, Viswanath and Schwartz, 1994 as cited by Frith et al., 2005). Results have indicated that the norms and practices of Western advertisements such as the promotion of professionalism in women have cut through

19 cultural boundaries and have been tracked down in Indian advertisements. Yet, the results also point out that Indian advertisements are still dominated by their cultural themes such as presenting women as housewives and curbing down their role as sexual icons (ibid.).

Despite advertisings primary role as a vehicle for meaning transfer through the integration of various consumer groups (Mc Cracken, 1986), advertising theory warns that product endorsements through models as spokespersons, should be used in accordance with the target market (Belch and Belch, 2003 as cited by Nelson and Park, 2007). On the other hand, by establishing a constant ad spokesperson international marketers efficiently accumulate huge profits and appreciate a clutter free mode of mass communication. For instance Revlon, a globally recognized cosmetic brand willingly adopts a single model strategy because they believe that a single model can project a universal image of beauty (Nelson and Park, 2007). Further the dominance of white models in global advertisements seems to outnumber some of the Asian models used in some Asian countries (ibid). Karan, (2003), conducted a study in India by comparing a Hindi and an English medium magazine targeted at women. The results of this study indicated that even though Indian models governed most of the magazines, Caucasian models were more prevalent in English magazines (as cited by Nelson and Park, 2007). Magazine advertisements stand out from all other mass media vehicles in contributing to the standardisation versus globalisation debate. A plethora of research on the portrayal of cultural values has been conducted on magazine advertisements. It is regarded that the consumers of this mass medium are multi segmented and enclose different tastes and values. Even though Levitt (1983) has argued that globalization of markets is inevitable due to convergence of values (Watson, Lysoski, Gillan ad Raymore, 2002), this over

20 exaggerated statement agrees with the omnipresence of US culture in majority of magazine advertisements. US advertisements projecting an individualistic dimension tend to emphasize on altering ones appearance. Thus there seems to be a major concern from an ethical perspective to not alienate consumers belonging to non-US cultures. Yet, proponents of advertising hold an opinion that advertisements in the past and even in the present pose to be significant mass communication tools in disseminating strong cultural values through their visual appeal (Okigbo, Martin and Amienyi, 2005).

Conceptualising Beauty: The American way 2.4

Darwin (1871) observed that It is certainly not true that there is in the mind of man any universal standard of beauty with respect to the human body (Cunningham et al.,1995.). Traditionally beauty has always been labeled as a one-dimensional framework (Englis et al, 1994). The portrayal of blue eyed and blond women in advertisements for beauty products has been highly successful in pioneering American standards of beauty (Jones). Regardless of cultural shifts taking place, research indicates that highly attractive models such as Brooke Shields, Cindy Crawford, Madonna and Christie Brinkley are perfect choices for magazine advertisements (Solomon et al, 1992, Mc Cracken 1989 and Foltz 1992 as cited by Langmeyer and Shank, 1994). Within the white beauty industry a number of researchers have pointed out that the concept of beauty is too complex to be positioned onto a mere good-bad continuum (Solomon et al., 1992). The Beauty Match-up hypothesis proposes that attractive people, all of whom are beautiful, vary considerably in exactly how they are good looking (ibid.). The internalisation of what constitutes beauty is directly related to peoples personality and lifestyle. Indeed, this

21 leads to another fascinating premise that, perceivers distinguish multiple types of good looks, and that in advertising, certain beauty ideals are more appropriately paired with specific products than with others (Solomon et al., 1992 as cited by Martin and Peters, 2005).

Beauty came into existence much before Plato did and yet today a young woman is only considered beautiful if she uses lipsticks, glosses and liners (Brand, 2000). In todays global and commercial environment, beauty is a true reflection of the American capitalistic culture. Modern advertising has adopted the ideology of the Beauty Matchup Hypothesis and represents physical beauty in a multi dimensional manner. The mass media exemplifies as a double edged sword, disseminating a unidimensional construct of beauty on one hand and a more realistic multidimensional construct of beauty on the other. American fashion and beauty magazine editors, more appropriately known as the cultural gatekeepers are liable for creating the different shades of white beauty and for popularizing these ideals among the consumers who read these magazines (Solomon et al., 1992). Richins (1991) points out that the influence of these cultural gatekeepers has a subtle yet powerful impact on the consumers who buy into the chimera of such fabricated beauty. Her research aims to study the repercussions idealized models used in advertisements have on young women. The study concludes that unrealistically attractive women portrayed in advertising not only cause dissatisfaction with the self but also lead to rating average women as less beautiful. When contrasting between highly attractive models (HAMs) and normally attractive models (NAMs), it is argued that HAMs represent flawless facial beauty and a thin figure. NAMs on the other hand, characterize average facial and bodily beauty. More explicitly, Normally Attractive Models are not

22 beautiful in an idealized manner as Highly Attractive Models are and are more prone to less positive outcomes by common people (Bower and Landreth, 2001). Corresponding to Solomon et als (1992) multi dimensional orientation of beauty, research conducted by Kahle and Homer (1985) and Kamins (1990) support the prioritisation of using models congruent with the personality of the product. Results of the research conducted by Bower and Landreth (2001), further point out that from a marketing perspective, products must be further viewed as either appearance enhancing or appearance solving. The importance of this distinction further leads to the conclusion that when a consumer is highly involved in a product the use of HAMs may lead to greater trust in the product. This is because literature points out that attractive people, unlike unattractive people are more trustworthy and are not easily influenced by other peoples thoughts (ibid.). The evolution of female physical beauty in the history of America has been studied by Englis et al. (1994), from a period extending between 1800s to the 1960s. The era of the mid 80s idealized the fragile and pale looking female body, which in the 1890s graduated to a more fuller and voluptuous looking female body. In the 1920s womens fashion industry favoured the boyish flapper look and then moved on to appreciating the Marilyn Monroe look in the 1950s (also by Frith et al., 2005). Dabbling between the changing standards of American and European standards beauty, other researchers have observed that the voluptuous look of the 19th century seems to have disagreed with the current flat-chested and anorexic look of the current century. As a matter of fact, it appears as though contemporary women suffer from a major illness such as tuberculosis (Webster and Driskell, 1983).

23 In the typifying the dominant American looks, Solomon et al. (1992) list out the six different categories of female white beauty crafted by the fashion editors of beauty magazines: Feminine or Classic Beauty, Sensual/Exotic, Cute, Girl-Next Door, Sex Kitten and Trendy (also cited by Englis et al, 1994). Complementary to the findings of female ideal beauty types, Englis et al., include in their research another mass media vehicle such as the music television in shaping the beauty concept among young women. Yet, research on the concept of beauty has led some researchers to go beyond patronizing the female Classic/Sensual beauty in print advertisements of fashion magazines and opine that the multi dimensional construct of beauty embraces other facets of unbounded beauty (Langmeyer and Shank, 1994). Analogous to the findings of Louie and Obermiller 2002 (as cited in Silvera and Austad, 2004) research conducted by Langmeyer and Shank, (1994), overtly states that beautiful looking celebrities who are used as popular brand endorsers for products sometimes are charges with controversies and anti social behaviour. From a marketing perspective, it can be inferred that harmful consequences of such representations can be twofold. Firstly, gorgeous looking celebrities in advertisements stress on the importance of a physical beauty. Secondly, reality shows that some of these celebrities get entangled with controversies and antisocial behaviour. This leads to the creeping of unethical practices in the advertising industry that directly harms the reliability and usage of the products endorsed. Subsequently, their research further dives into the various notions of beauty from the perspective of dissimilar men and women. Results indicate that physical beauty forms an innate part of everyones existence, but with time, commitment and money, appearance can be altered in spite people retaining their original identity. Real beauty on

24 the other hand is evaluated on the basis ones values, habits and personality. The Dove campaign when seeking out for the Real Beauty, conducted a survey on American women, who vouched that Beauty can be achieved through attitude, spirit and other attributes that have nothing to do with physical appearance (Dolliver, M, 2004). The promotional campaigns of Dove soap emphasizing the cause for real beauty can be seen in their Dove Report, which states: for too long beauty has been defined by narrow, unattainable stereotypes. Its time to change all that .because real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, colours and ages(Brothers, 2005).

Changing standards of Beauty: A shift from white to coloured skin 2.5

Superiority of the white skin has dominated the forefront of beauty since the rule of western empires and slavery in the history of American civilisation. During this time, non-white people adopted the white standards of beauty and considered this move to be a form of their identification with the aggressor (Sahay and Piran, 1997). The entry of this white ideal from American societies traveled into the South Asian culture with the Aryan attack, soon followed by the British invasion. Since then, South Asians have a penchant for white beauty and tend to equate fairness with the definition of beauty. Even in matrimonial matters, women who fit into the fair and light skinned category are regarded as suitable candidates for prospective grooms. Mass media in addition to these societal pressures prompt most coloured women to use whitening creams and cosmetics to alter their appearance to be in line with a white complexion (ibid.) Racial hierarchy in the United States epitomizes white beauty and regards everyone who is white as true Americans only. In fact some researchers such as Thomas Nakayama

25 (1994), argue that the relationship between whiteness and Americanness is one that is natural and not bound by cultural or historical factors. Asian students that migrate to America often find themselves struggling to give into the demands of the White ideal that espouses long blond hair, blue eyes and an extremely thin body frame (Lee and Vaught, 2003).

These days globalisation has led to the cultural integration of the American standards of beauty and today beauty in the West is more representative of ethnic women as seen in various advertisements for beauty and beauty related products (Englis et al., 1994). Research on cosmetic companies, catering to women of colour indicates that the marketing strategy behind majority of these global companies is based on the premise that women are universal; only their needs are different (King, 1998). Even Revlon (a global cosmetic brand) which once stood by a single model strategy, now markets a whole range of its products to women from different ethnic backgrounds. Their ads appear in major fashion magazines showing ethnic models such as Halle Berry to appeal to non-white women. Statistics from Datamonitor, a research firm, demonstrates that by the year 2002, the ethnic make-up category will grow by 6.2 percent from the year 1997. That is there will a net increase in their growth from $210 million in 1997 to $224 million in 2002. Marketers of womens cosmetic brands seem to be well informed of the growing number of ethnic womens aesthetic consumption. For example, Zhen is one such cosmetic company that caters only to Asian womens beauty needs in America. After an extensive study on the Asian womens skin care needs, Zhen has started to manufacture customized foundations with yellow undertones to please the Asian market (ibid.).

26

Source: King, (1998): How Cosmetic companies reach their target marketwomen of color.

The Construction of New Indian Beauty 2.6:

Since the opening up of markets in 1991, two things have been happening simultaneously: India is perceived as a huge potential market for consumer products, and market research data indicates the changing profile of the modern Indian woman, saying that the hedonistic woman has at last come of age (IMRB, 1998 as cited by Munshi, 2001).

27 Typically the period between the 1960s and 1970s in the Indian advertising Industry has always portrayed young Indian women bound to familial roles. At that time an Indian woman was represented as a home maker, a wife, a mother and a perfect daughter in law belonging to a rigid joint family system; a common way of living in many Indian households. Where western ideologies stressed on womens right to self enhancement, Indian ideologies stressed that their women should take a more conservative stand (Munshi, 2001). In the same era, the advertising industry exposed Indian women to just a handful of beauty products. For instance, most women were consumers of hair oil for growing their hair long and thick, to be styled into a bun or a plait for a well defined traditional Indian look. Other products included skin whitening creams and powders, along with herbal soaps, all used in order to get the perfect fair, glowing smooth complexion appreciated by men (ibid.) . However, with time and under the impact of globalisation in most parts of urban India, most families became nuclear and women underwent some drastic transformations. The new Indian woman was not bound to doing household chores but instead joined the workforce, concentrated on enhancing her looks and became more self sufficient (ibid.). The opening up of the Indian market and the influx of foreign brands such as Lanome, Elizabeth Arden, LOreal and Vichy enabled many Indian women to retain their youthfulness and also pamper themselves. Foreign advertising has therefore played a major role in internationalizing the Indian beauty industry and also in capitalizing on this global Indian market; where Indian women seem to be well tuned into the dazzling lifestyle of women coming from the West (ibid.).

28 Asian Beauty in Advertisements Of International Fashion Magazines 2.7:

It is important to note that internationalisation has found its way into the womens fashion and beauty magazine industry (Shaw,1999).

Advertisements offer us a unique opportunity to study the construction of beauty in a culture because advertisers are notorious for promoting a beauty ideal (Greer, 1999) or, as Cortese(1999) pointed out, presenting the exemplary female prototype (as cited in Frith et al., 2005).

Contemporary advertising theorists propose that the impact of globalisation has made it mandatory for advertisers to depict models, their clothing and even the copy of advertisements to be in line with the values and needs of their multi cultural target market (Belch and Belch, 2003). Literature on portrayal of ethnic women in advertisements for womens fashion magazines reflects that globalisation of the Asian beauty industry makes it crucial for researchers to study how Asian women are depicted in these magazines (Frith et al., 2004). Research indicates that women from western cultures have the privilege to expose their bodies in public without any fear of getting rebuked. However women belonging to the Middle Eastern or the Asian culture are bound to be dressed more conservatively (Cheng, 1997). Advertising is a dominant and the most visible form of mass media that sets the standards for beauty and waif like bodily images. It is argued that despite cultural rifts in womens role in society, globalisation of international womens magazines promoting unrealistic images of beauty have earned a worldwide appeal (Shaw, 1999). Even then, some researchers argue that ethnicity becomes an eminent feature to be studied when referring to advertisements in various

29 international magazines (Frith et al., 2004). Some also argue that contemporary advertising has become very fond of non white models owing to the rapid growth of ethnic models and celebrities in society (Gulas and McKeage, 2000). When American women in magazine advertisements were compared to their Japanese counterparts, it was observed that American women were depicted as more calm whereas the Japanese women were depicted as more busy doing household chores such as cooking and cleaning (Sengupta, 1995). Research conducted by Maynard and Taylor (1999), on the visual interpretation of young Japanese girls in the Japanese edition of Seventeen (a global magazine) indicated that these models reflected a more chirpy and girly image. In contrast, the American models were found to be depicted as more grave and rebellious in their outlook (as cited in Frith et al., 2005).

Based on the different ethnic portrayals of women in fashion magazines, research conducted by Frith et al. (2004), focused on three countries similar in terms of economic development, literacy, standard of living and per capita income but different in their cultural orientations. These countries namely were Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. In line with Hofstedes (1997) cultural dimensions both Singapore and Taiwan reflect a collectivist and a feminine culture. The feminine role is encapsulated in the Confucian culture which then gets passed on in society through media, family members and friends. The United States of America, on the other hand represents an individualistic and masculine culture (ibid.).The results of Frith et al.s (2004) study signify that the Classic beauty (Solomon et al., 1992), is more universal and prominent in both Asian and American advertisements (also Frith et al., 2005). Similarly, on the representation of sexual imagery in Asian magazine advertisements, their findings confirm that Western

30 models are more frequently portrayed as Sensual or Sexy in comparison to the Asian models who appear to be shy and reserved (also Frith et al., 2005). In addition, the findings also seem to generalize that all East Asian cultures are alike in representing women as innocent and pretty. Numerous other studies on the cultural differences between the West and the East suggest that women in India and China, under the influence of global brand advertisements, happen to hold the same view on the definition of attractiveness (Griffin et al., 1994). Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) have developed a framework on the self objectification of women. In sum, they propose that womens role in society is instituted for visual appeal and examination by others (as cited in Davis, C., Dionne, M. and Shuster, B., 2001). For example, Wood (1999) has pointed out that womens garments such as body fit clothes with patterns of design done on them, all lead to the conclusion that women are a victim of self gratification. Yet, it has been pointed out that Western models are more upfront and willing to advertise for sexy and revealing clothes as they are more body oriented unlike Asian women who are more sexually averse and prefer being facial beauty oriented (as cited by Frith et al., 2004).

Collectively the follow up research on the cross cultural construction of beauty in Singapore, Taiwan and the United States by Frith et al. (2005), reiterated the idea that women in Western societies regard their bodies to be given importance to by men and in Asian societies women consider their faces to be given importance to by men. They also explain further that in both Taiwan and Singapore, Caucasian models play a vital role in womens fashion magazines. The greater use of the white model in Singapore has been credited to the fact that the country has been glorified as the most globalized nation in the world. Possibly, it has also been assumed that both Taiwan and Singapore are open to

31 westernisation and like to pamper themselves with materialistic desires promoted by fashion advertisers. Importantly, the research on the portrayal of non westernised models in American magazines also suggests that white beauty still seems to be the most suitable choice for American advertisers. Thus after reviewing a plethora of literature on the cross cultural representation of female beauty in international advertisements of fashion magazines, it was finally concluded that the body beauty ideal varied from culture to culture. Even though the thin ideal seems to have reigned over the U.S. market, insecurities within Asian women with respect to their beauty may seem to be from reasons other than their bodies (ibid.).

Chapter 3

Literature Review: (Part 2)

Introduction 3.1

Facial beauty and body image are two sides of the same coin. As a dimension of physical beauty, body image forms the core topic of this chapter along with some literature on womens dissatisfaction with their bodies in comparison to the highly attractive models portrayed in advertisements. The following discussion is a review of the literature on the origins of female body dissatisfaction. Advertisements in various international fashion magazines are condemned for bringing out dissatisfaction in women of all ages and diverse ethnic backgrounds. Lastly as a cornerstone of this research, the social comparison theory is blamed for laying the foundation for the inception of beauty and body image concerns in women.

32 Female Body Dissatisfaction 3.2

Body image is a complex and puzzling topic, one that has fascinated psychologists and neurologists for many years. It is a term that almost everyone seems to grasp but even experts do not really understand. It is concerned not only with external and objective attributes but also with subjective representations of physical appearance: beliefs, feelings, sensations, and perceptions about the body (Garner and Kearney-Cooke, 1996). Literature on body image has reasoned out several concerns a person has over his or her body image. Considering the complexity and diversity within the body image construct, some researchers have gone far enough to classify body image concerns in four distinct categories. Firstly it has been proposed that an individual might experience an overall sense of body satisfaction/dissatisfaction with his or her appearance. Secondly, an individual might undergo emotional trauma or stress with respect to his or her body image. Thirdly, cognitive features such as bizarre impressions about ones body image might lead him or her to invest heavily in enhancing physical appearances. Lastly, some people tend to avoid certain places, people and even some objects that trigger a sense of body image concern in them (Thompson and van den Berg, 2002).

Young women in the West are found to be extremely obsessed with their weight and body image (Dixey, Sahota, Atwal and Turner, 2001). In fact, it is argued that most women from Westernised societies are trained right from an early age to conform to thin standards of beauty (Milne, 1998). Failing to meet these standards is what produces body dissatisfaction in women. Evidence indicates that women who judge themselves on the basis of their bodies and physical appearances are also the ones to be getting more serious

33 attention in the work environments (Orbach, 1993, as cited in Grogan and Wainwright, 1996). The female gender irrespective of her cultural background is found to accumulate fat around the abdominal region, the legs and in the upper torso. To be able to match up to the thin and non curvaceous women portrayed in fashion magazines, the theory on fatness suggests that women need to first get rid off the curvaceousness in their body caused by the deposition of fat (Barber, 1998). Culture plays a major role in determining the positive or negative perception people have of fat women. It is argued that in countries that are economically, politically and industrially strong women with a higher percentage of fat are not appreciated (Anderson et al. as cited in Barber, 1998). In the United States, some researchers have concluded that curvaceous looking working women are stereotyped as less competent and untalented. Thousands of fresh female graduates dream of making it big in the male dominated world of business by giving into the standards of harsh thinness that is demanded by society (Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, Vogel, et al., 1986).

Diving further into the intricacies of female body dissatisfaction, a study conducted by Bessenoff and Snow (2006) reasoned out that women experience body shame when they internalize the cultural body ideal as their own personal body ideal. Results of their study revealed that for most participants their personal body ideal was larger than the cultural ideal. Possible explanation given for this discrepancy in body ideal was that, perhaps a larger personal ideal helps mitigate the psychological setback from the unachievable standards of the cultural ideal. It was also interpreted that considering the societal ideal to be extremely far fetched, most women reacted disapprovingly towards this norm by setting more attainable personal ideals. Nonetheless, it was also pointed out that the

34 cultural norms indirectly set the personal norms and hence cannot be ignored completely. The study also highlighted the fact that body dissatisfaction and disordered eating are direct outcomes of a womans internalisation of the cultural norm. Consistent with the objectification theory, this study finally concluded that women who subject their body to be appraised by external eyes find it extremely hard to match up to the expectations of the cultural and personal ideals. Thus when these ideals are extremely thin, the pressure to conform to these images leads to body shame, dissatisfaction with ones appearance and eating disorders.

The socio-cultural model contends that women undergo an excessive need to conform to the social pressure of being thin (Cusumano and Thompson, 1997). Literature on body dissatisfaction in women indicates that women who judge their bodies after viewing idealized thin women tend to feel uncomfortable with their own body image (Evans, 2003). Obsession with body image seems to have gained new heights and even though the society created female body ideal is getting thinner and thinner, American women seem to be getting bigger and bigger (Slater and Tiggeman, 2006; Spitzer, Henderson and Zivian, 1999; Underwood, 2000 ). Another major factor leading to body dissatisfaction in most young women has been the long held belief that men will appreciate women who are thin and well shaped. However some recent studies on womens fixation with their bodies and particularly their concern over what men think about them uncovers some fascinating data. It is believed that women with a pleasant personality and a cheerful disposition seem to find more men attracted to them in contrast to being only excessively thin (Bode, 2001). Nevertheless, Dr. Sarah Kredenster notes that staying slim is such an epidemic today that even old age is no consolation for a woman to be a little overweight.

35 Evidence of this can be seen in some women who undergo liposuction in their sixties to get rid of their body fat (Milne, 1998). As a final thought some researchers have defended the criticism on womens internalisation of body dissatisfaction. They have proposed that women must learn to accept their bodies just the way they have been made. Women should also learn to accept that their bodies are bound to age inevitably and their failure to comprehend this will lead them to feeling depressed and low on self esteem (ibid.). Thus it is suggested that women should spend more time enhancing their personalities rather than whining over their body image (Bode, 2001).

Social Comparison theory 3.3

According to Pollay (1986), advertisements have twofold effects on people. Some of these effects are intentional, such as in facilitating the completion of a sale of a product or brand. The other effects are supplementary in nature from the advertisers or marketers point of view. A prime example of such unintentional consequences of advertising is the theory on social comparison. Festinger (1954) has coined the definition for the social comparison theory. His definition suggests that people have a natural tendency to critically evaluate themselves, their skills, their thoughts and even their appearances with members of the same group. More so, research indicates that social comparison can also take place with people who are not members of certain groups and have no social interaction with one another. Perhaps this indicates that advertising forms a social category and can negatively influence the self perceptions of women of all ages (Richins 1991, Bower 2001, Salovey and Rodin, 1984, Martin and Peters, 2005). Mainly, research in social comparison theory has outlined two main types of social comparison, the

36 downward social comparison and the upward social comparison. In downward social comparison a person views others as less attractive or worse off than themselves. This feeling leads them to think highly of themselves and their body image. In upward social comparison, a person generally perceives others as superior to oneself and as a result develops a negative attitude towards the self. Thus when advertisements are infiltrated with unrealistically thin models, women unconditionally apply the social comparison theory and internalize the media created representations of attractive looking women. This explains the reason why women feel threatened by images of others in the media and end up feeling dissatisfied with their bodies (Bessenoff, 2006).

So far the theory on social comparison has espoused that comparison with others is usually intended for self improvement but it has also been seen that some comparisons can also lead to jealousy and envy amongst those who find it impossible to match up with others beauty (Salovey and Rodin, 1984). Recent studies in social comparison theory have suggested that it is an ongoing process and strongly influenced by the external environment. In other words social comparison with others is not restricted to ones will to compare but can also come into play due to certain situational cues (Gulas and McKeage, 2000). Research also indicates that the negative impact of social comparison with highly attractive women in advertising varies in magnitude and threatens those women who are already dissatisfied with their own body and experience low levels of self esteem (Salovey and Roden, 1984, Bower, 2001, Trampe, Siero, Stapel, 2007). Dittmar, Ive and Halliwell (2006), have also highlighted the role of body dissatisfaction in young girls prior to media exposure. They believe that it is crucial to make a distinction between those girls that have been dissatisfied with their body image and

37 those girls that become dissatisfied with their body image after coming into contact with socio cultural models. This is because already body dissatisfied girls will be more susceptible to negative impact with the socio cultural models in contrast to the already satisfied or less dissatisfied girls. Numerous studies have used the social comparison framework to study the negative effect of advertising beauties on young girls physical attractiveness and self perceptions (Richins 1991 and Martin and Gentry, 1997). For example, Richins (1991) specifically based her research in examining the various mechanisms that affect the self-perceptions of young women when stimulated by glamorous looking models used in advertising. The results of her study indicated that when exposed to apparel and cosmetic advertisements young female college students develop negative feelings towards these alluring models. However even though a large part of the study sample showed signs of self dissatisfaction some women also acknowledged emotions of self improvement. Parallel results for body dissatisfaction are obtained by Trampe, Stapel and Siero (2007), who used a theoretical framework to determine why some women are more susceptible to the negative self evaluative effects of waif like models seen in advertising. The emphasis of this study was to initially assess the comparison relevance of the target model (Cash et al., 1983 as cited in Trampe, Stapel and Siero, 2007), followed by evaluating the features of the perceiver audience, their preoccupation with self identification of ugly body parts (for extremely dissatisfied women) and finally their partaking of the social comparison process with inanimate thin objects such as vases, all leading them to self activation.

38 Impact of age on body dissatisfaction in women 3.4

The concern over physical appearance has led some social critics to observe that women act as if they believe the shape of their lives depends on the shape of their bodies (Seid). This concern increases with age, as women realize that they are being betrayed by their bodies in a culture dedicated to youth (Saucier, 2004)

Up until today, many fashion and beauty advertisers limited their target profile to young women and adolescents by flashing images of ageless feminine beauty reigning over the pages of fashion magazines (Dohnt and Tiggemann, 2006). Recent research on body dissatisfaction in the female gender sheds light on the heavy demand for thinness that has taken toll of both children and adults (Silverstein et al., 1986 and Hamilton and Waller, 1993; as cited in Dixey, Sahota, Atwal and Turner, 2001). Girls as young as nine years of age have been found to assimilate and internalize the images of waif like models in fashion magazines (Sands and Wardle, 2003). The findings of Dohnt and Tiggemanns (2006) study pointed out that girls within the five and eight year age bracket seem to be affected by the appearance of their body. In line with Phares et al.s (2004), normative discontent ideology extended to young girls, their study proposed that the desire to become thin in young girls begins to get prominent at the age of six. Their study also made a note of the fact that body dissatisfaction in young six year olds may not be on the same level as body dissatisfaction experienced by older women. That is, on the basis of self esteem and current body image the preadolescent girls seemed very contented. Nonetheless, research cannot ignore the exposure of the socio cultural body ideal on the young six year old girls. Research claims that such ideals seem to get immersed in the

39 minds of young girls and begin to affect their attitudes towards body image at a later stage in their lives. In sum, they concluded that 69% of the young girls from their sample study read magazines only to look at the images that displayed anorexic women and as a result developed poor eating habits (ibid.). Age related body dissatisfaction in preadolescent girls will be incomplete without mentioning the role of Barbie dolls that symbolize the perfectly shaped, perfectly eyed and perfectly skinned American beauty (Dittmar,Ive and Halliwell, 2006). In fact results of a fieldwork conducted on some junior and high school girls on their consumption of Barbie dolls has underscored that these girls seek to embody the Barbies vital statistics of five feet and six inches height, a hundred and ten pounds weight and a perfectly small size five. Also, these girls believe that their perfect beauty icon has the liberty to eat what she likes as gaining weight is not an issue for her (Nichter and Nitchter, 1991 as cited in Stephens, Hill and Hanson, 1994). Moving beyond with this discussion on body dissatisfaction in young female children it is also believed that despite some preadolescent girls wanting to shun the media created beauty out of their lives, they feel the need to give in to the pressure of other girls and older women around them. With age however, the models depicted in advertisements of fashion magazines become more threatening and the ideal body figure keeps reducing (Dixey, Sahota, Atwal and Turner, 2001).

Obesity in the United States of America is rising at an alarming rate and statistics (19992000) show that 64% of the adult population in America is obese. This epidemic disease has affected 16% of the American children aged between 6 and 19 (Newman, Sontag and Salvato, 2006). Research indicates that when puberty hits adolescent girls they undergo major physical and psychological changes. Adolescence is a very sensitive and

40 vulnerable period in the lives of young women when they easily give into the socio cultural expectations of body image (Grogan and Wainwright, 1996). A womans youthfulness has always been stigmatized with being excessively image conscious and eating just enough to survive. Indeed, some researchers have introduced the age factor to mediate the relationship between female body dissatisfaction and media exposure (Borland and Akram, 2007). For some women it has been argued that old age reduces their vulnerability to social pressures and reduces their concern over physical appeal. For them this reduced concern was attributed to the diminishing role of older women in society in terms of status and power. (Halliwell and Dittmar, 2003). On the other hand, in a Body Image Survey conducted in 19974, it was stated that with age women do not get dissatisfied with their bodies but instead learn to value their bodies and their capacity to do work (Garner, 1997). Likewise research indicates that women tend to gain body weight when they grow older. Despite this fact, when American women were surveyed on their attitudes towards their bodies, results indicated that with age these women were more appreciative of their bodies unlike younger American women. Interestingly, this research also strengthens the claim that young girls even though they are extremely thin and sometimes as thin as the models in advertisements, appear to be the most dissatisfied with their body image (Garner, 1997). One major difference between adulthood and adolescence is that when fashion magazines promote unrealistically thin models older women can still reject such fake representations of women but young girls find it hard to challenge these images. This is simply because at the age of 8 and 13, girls are under

The 1997 Body Image Survey was largely conducted on 3452 (out of 4000 participants including both men and women) college educated Caucasian women, between the age group of 30-35, middle income and heterosexual. The participants belonged to different countries: Europe, Israel, Puerto Rico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, New Zealand, Peru, Australia, Japan, and China.

41 tremendous pressure to enter adulthood looking like the models shown in fashion magazines such as Seventeen (Grogan and Wainwright, 1996). Overall the qualitative in depth interview approach taken by Halliwell and Dittmar (2003), demonstrated that womens concern over their body image is an on going process and does not terminate with old age. Their studies reflect that even though some women learn to age gracefully, others remorse over the prestige and glory of youthful beauty that can never be restored.

Source: Garner, (1997): The 1997 Body Image Survey Results.

Body Dissatisfaction in young ethnic women from Asia 3.5

Body image may be one of the western worlds ugliest exports. Thanks to television, magazines, movies and the internet, rail thin girls and steroid built beef boys are being shoved in the faces of people all over the world. As a result, experts say, cultures that

42 used to regard bulk as a sign of wealth and success are now succumbing to a narrow western standard of beauty (McClelland, 2000).

Once upon a time, most people were under the impression that body dissatisfaction and body image concerns were limited to Western women. Women of Asian descent were believed to be blessed with natural thinness and were not bothered by weight concerns (Jung and Lee, 2006). Some researchers argue that Asian American women comprise the minority group in most western nations and the reason they do not get disturbed with body images is because their petit figure shields them from generating feelings of body dissatisfaction (Kawamura, 2002). The socio cultural model put forward by Stice (1994), explains that when an individual undergoes internalisation of the thin ideal admired by society, the awareness of this societal norm can lead to the persons feeling of body dissatisfaction. Accordingly, some researchers argue that ethnicity which is defined as the acceptance of the norms, mores, and practices of ones culture of origin and the concomitant sense of belonging to that cultural group (American Psychological Association, 2003 as cited by Warren et al., 2005) can by itself forbid many ethnic women to feel body dissatisfaction. For example, it is believed that ethnic women who do not belong to a culture that favours the thin ideal, a characteristic feature of Western societies, idealize women who are fuller, truer and within ones reach. In addition, ethnic women who are sheltered from the epidemic of Western womens obsession with physical appearance, provide less value to physical appeal as a sole factor in determining their respectful place in society (Warren et al., 2005). Many studies have supported the contention that Caucasian women stress more importance to body image concerns and lean figures than non Caucasian women (Wildes et al., 2001; Wardle and Marsland, 1990

43 and Furnham and Alibhai, 1983 as cited in Altabe, 1998). More so, literature on body dissatisfaction in people from the West indicates that women are more troubled with weight concerns than men (Phrases, Steinberg and Thompson, 2004; Thompson and Stice, 2001) and virtually each and every woman originating from The United States of America seems to be dissatisfied with her body (Cash and Henry, 1995 and Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe and Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). Yet, it has been argued that body dissatisfaction in ethnic women needs to be explored and most importantly differences between ethnic groups must be acknowledged prior to investigating body dissatisfaction in ethnic women (Grabe and Hyde, 2006).

Source: Warren et al., (2005), Ethnicity as a protective factor against internalisation of a Thin Ideal and Body Dissatisfaction.

44 Regardless of culture, it is often assumed that all women are supposed to beautiful, men are meant to be powerful and everybody judges everyone else on the basis of their appearances (Juang and Lee, 2006). In their study on body dissatisfaction and appearance self schema in Korean and American women, Juang and Lee (2006) concluded that a high value given to appearance self schema results in lower body dissatisfaction and lower self esteem in women. In line with this view, Korean women were found to be more body dissatisfied than the American women. However Korean women were naturally blessed with a lean physique and therefore less dissatisfied with their current body weight. They also engaged less in dieting behaviour than their American counterparts, supporting the notion that even in collectivistic cultures women are judged by their physical appearance and patronize western norms of lean physical beauty. Another study on the westernisation of Korean society indicates that the high level of body dissatisfaction in Korean women can be attributed to the dynamic changes in the Confucian society in terms of values, modernity, industrially based market economy and education of women (Jung and Forbes, 2006). In a study on body dissatisfaction between South Asian Canadian and European Canadian women, Sahay and Piran (1997), hypothesized that South Asian women were more body satisfied than the European Canadian women and used colour of skin in determining body dissatisfaction. As a result they further hypothesized that the darker the colour of skin of the South Asian Canadian cohort, lesser the body dissatisfaction experienced. Their study confirmed that even though South Asian Canadian women were less dissatisfied with their body they were not immune to the psychological pressures of conforming to the thin ideal desired in society. However their second proposition did not match their results as it

45 was observed that, South Asian women with a medium skin complexion, and not the dark complexion were the most dissatisfied with their body. It was concluded that this discrepancy in the results could be due to the acceptance of dark skinned South Asian Canadian womens inability to acquire the white beauty and thus preserving their self esteem by not feeling body dissatisfied (ibid.).

Cross cultural studies have coined that unless and until non Western cultures do not get swayed by the Western cultures preoccupation with body, Non Westerners will not be troubled by issues relating to the perfect body weight and body image (Apter, et al., 1994). In fact in most non-westernised Eastern societies, a higher percentage of body fat is positively viewed as a sign of a womans fertility and prosperity (Dally and Gomez, 1979, Dollan, 1991, Lee, Hsu and Wing, 1992). As a result, the western society is often blamed for preaching slenderness in their fashion and clothing industries (Seid, 1994). An interesting facet in the field of cross cultural studies on womens body dissatisfaction has been the use of medium of instruction in identifying certain commonalities across the Western and Eastern cultures. Research conducted by Mahmud and Crittenden (2007) on cross cultural studies between young Australian and Pakistani women use English as a medium of instruction in some private institutions of Pakistan to categorize the Pakistani girls belonging to these institutions as westernised (culturally similar to their Australian counterparts) and reflecting the upper or middle strata of society. Contrary to earlier assumptions on culturally preferred body sizes, results from this study indicated that both Australian and Pakistani women idealized a body size smaller than their actual body size and both had a very similar perception of the ideal body size. Their research also confirmed that Pakistani girls from English medium schools differed from those

46 studying in Urdu medium schools (in Pakistan) in their experience of body dissatisfaction. A greater magnitude of body dissatisfaction can be seen in Pakistani girls conversing in English due to the impact of westernisation that binds them to a common socio-cultural milieu with the Australian girls. Thus this study is an important contribution to the literature on cross cultural differences with respect to body image concerns as it reinforces the role of westernisation in standardising the perfect body image for all young women.

Similar study was conducted by Mumford and Choudhary (2000), on South Asian women belonging to different ethnic groups and who were members of gymnasiums in London and Lahore. The women comprised of South Asians and whites living in London and English speaking urban women of Lahore. Among the south Asians living in London, the study covered a wide range of women belonging to different ethnic groups such as twenty-two Punjabis, four Gujaratis, one Pathan and two others. From the Caucasian group, forty women belonged to English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish origin. Body dissatisfaction was studied among a wide range of ethnic groups as the sample was representative of women from different socio-cultural backgrounds. An important feature of this research is the selection of participants from a fitness centre located in both London and Lahore. The assumption here being the connection between body dissatisfaction and a slimming centre where women can aspire to become the body size they desire. Women from this study differed from one another in terms of ethnicity, age and even economic backgrounds. The results of the study highlighted that women from different cultures were different in their objective behind going to a gymnasium. Also, it was observed that the European women from London were not as well off as the Asian

47 women. Majority of these women had reached a midlife crisis and were either divorced or separated. Their main goal was to look physically appealing in order to find a new partner in their life or to seek company of others in the fitness centre. Paradoxically, women from Lahore were young and married. They came from affluent households where they had caretakers to do the household work and look after the children. Their primary concern was to lose all the weight gained from social dinners and formal outings that seemed unavoidable. The third group comprised of South Asian women living in London and who resembled the white women from the same city. Their reasons for going to the slimming centre were either to get into shape before their wedding day, to look for an opportunity that would liberate them from the domesticities of looking after their children and lastly to not appear out of shape in their westernised clothing. However, some also resembled the women from the Lahore sample by saying that they enjoyed going to the gymnasium to unwind and escape from the monotony of household routine. Consequently, the study concluded that all three ethnic women were concerned with body image and body dissatisfaction. They differed from one another on the premise that Asian women in London were heavily influenced by westernisation and younger women, mostly adolescents were more affected by body image than the women of older generation.

48 Advertisements in Womens fashion magazines: dissemination of the thin ideal 3.6

Advertising creates a mythical, WASP-oriented world in which no one is ever ugly, over-weight, poor, struggling (Jean Kilbourne, 1995).

We are constantly shown images of very sick, anorexic women and thats what we are striving for.The average woman is five feet, five inches and 145lb. The average model is five feet, 11 inches and 110 lb. Ninety five percent of us dont match up and never will. (Milne, 1998).

Visual representation is rampant in many of the fashion magazines and undoubtedly sets the normative framework for the perfect female physique. As such, the vivid imagery of these fashion magazines not only facilitates the constructing of the female character but also objectifies them through the consumption of products and brands displayed (Thapan, 2004). Research on body dissatisfaction in young adolescent girls has revealed that young women differ in strength and magnitude in responding to the images of thin attractive models in advertisements (Durkin and Paxton, 2002). There seems to be a positive relationship between exposure to media through fashion magazines and body dissatisfaction in women. Nonetheless, research has demonstrated that dissatisfied women and girls who make heavy investments in enhancing their looks surprisingly seem to be the ones who regularly resort to fashion magazines (Tiggemann and McGill, 2004). Other researchers have argued that body dissatisfaction cannot be generalized to all women. On the contrary only those women who seem to be a little overweight are susceptible to feeling unhappy and dissatisfied with their bodies after being exposed to thin models portrayed in mass media (Henderson-King and Henderson-King, 1997).

49 Notwithstanding the universal claim that all young women feel threatened by the images of thin looking models in mass media, Posvac, Posvac and Posvac (1998), have proposed that women who seem to be quite satisfied with their bodies consider their body shape to be in line with the thin model projected in media. In addition they also put forth the notion that women who seem to be satisfied with their bodies do not evaluate themselves and their skills on the basis of their body image. These women are confident and value themselves irrespective of how they look on the outside (ibid.). Literature on body dissatisfaction in adolescence however have claimed that a significant number of young girls with normal and sometimes even below normal body weight appear to be uncomfortable with their body weight (Wardle and Beales, 1986). Mass media has become so possessed with the dissemination of the thin ideal beauty that body dissatisfaction in women seems to only get worse (Champion and Furnham, 1999). Body fat has been criticized for producing unpleasant characteristics such as indolence, extravagance and carelessness (Glassner, 1988) whereas thinness is associated with talent and success (Sternhell, 1985). Similar results were obtained by Stice and Shaw (1994) who in their experimental research showed young women the images of glamorous looking thin models from Cosmopolitan magazine and also images of women who were not anorexic models as seen in most popular fashion magazines. Their findings showed that only after seeing images of conventionally thin models, young women experienced body dissatisfaction and psychological grief. Advertising has been highly ridiculed for broadcasting unrealistically thin models and has reserved a place in the big bad book of society (Wan, Faber and Fung, 2003). The theory behind the third person effect model demonstrates that people do not consider themselves or others close to them to be directly

50 affected by advertising created messages. On the contrary people usually tend to believe that media affects others who constitute the third person category (Davidson, 1983). Deeply embedded within this framework, research defines others as either being geographically close to the person or further away. Effectively, the proximity of the others to the first person indicates that these others will not be affected magnanimously by the visual images of advertisements. Similarly when the others comprise of in group members such as family or friends the effect of media on these others is not very different from that on the first person himself or herself (Wan, Faber and Fung, 2003). To validate these theories further, a cross cultural study on the third person effect model was conducted between Hong Kong women and American women (Wan, Faber and Fung, 2003). Previous writings on this cross cultural dimension have indicated that the third person effect is less prominent in Asian countries (Perloff, 1999). In retrospect to Hofstedes (1997) cultural dimensions Markus and Kitmaya (1991), differentiate Western and Asian cultures on the basis of independent and interdependent self construal respectively. Even then, the research on third person effect on Hong Kong and American women revealed that with respect to body image dissatisfaction, both the Asian and the American women seemed to be unhappy. However, American women were more inclined to undergo surgery and excessive exercising to rectify their body image imperfections. Possible reasons given for Hong Kong womens concern over their body image were the cultural movements taking place across borders that appear to homogenize certain aspects of womens concern over body image. Thus the study concluded that the third person effect seemed to be more pronounced in Western cultures where women perceived greater differences between themselves and the others. Asian

51 women from Hong Kong, viewed others as more similar to the self and perhaps did not conceive others as more affected by advertising created body image concerns than themselves (Wan, Faber and Fung, 2003).

Advertising forms the crux of many teenage and fashion magazines. Mass media in the form of advertising influences women on a day to day basis and raises major concerns over their body image and beauty. The cultural norm set by mass media and many teenage magazines has always appreciated white beauty and a lean physique. Despite the spread of globalisation and mixing up of cultures white beauty has always occupied the drivers seat and even today there are many Asian women who undergo cosmetic surgery to look like white women portrayed in advertisements of fashion magazines (Chow, 2004). Research indicates that fashion magazines have a dual purpose and seek to make both advertisers and consumers happy. This is because a major chunk of profit is obtained from offering advertising space in fashion magazines. Not surprisingly, research accentuates that the editorial content must complement the advertising content and also at the same time seem appealing to the consumers (McCracken, 1993). Drastic changes have taken place over a period of thirty years from 1947 to 1977, in the layout of fashion magazines. For example, pages allotted for advertisements have doubled with extreme emphasis on visual appeal. Equivalent to the above changes, it has also been seen that in 1997 the ratio of advertising content to editorial content exceeded 3: 1 and women portrayed in advertisements for clothes were often featured as sexually revealing (Crane, 1999). Print media in fashion magazines is so powerful that when research was conducted on school going adolescent and preadolescent girls it was seen that body dissatisfaction was more apparent in girls who were regular readers of fashion magazines than in girls

52 who did not read fashion magazines (Field, Cheung, Wolf, Herzog, Gortmaker and Colditz, 1999). Moving away from the conventional representations of starved looking female figures research has tried to fathom from reactions of women the impact of using average sized models in advertisements (Peck and Loken, 2004). Results of Peck and Lokens (2004) study indicated that women responded optimistically to the images of unconventional models and also felt the comparisons to be made between two compatible categories. Even so, the main motive behind their research was to create an honest and a genuine appreciation for heavy looking women. Their research further demonstrated that the images of realistic women in media stimulate satisfactory feelings among normal women pertaining to their own body weight and also do not pressurize them to conform to the unrealistic standards of body image of traditional models. By promoting the fact that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes Vogue magazine in their April 2002 edition, featured a new issue called The Shape Issue. The response from this issue was a big success from the female audiences, as this new feature appreciated oversized women and rightfully presented them in a separate layout distinct from the traditional Vogue layout (Locken and Peck, 2005).

Summary and Research Questions 3.7

Literature discussed in the above two chapters has been devoted the privileges enjoyed by physically attractive women. It has essentially been acknowledged that American culture is very dominating and has laid strict laws for defining female beauty and bodily dispositions. Globalisation has taken place at a very fast pace and many culturally diverse countries have given into the beauty and body image criterion of American society.

53 International advertising and the indisputable role of international fashion magazines are found to be the prime carriers of generating beauty and body dissatisfaction in many ordinary looking real women. Indian women along with other women from Asia have been found to feel threatened by the dominance of the white beauty ideal propagated in American mass media. Indeed, many young Indian women because of their age, gender and easy access to international print media have altered their appearances at the same time uplifted their roles in society. In addition, many global cosmetic companies have also learnt to appreciate ethnic beauty and manufacture their products complementing the coloured skin. Taking into consideration the vast body of previously written literature on beauty and body dissatisfaction in Western and Asian women, a gap seems to exist in addressing these concerns particularly from young Indian womens perspective. In response to bridging this existing gap in literature, a set of preliminary research questions have been outlined below which will act as guidelines for qualitative coding techniques later in the analysis stage.

54 Research Questions:

1. How do young Indian women define beauty?

2. Is the perception of beauty still dominated by white skin among young Indian women?

3. Do young Indian women undergo body dissatisfaction?

4. What are the key factors that induce body and beauty dissatisfaction in young Indian women?

a) Factors relating to the impact of globalisation in homogenizing the image of physical beauty

b) Factors relating to the role of International Print media in womens fashion magazines

c) Factors relating to ethnicity and cross cultural differences between Asian and Western countries

d) Age related factors

e) Other factors such social ethical and economic factors

55 Chapter 4

Research Methodology

Introduction 4.1

Literature posits that research means different things to different people (Amaratunga, Baldry, Sarshar and Newton, 2002) and is carried out with the intention of investigating innumerable stories, experiences, data, theories, concepts and laws. The definitive purpose of any research project that is composed of cognitive, affective and behavioural constructs is to contribute something valuable to the existing body of already written literature (ibid.). Research methodology on the other hand, has essentially been defined as the procedural framework within which the research is conducted (Remenyi et al., 1998). Gephart (2004) has explained the importance of using methodology that is compatible with the predictions and goals of the theoretical stand taken at the start of the research. Stretching further, Yin (1994), has proposed that each research strategy is unique in its approach to gathering and exploring empirical data and can be chosen as an optimum method of collecting data on the basis of (a) the nature of the proposed question, (b) command over the existing behavioural variables under study and the intensity of importance given to past and current events. Between the positivistic and interpretive research paradigms, this study chooses to adopt the interpretive paradigm based on qualitative research methods. This is because consistent with this dissertations research objective and the proposed research questions, room for emerging theories based on context specific descriptive methods will be adhered to rather than focusing on large scale generalisations (Amaratunga, Baldry, Sarshar and Newton, 2002).

56 Strengths and Weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative paradigms 4.2

Qualitative research is often cast in the role of the junior partner in the research enterprise, and many of its exponents feel it should have more clout and more credit (Dey, 1993).

The era of the 1960s and 1970s has been dominated by the use of quantitative research methods (Morgan and Smircich, 1980) and many traditional academic researchers in business schools have initiated their research with preliminary hypothesis testing by means of empirical data and well structured questionnaires used for quantitative processing of the data (Gummesson, 2000, pg 35). Despite the overarching dominance of quantitative research methods characterized by this era, the recent surge towards understanding the other, is a distinguishing trait of qualitative research which has gained momentum (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003, pg 2). The use of quantitative methods can be justified in areas of research where the topic under study is large and also when there is a need to deduce causal relationships. Qualitative research on the other hand seems to be highly appropriate in areas where individual experiences need to be explored and when peoples thoughts, feelings and motives need to be reasoned through social processes (Gordon and Langmaid, 1988). Thus by placing both research paradigms at par with each other and considered to be invaluable in their respective spheres of conducting research (Carr, 1994), the following table will highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative research paradigms.

57
THEME STRENGTHS WEAKNESSESS

Positivist (quantitative

They can provide wide

The methods used tend to be rather

paradigm)

coverage of the range

inflexible and artificial.

of situations .

They are not very effective in

They can be fast and economical.

understanding processes or the

Where statistics are aggregated from

significance that people attach

large samples, they may be of

to actions.

considerable relevance to policy

They are not very helpful in gene-

decisions.

rating theories.

Because they focus on what is, or what has

been recently, they make it hard for policy

makers to infer what changes and

actions should take place in the future.

Phenomenlological

Data- gathering methods seen

Data collection can be tedious and

(qualitative

more as natural than artificial.

require more resources.

58
paradigm). Ability to look at change processes Analysis and interpretation of data may

over time.

be more difficult.

Ability to understand peoples

Harder to control the pace, progress

meaning.

and end-points of research process.

Ability to adjust to new issues and

Policy makers may give low credibility

ideas as they emerge.

to results from qualitative approach.

Contribute to theory generation.

Table1. Amaratunga, Baldry, Sarshar and Newton, (2002), Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of mixed research approach.

The Case for Qualitative Research Methodology 4.3

Qualitative research is broadly expressed as Modes of systematic enquiry concerned with understanding human beings and the nature of their transactions with themselves and with their surroundings (Benoliel, 1985). Another set of researchers have claimed that qualitative research is an important tool for not only constructing new theories on scarce phenomena but also for digging out some new insights that can be potentially useful to the extant literature of some known phenomena (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Fundamentally, qualitative research studies naturally occurring phenomena from the eyes of social actors through their experiences and meanings of the social world (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994). With regards to its flexible and emerging framework, qualitative research

59 is very difficult to get hold of holistically and usually requires highly contextualized individual judgements (Van Maanen, 1998). Qualitative methods of conducting research can be advantageous in bringing the researcher and his corresponding respondents closer to one another and facilitating in the effective understanding of the research topic under study (Easterby-Smith et al, 2002). In addition qualitative research is not ephemeral in nature
and leads to the materializing of long-lasting theories rather than providing short-lived solutions (Silverman, 2001). In context to the research topic of this study, a qualitative approach was justified in order to voice the issues of dissatisfaction experienced by young Indian women. Beauty and body image perceptions vary from individual to individual and the magnitude of dissatisfaction experienced also varies considerably. The sensitive nature of this research topic made it mandatory for the researcher to strictly follow ethical considerations when designing the research process. This is because every respondent has an individualistic way of perceiving things that may be different from the researchers own point of view (Renzetti and Lee, 1993). For instance, in order to understand why some women undergo body dissatisfaction and some others do not or why some women feel more threatened with their beauty and complexion than others, were issues that demanded an enormous amount of comfort level between the researcher and the subjects. Unlike quantitative research where the role of the researcher is to take an isolated stand (Duffy, 1986) and quantify statistical data answering how much or how often (Nau, 1995), this research focused on capturing each and every intricate detail of how, when and why these women felt the way they did (Gephart, 2004). Thus even though quantitative research could have been used for increasing generalisability, reliability and validity of this research, this research has supported the proponents of qualitative research who have postulated that: well refined and thorough techniques for collecting and analyzing data are the finest methods

60
of enhancing reliability via qualitative methods of research (Miles and Huberman, 1994). Above all, qualitative research of this kind provides greater importance to the notion of authenticity (Silverman, 2006) in comprehending lived experiences (Saunders et al., 2003) of the respondents by using open ended means of investigation (Silverman, 2006).

Qualitative research interviews 4.4

In sync with the tenets of qualitative research which supposes that systematic inquiry must occur in a natural setting rather than an artificially constrained one such as an experiment (Silverman, 2006), interviews should be conducted to find out what is on someones mind.We interview people to find out from them those things we cannot directly observe (Patton, 1990).

-Using Semi structured interviews 4.4.1

During the literature reviewing process on beauty and body dissatisfaction in young women a gap was seen in viewing these issues specifically from the perspective of young Indian women. In order to bridge this gap, the qualitative interviews were based on a well designed yet open ended interview guide to collect first hand information on these womens experiences under the visual impact of gorgeous looking white models popularized in global print advertisements of international fashion magazines (Jarrat, 1996). The open ended nature of semi structured interviews enables the researcher not to put things in someones mind but to access the perspective of the person being interviewed (Patton, 1990). Traditionally interviews were conducted with respondents regarded as passive in their outlook towards the entire interviewing process. However in order to obtain accurate and experiential information from the respondents on certain

61 sensitive topics such as the topic of this research, it was advised to create an uncontaminated and free flowing channel of communication between the researcher and those researched (Silverman,1997). For this reason semi structured interviews posed as ideal modes of communicating with young Indian women and getting them to talk comfortably about their opinions beauty and body image concerns. Further the interview guide (Appendix 1) helped in mitigating any interviewer bias and subjectivity throughout the interviewing process. The interviews were tape recorded with the prior consent of the respondents and was conducted purely for academic purposes. The participants were thanked sincerely and assured that all information recorded would be treated with complete confidentiality (Hannabuss, 1996).

-External Stimuli and Magazine Selection 4.4.2

The respondents were shown 3 print advertisements consisting of white models in full body poses endorsing a brand, appealing to women and their aesthetic senses. The international fashion magazines, that featured the advertisements chosen for the study, were Cosmopolitan and Elle. These magazines were deliberately chosen because both Cosmopolitan and Elle are leading international fashion magazines in the Asian market (Moeran). The advertisements were chosen by a group of three young Indian girls who were not research participants but considered the advertisements to be highly appropriate for arousing feelings of body and beauty dissatisfaction in them (Table 2).

62

Advertisements 1. 2. 3.

Product Category Perfume Make up Moisturizing Mist

Brand Lovely Maybelline Loreal

Magazine Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan Elle

Edition U.K. U.K. U.K.

Month July August July

Year 2007 2007 2007

Appendix 2 3 4

Table 2

Research Sampling 4.5

The validity, meaningfulness, and insights generated from qualitative inquiry have more to do with the information-richness of the cases selected and the observational/ analytical capabilities of the researcher than with sample size (Patton, 1990, as cited in Crabtree and Miller, 1999).

Typically in the field of qualitative research the sample size is ranged between 5 to 20 units of analysis (Crabtree and Miller, 1999) and therefore the sample size for this research was settled at 15 respondents. The type of sampling was purposive (Dane, 1990) and only those women were selected who were English speaking young Indian nationals and readers of international fashion magazines. More specifically, sampling for this research was based on a criterion based sampling strategy (Crabtree and Miller, 1999) since only those respondents were recruited who met the above stated conditions.

63 -Pilot study 4.5.1

A pilot interview was conducted and tape recorded in order to check for any loopholes in the interview guide. The study was beneficial in testing the interviewing skills of the researcher and to overcome any kind of nervousness that would inhibit the successful carrying out of qualitative interviews. As a novice researcher myself, I was only able to successfully pull together the vast primary data and gain valuable insights from the respondents of the main study once the pilot study was successfully completed. The pilot study was critical in pointing out that the interview questions needed to be rephrased, mainly framing simple straightforward questions and avoiding too many jargons. In sum, the pilot interview enabled the researcher to be able to freely express herself and get a feel of an interview process. A good interviewer is one who takes a keen interest in what other people have to say and respects their point of view (Patton, 1987). Thus even though there is no one right formula to conduct qualitatively inclined interviews, the pilot study for this research enabled the researcher to understand better the stories of women regarding their world and also discover new avenues for future research. The respondent chosen for this pilot study was a working woman from Mumbai, India and 27 years of age. The interview was conducted in Nottingham as the respondent was on a vacation in the city during the first week of August.

-Recruiting the participants 4.5.2

For the purposes of this research, young female participants chosen were Indian students doing their postgraduate studies in the University of Nottingham. Even though these women were not representative of all young Indian women experiencing beauty and body

64 dissatisfaction after being exposed to international fashion magazines, they belonged to different regions in India and offered a mixed view on their consumption of international print media. The age group of the participants ranged from 18 to 25. An added advantage, of this age bracket selection was the fact that majority of these women were in their early twenties. They constituted the youth who had crossed the adolescent stage and were on their way to full fledged womanhood. Finally this relatively homogeneous age profile immensely contributed to this research in pouring out myriad different insights which made every young participant a distinct in her experiences with beauty and body dissatisfaction.

65

-Interviewee Profile 4.5.3

NAME

AGE

ETHINICITY

CITY

FEMINA

COSMOPOLITA N

ELLE

Interviewee 1 Interviewee 2 Interviewee 3 Interviewee 4 Interviewee 5 Interviewee 6 Interviewee 7 Interviewee 8 Interviewee 9 Interviewee 10 Interviewee 11 Interviewee 12 Interviewee 13 Interviewee 14 Interviewee 15

21 25 22 22 22 22 22 21 21 23 23 22 23 21 24

Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian Indian

Bangalore Calcutta New Delhi Delhi Pune Calcutta Delhi Chandigarh Calcutta Chandigarh Delhi Mumbai Bangalore Calcutta Mumbai

No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

Table 3.

66

-Reviewing the interview process 4.5.4

The interview was conducted with 15 respondents in their respective student accommodations and some on university premises. Care was taken to make the atmosphere as informal as possible and assure the respondents that anonymity of their identities will be maintained. At first the central theme of the research topic was explained to all the respondents so that they were well versed with the topic of this study followed by three print advertisements taken from three different international fashion magazines. An interview guide was used so that the respondents do not wander away from the specificities of the topic. Even then there was no fixed or specific order for asking questions. Due to the open ended and flexible nature of the interview guide some women own their own brought up issues which were deemed relevant to the study. Initially some women were conscious and hesitant to answer but as the interviewing process moved forward the respondents became more responsive. The advertisements formed the base for initiating the discussion and getting the participants involved into the topic. Many went back and forth to connect the questions with the advertisements and answer accordingly. Majority of the participants were readers of Cosmopolitan and Elle magazines which was helpful in drawing valid conclusions for this research study. Every interviewee had something significant to offer and was very cooperative. My own active involvement in the interview process was credited to my age, gender and Indian nationality. The term often used in qualitative research is reflexivity (Cassell and Symon, 2004), as a result of which there were moments during the research process when my

67 own thoughts and opinions were reflected in the way I asked the research questions. In addition there were moments during the research process when my respondents needed excessive probing. For instance, I had to be more specific in terms of clarifying certain terms such as threatening images of white beauty, international /transnational magazines and cultural conflict so that I could get the respondents to talk more comfortably. This was important as one of the respondents (Interviewee 9) thought the Indian fashion magazine Femina was a transnational magazine. The interviews lasted for 20-25 minutes approximately and some guidelines were adhered to as precautionary measures during the research process so that the interview does not sink into a mere chat or a conversation.

68
Interview Guidelines

1. Establishing rapport

2. Keeping the discussion going

3. Asking questions which avoid closed yes/no answers

4. Avoiding jargon and abstractions

5. Avoiding double negatives and loaded expressions

6. Knowing when not to interrupt and even letting silences work for you

7. Being non-judgemental

8. Knowing how to focus and pace the interview

Table 4. Hannabuss, (1996), Research Interviews.

Summary 4.6

This chapter has covered a detailed study of the methodological approach taken for conducting research with young Indian women and their individual experiences of beauty and body discontentment. By adopting a qualitative approach, this research seeks to concentrate on the richness of these womens personal stories rather than on a simple yes or no approach. Semi structured interviews have formed the backbone of this qualitative study as they have aided the researcher in getting the participants enthusiastically involved in the interview process. With respect to the sensitivity of the

69 topic it, an open ended interview guide permitted in getting in depth and a focused view of how young women from a developing country like India respond to the Americanized female images in global fashion magazines. Lastly, being a part of the same university both the respondents and the researcher were well acquainted with each other. The pilot study provided the researcher with a level of confidence in making the research project feasible.

70 Chapter 5

Analysis and Interpretation of Qualitative data

Introduction 5.1

The process of data analysis is a fluid process and not a static phenomenon that comes into play only once the data collection process is over. Yet, it has been explicitly stated that once the data collection phase has been over, analysis of data should be accomplished with the objective of a) evaluating the preliminary research questions laid down prior to the data collection process and b) shedding light on new insights that were surfaced during the conduct of data collection process. Organisation of qualitative data is a tedious task due to the sheer volume of the data obtained. Unlike quantitative data analysis, qualitative data analysis is a creative process and not bound by rigid rules and procedures (Patton, 1987). Moreover, interpretation of qualitative data which begins with the early research questions is subject to constant change during the analysis stage and as a result is immersed in the interpretive/subjectivist paradigm of the continuum of analysis strategies (Marshall and Rossman, 1999). The literature review discussed in the earlier chapters of this study along with the allied research questions form the fundamental framework for the evaluation of the data collected, in the analysis phase of this study. A conceptual model has been developed which outlines the various moderating variables (antecedents) that have emerged from the primary data collected in addition to those discussed in the literature review, and which lead to the experience of beauty and body dissatisfaction (consequences) in young Indian women.

71 Semiotic analysis of white women portrayed in contemporary print advertisements of International fashion magazines 5.2

In contrast to some of the quantitative techniques applied for the analysis of visual appeals in advertisements, semiotics is deemed as more subjective, introspective analytical methods of conceptual humanism (Holbrook and Hirschamn, 1993). The dominance and popularity of visual images in advertisements has amplified their elusiveness (Goldman and Papson, 1996; Leiss et al., 1990). McCracken (1987) has proposed a meaning- based model of advertising which focuses on the usage of different signs to be interpreted in individualistic ways. In other words semiotics is defined as the meaning-based models procedure for measuring an audiences interpretation of ads (Domzal and Kernan, 1993). Thus as a discipline for studying the function of signs in an environment, semiotics forms the crux of a sound and successful advertising message (Zakia and Nadin, 1987). This dissertation has hypothesized that the genre of advertising appeals in international fashion magazines excessively stress on Americanized physical beauty. Women from all over the world who are exposed to such stereotyped beauty ideals are made to undergo some kind of beauty and body related dissatisfaction. However research contends that this ideal is an accidental product of culture. Even then most women strive to enhance their physical appeal through cosmetics, dieting and exercising. Thus it is this culturally created and not naturally derived yearning for physical beauty in women that takes on the garb of semiotic reality (Domzal and Kernan, 1993). Semiotics plays a key role in the deconstruction of such advertising appeals in the form of words and pictures that tend to have a strong emotional impact on women (Zakia and Nadin, 1987). Each of the three international advertisements chosen for this research

72 study were deliberately selected on basis of their non-Indian, skinny, blonde, glamorous looking and naturally blessed white skinned physical dispositions. In addition, these models were also portrayed as brand endorsers for perfume, skin care and make-up product categories featured in womens international fashion magazines. The following section deals with the element of subjectivity involved in the semiotic analysis of the print advertisements in terms of the impact of the international models have on young Indian women. The individual answers obtained to some of the research questions have been answered specifically in context to the advertisements used and incorporated within the coded categories outlined below.

Coding categories of qualitative data 5.3

A code is a symbol applied to a group of words to classify or categorize them (Robson, 1993). In addition coding of qualitative data is directly related to the originally formulated research questions outlined in the preliminary stage of the research study (ibid.). For the purposes of analysis, a number of categories/ themes have been laid down for the interpretation of qualitative data obtained from semi structured interviews. Consistent with the inductive analytical approach of qualitative data analysis, themes outlined for the purpose of analysis are deeply embedded in the words of the respondents of this study. In addition, due to the flexible nature of qualitative data analysis process many new themes have been touched upon which have not been discussed earlier in the literature review section. Some of the topics that have come out during the interview process will directly overlap with the above literature and others will contradict it. Nevertheless, all the data obtained will be analysed and interpreted keeping in mind the

73 centrality of the preliminary research questions. Lastly, all the answers obtained during the course of this research study will be quoted directly, in their original form as obtained from the respondents and duly supported by academic literature.

Emerging themes and voices of young Indian women 5.4

Advertising in fashion magazines targeted at women has an immense impact on the way young women perceive their body image and beauty. Complete justification has been done to the famous saying Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder (Interviewee 4), by majority of the research participants in this study. The advertisements chosen for this research study were extremely beneficial in eliciting different opinions on the portrayal of foreign beauties in international advertisements. Through an interpretive style of enquiry, this research was able to fathom why some Indian women appreciated white skin whereas others appreciated the bronze complexion. Advertisements mean different things to different people and some women take the visual imagery more seriously than others. Differences in cultural upbringing and the importance attached to the concept of beauty made each and every research participant exceptional in voicing their concerns over beauty and body dissatisfaction. Interestingly, one of the major discoveries of this research study has been the deeply embedded cultural connection some Indian women have with their Indian culture despite the on going stimuli of American mass media. Appreciation of white beauty has been overrated in society and majority of the participants feel satisfied and even admire their natural skin complexion. Similarly, body image is also a very dubious concept and not all women associate thinness with ultimate beauty. Therefore in order to investigate these issues in more depth and detail, the

74 questions framed in order to churn out different voices on some of the core aspects of the topic under study. For example, participants were asked How do you define beauty?, Does a thin body image really matter?, Is white beauty superior to coloured beauty in any way? and Do cultural differences between the East and the West really make a difference when appreciating beauty and body image? . The response to these questions and to those inclusive in the interview guide (Appendix 1), have elicited answers that have given rise to new insights that need further investigation. Attitudes developed towards foreign models endorsing foreign brands have all been in favour of appreciating beauty which comes in different colours, shapes and sizes. Majority of the research participants have a preset image of a glamorous and stereotyped beauty in their minds as standards of comparison. The attraction of white beauty is not so much with the white skin per se but with a fair and glowing complexion that can be associated with Indian models. Indian culture and society is highly obsessed with fair skin and even men have been some of the major targets of skin whitening lotions manufactured today. Many of the women interviewed seem to be extremely satisfied with their physical appearances and approving of the various facets of contemporary beauty. The categories outlined will illuminate some of the most striking stories that remain embedded in the minds and hearts of these women as they speak comfortably about their securities and even insecurities associated with physical appearances.

75 Deconstruction of beauty and the importance of physical appearances 5.4.1

For me beauty, like I said is not got to do with white skin or being a foreigner. But yes when I look at a model the outward beauty really matters because no one will look at the ad and appreciate it or criticize it depending upon whether the model is spiritual or takes drugs (Interviewee 11).

Everybody says that beauty is skin deep, but I think thats not true. If I am flipping through a magazine I will definitely look at a model that is hot and attractive. Today everything is about physical looks and everyone wants to be beautiful. No one wants to look at an ordinary or a fat model (Interviewee 12).

Literature has demonstrated that popular faces and gorgeous looking models are an effective sell for advertisements .Global advertisers are held responsible for disseminating beauty that surpasses cultural differences and promotes physical beauty through popular fashion magazines (Solomon et al, 1992). In addition, it has also been studied that highly attractive models induce purchase intentions for a product whereas a normal looking model will not serve the same purpose (Bower and Landreth, 2001). Emerging from these theories and concepts, these participants strengthen our belief in the fact that outward beauty matters a lot and advertisements should stress on their visual imagery than the use of the product (Bjerke and Polegato, 2006).The above research participants have truly adhered to what literature on the importance of materialistic beauty has to offer. Indian women seem to get bothered by their physical appearances and encourage advertisements that feature good looking models with a perfect 10 body.

76 Interestingly, one of the research participants was very enthusiastic on her definition of beauty and said:

Beauty is a feel good factor and it is a vibe that gets communicated. Today if you are feeling good about yourself and are happy then even I feel that you are looking beautiful today. In fact even an 86kg fat woman can look beautiful if she is happy from inside (Interviewee 2).

This clearly shows that beauty is a very complicated phenomenon and is not dominated by the conventional wisdom of artificial beauty. Beauty is not only judged on the basis of white or black and good or bad (Solomon et al, 1992), but also on ones mental and psychological state of mind. Today, we see so many gorgeous looking models in fashion magazines and aspire to look like them. We criticize our own looks and readily agree to undergo any number of cosmetic surgeries and use all artificial means to look like glamorous models. The glamour world is undoubtedly very tempting and draws us towards the images of highly attractive models but it is very important that we realize that even these models have a reality to face. And in the real world not all white or thin models are happy. A womans face mirrors her mental state and if she feels happy and blissful then nobody can call her ugly. Today many of us are skeptical to admit that we are beautiful and those who are physically beautiful spend their lives worrying about losing their good looks. Thus this world has revolved around physical beauty and how others perceive this beauty (Perina 2006). Thus some researchers have argued that instead of demonstrating multiple types of white beauty one should look into the multiple dimensions of unbounded beauty (Langmeyer and Shank, 1994).

77 Stereotyping white beauty in global beauty advertisements 5.4.2

Yes I do believe that these magazines represent global beauty because cosmetic brands require white models and if they are not shown then the ads dont look all that glamorous and then there is no fun seeing the ad (Interviewee 1).

American mass media has spread its wings in every corner of the world. Dissemination of white beauty has been so prominent that every woman who possessed white beauty was considered to be beautiful (Englis et al, 1994). In fact, the popularity and demand for white beauty has more to do with its historical background when all non white people were considered as slaves (Sahay and Piran, 1997). Drawing from some of the past beliefs, this research has pointed out that even though globalisation has changed a lot of previously held misconceptions on the universal standard of white beauty, there are some who still believe that white beauty is invincible. In fact, literature stresses on the pressures of conforming to a white ideal, Asian students experience when studying in western countries (Lee and Vaught, 2003). Being an Indian, this respondent felt that these days everyone wants to look fair and white. Advertisements that showcase white models endorsing a cosmetic brand are very appealing because cosmetics look nice on white skin and truly personify beauty in every sense. Consistency between the female model in an advertisement and the product being endorsed is considered highly important in advertising (Onkvisit and Shaw, 1987) and marketers find it extremely essential to cater to the target market through appropriate fashion models as effective brand ambassadors for certain genres of products (Malhotra, 1988).

78 Similarly, another respondent was very appreciative of white beauty advertisements and stated that:

Perfumes are related to fragrance and they appeal to the sense of smell. To convey this message I feel this particular ad is perfect because white models can convey this message the best. This is also because whiteness is linked to purity. It reminds me of the Dove soap which contains milk. White women are very angelic looking (Interviewee 9).

The advantages of being white skinned extend to a womans psychological well being. Literature has revealed that white women enjoy certain social advantages such as warmth, success and prosperity in life. In fact, research has specifically maintained that women are more inclined to benefit from their whiteness because white women are assumed to be untainted, mentally stable and extremely pleasing (Berscheid & Walster, 1974, Feingold, 1998). The respondent here is very imaginative in her association of whiteness with angels, purity and linking it with the sense of smell. The milky texture of Dove soap demonstrates that Indians appreciate products that are unique and have an element of whiteness in them.

Basically all the three ads are very deceiving and a lot of adobe photoshop is being done because models are not really all that beautiful. In fact in the Loreal and Maybelline ad the portrayal is not of white beauty but a darker skin complexion which proves that white skin is not very dominant today even in the West (Interviewee 4).

I really find tanning ads very interesting to see because I am quite fair and much fairer than normal Indians and I particularly like the Maybelline ad which talks about the

79 sunglow effect. Everybody and all my friends think I am crazy for wanting to be darker but I am really dissatisfied with my skin complexion (Interviewee 11).

In the sun glow ad, it puts us in a bad frame because a woman does not need to use artificial product to look tanned. It is putting we Indian women in bad taste as the advertisement could have been more effective if they had shown an Indian model with her natural bronze skin advertising for the sunglow product. A woman should be proud of her skin colour. Look at Naomi Campbell, she is a popular model and does not need a whitening lotion to make herself look good (Interviewee 13).

Most Indians have an undying fascination for fair skin and South Asians believe that fair girls pose to be ideal candidates for marriage (Sahay and Piran, 1997). The strong foothold of the British rule in India succeeded in demeaning the South Asian society and degrading its native skin colour. Since then, the Indian society has appreciated the fair or the white skin and many companies have endorsed products to help the naturally dark skinned women to obtain a fairer complexion (Thapan, 2004). In the 1850s black colour stood for the evil and degraded, the very opposite of chaste white (Mitter, 2000). Ethnic beauty and women of colour are today seen as fruitful markets that global companies are catering to. Earlier Asian women were featured as effective spokespersons for technology oriented products (Sengupta, 2006). But today, with changing trends and globalisation taking place, many ethnic models are seen as effective brand ambassadors for many cosmetic products. For example, literature has pointed out that Halle Berry, a famous black personality is commonly featured in many fashion magazines featuring cosmetic brands (King, 1998).

80 Appeal of Indian female beauty and their westernised appearances in International fashion magazines 5.4.3

I think today white skinned models aspire to have the Indian wheatish skin complexion. They in a way envy us for having the tanned look naturally whereas they have to use artificial products and spend loads of money on it. So that makes me feel very good about my skin colour (Interviewee 5).

I think westernisation of Indian models is not any less threatening because the Indian models are made to look like foreign models in every way and are also made to look as fair as them. Again the trend is changing and dark women want to look their natural skin colour but want to get rid of the big Indian hips. So they want to look Indian but on their own terms (Interviewee 11).

I think westernisation of Indian beauty is good because it puts us Indians on a high platform but it also depends on the product being endorsed. If the product demands a western look then yes its good but some products like jewellary should be advertised by Indian women in their traditional outfits (Interviewee 13).

I would be lying if I say that it is the inner beauty that matters and its all about who you are from the inside. I think its very important how a woman looks on the outside and physical beauty is very important. Its not in the colours and shapes of a woman. I dont understand why people undermine Indian beauty. We have Bipasha Basu who is stunningly beautiful. She is dark skinned and looked good even when she was fat (Interviewee 4).

81 Many womens magazines in India, such as Femina feature strongly coloured models in highly westernised and sexually alluring poses. The models in India, are now enhancing their exotic appeal and capturing the hearts of their Indian audiences through their sexual appeal. The modern Indian woman is trying to create a niche for herself in both the western and the eastern world of fashion. The authentic Indian look is seen in advertisements where the Indian woman is draped in a sari, advertising for Ravi Bajajs Womenswear collection (Indian fashion designer). Even here the woman is seen in an off shoulder blouse and devoid of any traditional bindi or accessories that represent her married status. The entire look of such Indian models in contemporary advertising gives her an Indo-Western look. The wheatish complexion of these models is seen as exotic rather than ugly. Advertisements using Indian models demonstrate that Indian women can look as beautiful as their western counterparts, if they take great care of their skin and follow a strict diet to flaunt the perfectly shaped body that can be competed with on International levels (Thapan, 2004). The interviews seen above are taken from respondents who highly admire their Indian skin and would like to display their dusky complexion everywhere they go. They believe that Indian models are no less than international models in any way, rather they are a step further than them because they can mould themselves well into both traditional as well as western looks.

Real beauty 5.4.4

I really like what Dove is doing by promoting real beauty because in a way I am a target for them. But then there are so many others who are dissatisfied in other ways and these products are not accessible to them. So by promoting real beauty we can appreciate

82 normal looking women. But again not all advertisements should do what Dove is doing because it depends on product to product and I would not like to see a fat model in every ad (Interviewee 4).

I think a stereotyped image is already created in the minds of people and it is very difficult to change that. A general notion is already set in the minds of people, but yes if slowly, slowly trends change then its a matter of time people will learn to appreciate real beauty (Interviewee 7).

Nobody in this world is perfect. Even these models have something that lacks in them even though we may not be able to see it in the advertisement. But yes beauty shown in its natural form will have a better impact on consumers (Interviewee 10).

When I flip through the magazine, I will stop at a page where a beautiful model is portrayed and then probably look at the product also. But real beauty is also necessary. I think it is very much required in this artificial world (Interviewee 14).

According to me, physical beauty is an extension to a womans inner beauty and that is what counts in the long run (Interviewee 10).

The first look is really important but then people will always judge you on the basis of your personality and confidence. The latter is in built whereas the former can be acquired artificially (Interviewee 9).

The process of beautification is deeply embedded in a womans inner and outer self. Physical attractiveness in a woman is only a part of her overall beauty. In this artificially

83 created material world the dominance of physical beauty seems to have overshadowed the true spirit of inner beauty. It is time now, to celebrate inner beauty and also spread its awareness. Literature on the various facets of beauty has also considered a persons intelligence and smartness as a form of beauty. A distinction is made between beauty and attractiveness. Although attractiveness can be more appropriate to be judged from the outside, beauty is more of a deeper dimension (Langmeyer and Shank, 1994). The campaign for Dove is based on this belief that Beauty can be achieved through attitude, spirit and other attributes that have nothing to do with physical appearance (Dolliver, 2004). A female cosmetics consultant points out that beauty is always judged first from the outside, that is, a womans face, hair and her body. The inner beauty only counts when the model opens her mouth. Another boldly stated that a womans body image is very important and I am very offended by fat people (Langmeyer and Shank, 1994). On the flip side, people taking side of inner beauty consider elements such as spirituality, personality and the inner soul to be important elements without which beauty remains incomplete. Some of them further go on to say that products can be physically ugly, people cannot! (ibid.). In accordance with literature, Indian women are very enthusiastic about the promotion of real beauty and also consider the world to be an artificial stage where people have been very accustomed to superficial beauty. An important aspect about drawing such differentiation is that when one looks at a magazine, it is but natural to get hold of a physically beautiful model. However, in reality we are not living a static life depicted in magazines but in reality we create associations with people, interact with them and speak to them. A womans true beauty is a test of time in such real life situations and that is what beauty is all about.

84 Social comparison theory 5.4.5

I have a tendency to compare myself to other women but I take it as a constructive thing because if I have a flaw then I can try and work on it and thats a good thing (Interviewee 4).

I would never compare myself to Americans or Chinese because I know we are different in terms of genetics but I would love to have their height (Interviewee 12).

I dont think thinness is good but a well toned body or a good figure is what matters. I have a tendency to comment on other girls and I will notice if I see some fat oozing out of her body and if she has big hips. But I do compare myself to a Coke bottle because of the perfect curve (Interviewee 9).

The above three interviews reflect three different ways women conform to the tenets of social comparison theory. Some women consider it to be a good thing and feel very positively about it. Festinger (1954) defines the social comparison theory construct as a persons tendency to compare herself with members of the same group. Here the respondents explicitly state that they wouldnt compare themselves to other women who were of Chinese or American origin. Literature has listed two kinds of social comparison processes. In upward social comparison people usually draw a very negative picture of themselves. However research has also pointed out that some seek the motivation to improve themselves and become more like their standard of comparison (Hafner, 2004). This is what our respondent has experienced and has developed a more positive attitude rather than a negative one. Similarly, the third respondent is more observant of other

85 womens body image and also undergoes the social comparison process by comparing her self with a Coke bottle. Literature has shown that inanimate objects such as slender vases can activate cells in the human mind that lead them to feeling body dissatisfied (Trampe, Stapel and Siero, 2007). The comparison standard used here is that of a Coke bottle because according to the respondent a Coke bottle has a perfect curvaceous bottom with a slender torso. Womens sexuality and Coca-Cola bottles have a connections from the 1980s when women were featured on Coca-Cola calendars flaunting their facial and bodily figures. Indian women are curvaceous in their body structure (Barber, 1998) and it seems that our respondent seems to be admiring that.

Female body image and feelings of body dissatisfaction 5.4.6

In Asia, back home, at least in my family a fat body image is associated with prosperity. But its not very rigid right now even older women for example my mother gets up everyday in the morning to go for a job. The awareness is not to become lean and thin but to become fit (Interviewee 2).

Traditionally, it was believed that Asian women are expected to sustain body fat to carry out domestic roles and have healthy children (Dally and Gomez, 1979, Dollan, 1991, Lee, Hsu and Wing, 1992). Today however with urbanisation taking place in many South Asian societies there is a growing demand to become fit and healthy. A study conducted by Mumford and Choudhary (2000), on South Asian women being members of a gymnasium in London and Lahore, demonstrates that Asian women in both the cities were active members of gymnasiums and even after reaching a certain older age wanted to be physically attractive looking.

86 I think when I look at these models what really seems to bother me is the fact that they are so thin because we all want to have a perfect body but obviously we are too lazy to work for it. This true even with Indian models who are anorexic and at times eat and make themselves throw up. In fact, back home I know a couple of people who just starve themselves to look thin (Interviewee 5).

I think dissatisfaction is more associated with a womans body. Because face we can all deal with but if I look fat or do not have good looking legs that would cause a lot of dissatisfaction in me. I am dissatisfied with my body and I think most women do (Interviewee 11).

The whole point about beauty products is to use beautiful models. For example the sunglow advertisement of Maybelline, a fat woman would not look good at all (Interviewee 12).

I am dissatisfied with my body image and yes at one point of time it did affect my self esteem but with time I have learnt to accept that I am the way I am (Interviewee 13).

I think I have a big stomach and thats the biggest dissatisfaction I experience (Interviewee 12).

I am not happy with my body. I have this fear that one day I will become really fat. Even if anyone jokes about it, it offends me. I want to look thin because if I cannot fit into the good clothes now then when (Interviewee 5).

87 Earlier it was believed that body dissatisfaction is a concern limited to women from the West (Jung and Lee, 2006). Ethnicity of a woman is often considered as a restrictive factor that inhibits the feelings of body dissatisfaction (Warren et al., 2005). Yet, research points out that the right to look beautiful is not confined to white women. There is a growing evidence of how Asian women from collectivist societies favour lean looking bodies fashionable in the West. It is believed that dynamic changes taking place in society, the spread of contemporary wisdom and education are major factors that have propelled the dissemination of thinness among Asian women (Jung and Forbes, 2006).

Body image as stated in literature is a very complex construct and not everyone undergoes body dissatisfaction in a like manner. People deal with their body image in various different ways. Some women learn to accept it whereas others try vigorously to work towards fighting their feelings of body dissatisfaction (Thompson and van den Berg, 2002). The pressure created by culture has been extremely harmful in setting painfully high standards of thinness. This because some women experience a greater amount of discrepancy between their personal ideal and the cultural ideal and subject themselves to minimal eating to appear thin in front of the outside world (Bessenoff and Snow 2006).

Interviewee 5, was extremely fearful about gaining weight and said that for her being thin was her ultimate goal in life. Research has indicated that body image has become extremely important for young women and they consider fatness to be a completely unacceptable thing to be placed on their bodies. Fears about obesity and the social pressures have led some of these women to be suffering from acute anorexia. This

88 enables us to draw the conclusion that many young women are living in a world that follows the cultural norms dominated by the West. The fascination for a non-curvaceous body in the West is taking a toll of many Asian women who now aspire to be anorexically thin so that they can be well accepted in a global society.

The models shown in these ads are also not what we see because in reality even they are not a perfect 10. For example my own sister participated a photoshoot and they have done this trick photography to make her cheeks look a little thinner and her arms leaner which is not there in reality (Interviewee 5).

Extremely thin people can at times be stone faced but a lively 86kg fat, old woman can also draw attention from a crowd of 15 people if she is happy (Interviewee 2).

I dont think all western women are thin. In fact U.K. and U.S has the highest order of obesity and there are so many obese women I have seen here (Interviewee 4).

On one hand thinness has become the new craze of modern society in a westernised world and on the other hand normal women in America are live examples of growing obesity (Slater and Tiggeman, 2006). Contemporary women who are extremely thin appear as though they suffer from a major illness such as tuberculosis (Webster and Driskell, 1983). Research on body dissatisfaction has demonstrated that when a woman is not happy with her bodily appearance she tends to have a lower self esteem and advertising plays a major role in infusing such feelings of body dissatisfaction (Venkat and Ogden, 2002). Literature seems to put such pressures of physical thinness even on older women who are damned if they are slightly overweight. In such a situation,

89 research has recommended that it is best for women to learn to accept their body structure because physical appearances are given to us by God and everyone has some flaw in them. One can only be happy if one keeps herself happy and enhances her personality rather than wasting time crying over outward beauty (Milne, 1998). Thus it can be concluded that the above interviewees were more critical of advertising showing physical beauty. They were aware that beauty is not something one needs to imitate from the visuals of fashion magazines. Models depicted in such magazines represent a lot of made up beauty and one cannot ignore the burgeoning social concerns over obesity that has become such an epidemic in most western societies. In addition, literature on the internalisation of media created thinness has explained that not all young women seem to feel pessimistic about their body image on being exposed to media. In fact, minority women feel a lot less threatened by such images because they believe that such models are different from them, physical attractiveness is no greater than their self worth, body image is not all that important as it is more important to be confident and majority of the images depicted are manipulated (Posavac, Posavac and Posavac, 1998). To support the falseness in the visual imagery of the depicted models in media, some researchers have underscored that Psychoeducational interventions should teach women that mediapresented images of women are often unrealistic and [should thus] advise women to avoid using these images as means of social comparison (Cattarin et al., 2000).

90 Threatening images of western beauty disseminated by International fashion magazines 5.4.7

White models in advertisements definitely have an impact on me because they are gorgeous looking and everyone wants to be beautiful but with the Indian mentality and being an Indian we are not made like that, like having blue eyes and white skin. You cant really change what you are, you can only look at them and appreciate them (Interviewee 1).

Advertisements replete with stunningly beautiful models are found to have increased the effectiveness of the ad (Bower, 2001). Advertising presenter plays a very crucial role in the successful communication of the advertising message between the advertiser and the consumers. It is therefore believed that a model that is beautiful and also appreciated by the consumers is very important for the success of the advertisement and the sale of the brand being endorsed. In an ideal world, the marketing theory deems advertisements to mirror the socio-cultural norms of any one particular society. Nonetheless, appreciation of hegemonic and dominant forms of advertisements seems to also have a profound impact on the members of other societies under the influence of globalisation (Frith et al., 2005). It can therefore be said that literature bolsters the view that even though some women consider themselves to be ethnically different, appreciating white beauty or the other beauty is something that cannot be overlooked. The interviewee here, believes that the representation of white beauty is appealing but she also knows that it is something that can be only appreciated from a distance and one cannot alter ones ethnic origin to try to be like a white model.

91 I am quite happy with the way I look and I feel a woman is the best creation of God and I dont let these complexes bother me (Interviewee 10).

Another interviewee (10) seemed to be more positive about her and her natural appearances. Her views on the threat from an idealized model revealed that a woman in any form is beautiful and she should celebrate her femininity. As stated earlier, not all women get affected by the media created images of beauty and some women believe that their body image is not much different from the models shown in advertisements. Research also points out that some women are not deeply concerned with external appearances and seem to render greater importance to non physical aspects of beauty such as skills and abilities in intellectual areas (Posavac, Posavac and Posavac, 1998).

Indianisation of transnational magazines: 5.4.8

I love reading Cosmo, Elle and Femina. But I personally prefer the Indian edition of Cosmopolitan because I feel I can relate to these ads a lot more. Not because of the white beauty as such but because of the way it is designed and somewhat because of the westernisation of our Indian models in these magazines (Interviewee 4).

Indian women will relate to Aishwarya Rai but may be not to Kate Moss. Thats why I feel that Indianisation of International fashion magazines is important to relate to Indian women from all walks of life (Interviewee 13).

Research has shown that despite the popularity and gains of international mass media, it is very important to judge the extent of shared cultural norms and values in geographically different cultures. It is often stated that one area that has been

92 inadequately studied is the process by which Western values and conventions of gender representation become incorporated into or rejected by the advertising of other cultures (Steeves, 1993). Members of a culture must be able to relate to the model shown in the ad, because such visual images function as signs that communicate meanings to the people belonging to a particular culture (Warlaumont, 1993). The theorists of contemporary advertising have imposed a rule for global advertisers to depict models, their clothing and even the layout of advertisements in line with the prefences of the target market (Belch and Belch, 2003). Literature has echoed that even the American magazine, Cosmopolitan has customized editions in the developing countries like China and India due to the differences in the appreciation of sexual imagery in the two cultures (Nelson and Park, 2005). Thus the above respondents seem to be more comfortable and happy with the Indianisation of western magazines. The very fact that the models in the advertisement can be looked upon as effective brand ambassadors because of similar ethnic origin strengthens the contention of the standardisation vs. customisation debate in international advertising industry.

Indian models Vs International models 5.4.9

I think Indian body structure is much more appealing than a straight figure which models usually have. The curvaceous body Indians have is really something I am proud of because thats when clothes start looking good on the person (Interviewee 9).

I think if one really thinks about it on a normal day I am very happy to see Indian models in advertisements but when I look at international magazines and come across a

93 white model I find the image really appealing and her image really draws my attention towards her (Interviewee 8).

I think international females are so beautiful and they also give the brand an international feel to them. The Indian models give you an Indian feel of the product and dont appreciate the product that much (Interviewee 8).

Good looks are not restricted to Asians or Americans. Today everyone wants to look good. In fact, according to me, it is good looks are quite generalized. But Indian women can never look like American women. But again we also have Aishwarya Rai who is Indian and not even very tall but is gorgeous because of her personality (Interviewee 12).

Even skinny models can bear children and its not correct to say that Indian or Asian women can be forgiven by society to look a little fat. But yes we are built in a different way and we have to accept that (Interviewee 13).

I think there is a lot of difference between a white model and an Indian model in terms of identity. If I see a westernised Indian model looking very glamorous I can relate to her more. I can see changes taking place in her and feel that if she can look so thin and beautiful so can I (Interviewee 8).

Indian women in the above sample group have been active observers of the cultural, racial and physical differences between Indian women and other women form the West. Taking into consideration that Indian women are genetically different from American women, research has pointed out that today India is proud of displaying its

94 two most beautiful looking fashion icons: Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen on the international runway. Women in India are able to relate to them easily and also feel less alienated by them when seen on the cover of International fashion magazines. In fact, Indian women are no less than their American counterparts in exhibiting glamour and well toned figures. Femina, an Indian fashion magazine provides its readers with beauty, skin and body care tips and features articles that can motivate the Indian women to enhance their beauty and body which can be appreciated in an exotic way by members of other cultures. Thus, the above interviews seem to be quite in sync with the past literature but also add an element of time to it. It can be inferred that beauty can be appreciated even in ones own skin colour because these days everyone can enhance their appearance through skin care treatments, beauty centre therapies and strict exercise regimes. However, one cannot undermine the chimera of International beauties on certain occasions when one comes into contact with International magazines portraying white beauty.

Individual and Environmental factors triggering beauty and body dissatisfaction in young Indian women: 5.4.10

a) Individual Factors:

Ethnicity: In this perfume ad, it doesnt really matter what the ethnicity of the model is to be honest. Its a product that can cater to any woman. Its only got to do with an individuals sense of smell (Interviewee 10).

95 Appreciation of beauty does not matter with a persons ethnicity. Even here in Nottingham there are so many British women who are pretty and you will compliment their beauty (Interviewee 13).

Literature has maintained that the right to look beautiful is not limited to ones culture or ones ethnic background (Juang and Lee, 2006). Traditionally, Asian women were forbidden from exposing their bodies and appearing in advertisements that would be sexually appealing (Cheng, 1997). Today, however, many ethnic models are seen to be entering and also gaining popularity in the contemporary advertising industry (Gulas and McKeage, 2000). India has given itself into the hands of globalisation and modernity with the liberalisation of its economy (Thapan, 2004). Today many international companies are taking a keen interest in catering to ethnic models and marketing products that can suit their skin tone (King, 1998). On the other hand Indian womens appreciation of beauty has always epitomized the white complexion. This can be seen in the popularity of fairness creams such as Fair and Lovely for the face (Thapan, 2004).

Social class: India is country where there are many social classes and a lot of Americanisation has already taken place in the urban societies. And even in the other smaller cities such changes are taking place (Interviewee 7).

India is a country with myriad differences in social class, education levels and social status. These factors play a very vital role in constructing the identity of a contemporary Indian woman. The urban middle class society in India has been deeply influenced by the

96 global cultures portrayal of women. The urban upper class strata of society, is advanced in its ability to speak good English and receive high education. The synchronisation of the traditional with the non traditional cultures has permitted many urban Indian women to appear modern, liberal and sophisticated. The emerging middle class is also very influenced by the growing popularity of western culture. At this point, it seems highly adequate to mention that members of this upper middle class in addition to being the consumers of the products and brands advertised are also members of the new India produced through the meanings attached to these commodities (Thapan, 2004).

Age:

I think age really matters as to when you read these magazines because when I was in my teens I always wanted to look better than the others but like now I am 21 and do not really bother myself with all these things. I mean I am what I am and I cannot change myself over a period of two weeks. Like all these advertisements promise that if you use this particular product for three weeks and you will look good. Now I know its not true (Interviewee 1).

When I was in school I studied in a hostel so out there fashion magazines were not even allowed to enter the premises of our school. But when I entered college I started reading these magazines and I think Cosmopolitan is so exciting to read I cant wait to get back to India and read the Indian edition (Interviewee 4).

97 I think age really matters when you read a fashion magazine. I was a different person when I was younger and that time Cosmopolitan would have appealed to me very differently than it does now (Interviewee 11).

Literature states that adolescence is a time when girls are most vulnerable to the socio cultural pressures of being thin (Grogan and Wainwright, 1996). It is said that when a woman is young she is enormously troubled with the pressures of being thin. Research has indicated that a few children, many teenagers and overall most young women are extremely susceptible to the internalisation of a thin ideal and suffer high levels of body dissatisfaction (Borland and Akram, 2007). Perhaps it is because physical appeal matters a lot when one is young and attends college. That is why attractive looking adolescent girls are more popular with boys than unattractive girls (Webster and Driskell, 1983). The internalisation of this thin ideal created by international fashion magazines draws out certain expectations and feelings such as I wish I looked like a swimsuit model or I often read magazines like Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Glamour and compare my appearance to the models (Bessenoff, 2006).

On one hand it is seen that youthfulness welcomes medias over-exaggerated standards of thinness whereas on the other hand old age seems to reduce a womans concern over body image. Research reveals that aged women are more liable to criticize the media for disseminating such an anorexic body image. However, such feelings of condemning media also depend on a womans ethnic, educational and cultural background and the importance to thinness given in their personal lives (Crane, 1999).

98 Gender: Women are always expected to look beautiful and perfect. For women to look beautiful it is important that we give up foods we enjoy and take care of our bodies (Interviewee 15).

Research has confirmed that women suffer from body image disturbances more than men. In comparison to men, women are found to identify themselves as smaller than men and also encounter greater inconsistency between the cultural ideal and their personal ideal. A study conducted by Pinhas (1999), concluded that after screening visuals of fashion models, women were negatively affected and that was reflected on their mood levels. Further, these women were unhappy, when confronted with ideally thin models featured in magazines. Traditional wisdom which stressed on natural beauty, is today defined by the usage of cosmetic products such as lipsticks, glosses and liners (Brand, 2000). Richins (1991), has also concluded that unrealistically attractive women portrayed in advertising not only cause dissatisfaction with the self but also lead to rating average women as less beautiful. Thus, women are found to be prime targets of media and are portrayed in a manner that can be appealing to the members of their society.

99 Attitude:

I dont develop any negative attitude towards these models. I love them (Interviewee 9).

I think sometimes these models are very motivating because there are days when I feel fat and by looking at these magazines I know I can try and work towards a better body (Interviewee 7).

Society has a very classic way of categorizing people as attractive and unattractive. Until now, the genre of advertising industry has been highly successful in creating a negative attitude towards the artificially created HAMs in advertisements (Bower, 2001). However it becomes more apparent in the following themes that not all women are alike and not everyone undergoes bodily dissatisfaction. Some women are happy with their appearances and also find internal beauty more appealing. Thus these women do not have a negative attitude due to upward social comparison. Instead, these women look upon these models as inspirational role models and try to work on their discrepancies related to physical beauty and body image (Posavac, Posavac and Posavac, 1998).

When you talk about the models physical appearances in these ads I dont really concentrate on the body image because I dont know whether they are starving themselves or if they are doing anything unhealthy. The attitude and the expression on the face is what is most appealing (Interviewee 2).

100 Influence of westernisation: Westernisation of Indian beauty is important as its about moving with times and especially in India we are very open to westernisation (Interviewee 12).

Womens magazines have always been accused of portraying stereotypical images of women in an overtly sexual manner. Even then, Asian men and women have been disregarded in most of the American magazines (Sengupta, 2006). Literature has pointed out that within the Indian advertising industry also Indian women have always been represented doing family oriented chores and adopting a very demure lifestyle (Munshi, 2001). Media acts as the catalyst in speeding up the cultural reformation in India due to globalisation. In effect, the social and cultural changes taking place in India have allowed English magazines with the portrayal of women in a stereotyped manner have become popular among the urban women from a global society. As stated earlier, these factors have allowed many Indian models to enter international platforms and also gain immense popularity and success on a global forefront (Thapan, 2004).

b) Environmental Factors:

Globalisations impact on contemporary society: I think nowadays globalisation is very in and is not just restricted to magazines. Today everything is spreading everywhere and some things like fashion the West wants to promote to the East and they are doing it through fashion magazines (Interviewee 3).

101 Globalisation and the amount of youth we have in India have made it very easy for international magazines to enter our country. We look up to the American brands and some of them are really good. But the only thing is that these products should not cause any harm to the Indians because a lot of young Indian women are not well informed of the American cosmetic brands in India (Interviewee 13).

United States of America, besides being a highly developed country, is also a one of a kind nation that has dominated every other nation (developing) in disseminating acute thinness, materialistic values, unachievable standards of beauty and products that can serve such purposes. Globalisation has taken place so rapidly in the field of mass media that every woman seems to be concerned with her body image and physical appearances (Leavy). Literature has confirmed that Indias population mainly comprises of the youth below the age of 25. This segment of Indias overflowing population is also very brand conscious and is immensely fond of international products and brands.5 Thus it can be inferred that the research participants have further confirmed what literature has stated and also is aware of the benefits and drawbacks of global mass media.

Capitalism:

I think these days everyone is interested in making money. No one really cares about the emotions of consumers. Advertising is so commercial these days that advertisers will sell their product by using models who are pretty and have a universal appeal. Skin colour doesnt really matter. It is all about what sells and what does not (Interviewee 15).

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4174

102 Advertising, like any other business is also a business. Marketers and advertisers use advertisisng as a very creative and prominent tool for disseminating materialistic values of a capitalistic culture (Pollay, 1986). Others have joined in and said that advertising fosters selfish gains, monetary power, and artificial happiness and shows complete disrespect to work culture. It promotes tactics and schemes to earn money quickly and unethically. Lastly, such impure and vile messages promoted by advertisements are created with the objective of reaping financial benefits by advertisers and marketing practitioners (Kale and Ahmed, 2003).

Culture and Advertising:

I dont think there is any cultural conflict because people might say that the West is aping the East or the East is aping the West but basically its just awareness that is being spread due to globalisation and people themselves choose what to accept and what not to (Interviewee 3).

I think one cannot really use the term cultural conflict today because even though Asian women have been sustaining a little fat I their body to carry out domestic roles and bear children, how many of us relate to our mothers these days? (Interviewee 11)

The existence of cross cultural differences is inevitable and cultural values, practices and traits are deeply rooted in advertising images. These images are important to be culturally compatible with their consumers in order to sell products that will facilitate in satisfying some unfulfilled need (Zhang and Gelb, 1996). Even though literature highly speaks of the cultural differences between the Eastern and Western societies, segregating

103 consumers on the basis of cultural differences is a very inaccurate way judging peoples preferences for advertising appeals. It can also be possible for people from the same culture to have dissimilar tastes and also from different cultures to have similar tastes (Wang, 2000).

Similarly, culture plays a very dominating and influential role in the field of consumer behaviour. The theory on the dynamism of culture states that globalisation and advances in communication channels have removed all barriers between cultural differences. Today culture is not defined by territorial boundaries but by peoples openness to other cultures, changes in beliefs and shared themes and values (Craig and Douglas, 2006). Such collective values seen in the visual depictions of global mass media appear to mirror the global market (Okigbo, Martin and Amienyi, 2005).

Visual appeal of advertising spokesperson: I think any advertisement can have an impact on a person. Beauty can be shown in so many ways. But yes when a white model is shown in an advertisement it does grab my attention because these models are very different from me and I can never look like them (Interviewee 6).

I would definitely not look at an ugly model or even a black model simply because they are not eye pleasing and do not appeal to me and in the ads displayed here models are used not based on the product but purely because they are attractive (Interviewee12).

Visual beauty matters the most when the brand is not known. I would never buy a new product if it is advertised by a fat model (Interviewee 14).

104 As an extension to the importance of using highly attractive models in advertisements, research on the importance of visual appeal has illustrated that 98% of the editorial content in advertisements is overlooked by consumers and that is why visuals become very powerful in grabbing the attention of consumers (Bjerke and Polegato, 2006). Beauty plays a very important role in society and it is believed that visuals of good looking models in the field of advertising hold great value in pleasing consumers in contrast to unattractive ones (Webster and Driskell, 1983).

The interviewees have clearly stated that they would not appreciate seeing fat and ugly models in advertisements. Some of the advantages of being physically attractive are that beautiful people are more successful, popular independent and superior than their unattractive counterparts (ibid.). Thus, the visual appeal of advertisements is important for the creative execution of global advertisements.

Influence of American Barbie dolls as inspirational role models: As a kid I always wanted to be a white Barbie doll. I thought they were so perfect. In fact, I would never play with a dark Barbie doll ever (Interviewee 6).

As a kid Barbie dolls were amazing to play with. I always thought they were ideal looking women and when I grow up I would like to look like them. Also their beauty has never been that much because of the white skin or the blue eyes but because they have the perfect figure (Interviewee 12).

Since time immemorial, Barbie dolls have posed to be cultural icons for extremely young girls in the ages of 3 to 10. Research indicates that such dolls are prime drivers for

105 creating dissatisfaction in young and nave minds because Barbie dolls have an unrealistically and unhealthily thin body figure. At that age, preadolescent girls are very influenced by their role models and feel the need to be like such slender dolls when they grow up. This seems to be consistent with the socio cultural theory stated in literature which explains that Barbie dolls represent ideal beauty and become an optimum comparison standard for young girls to imitate. It is said that in some girls the influence is so strong that irrespective of ethnic differences, these American dolls make every girl child admire Barbie dolls because She is like the perfect person when you are little that everyone wants to be like( Dittmar, Ive and Halliwell 2006).

Third person effect: Personally for me the advertisements that claim to promote thinness do not really affect me. It never has, because I am not going to do something just because the advertisement is showing an anorexic model or because the model is looking good in it. I think these advertisements can affect those people who really are dissatisfied with themselves and uncomfortable with their appearances (Interviewee 12).

Basically I feel that advertisements promoting beauty are not meant for women who want to live normal lives. They matter to those who are inclined to enter the glamour world and be glamorous. I am very simple and dont get myself into all these images (Interviewee 1).

The Third Person Effect states that people believe the media impacts others more than themselves (and) is tested to determine if this contributes to behaviors related to body

106 image (Wan, Faber and Fung, 2003). The results indicate that the theory behind this model is that people have a normal tendency to regard others and not themselves to get affected by the images of mass media .These others can be different from themselves on the basis of geographical distance and cultural differences (Wan, Faber and Fung, 2003). Thus, these participants also believe that the images shown by media and the trend to look in a certain manner does not concern them personally as they are culturally, socially and geographically different from the influences of western mass media.

Gender stereotypes in advertising: I think beauty really depends on the perspective of the individual or the person who is checking out a womans beauty. Boys will not just see a womans face when they see an advertisement. In fact I think women are so stereotyped that as though they are here only to please others through their visual appeal (Interviewee 7).

No one can really buy each and every product. If I see an advertisement with a good looking female international model I will take out time and try out the product once at least(Interviewee 8).

Women and the portrayal of their beauty have become very stereotyped in the field of advertising. The cultural changes in society have taken place so swiftly that preference for exceptionally thin and good looking images of women have become the idealised images of global society. Literature has drawn a very important relationship between peoples Locus of Control and their satisfaction levels with the media created images of beautiful models. Women, who possess an internal LOC, are more prone to getting

107 affected by the images in advertisements and also land up purchasing the advertised product. In addition these women when dissatisfied with their physical dispositions appear to be more enthusiastic of rectifying their flaws (Venkat and Ogden, 2002). Since time immemorial, women in advertising have been broadcasted as home makers and sex objects (Kilbourne, 1995), who are below men and do not hold any serious or dominating status in society (Goffman, 1979). In a study of Gender advertisements, Goffman (1979) proposed that, advertisements promote women as inferior to men because that is what the society is made up of and advertisements only reinforce the set values in a blown up manner in order to relate to the audience. Consistent with the self objectification theory, stated in literature, women have always been looked upon as objects of others desire (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997). Thus it can be seen that gender stereotyping has been prevalent in our society since a very long time and has a very strong impact on both men and women in their levels of perception of advertisings visual imagery.

Society and Social Pressure: I think even though there is so much pressure created by media I take it positively because its like a wake up call which tells you that you need to start taking care of your health. Again it all depends on your state of mind and how positive you are (Interviewee 4).

If I were to live in a society that lives on glamour then yes such images would impact my self esteem and I would want to look like model in a Cosmo. But if I am living in a normal society these things dont really matter (Interviewee 7).

108 Looking good is an on going process. Every defect has a solution today. Even the media puts on a lot of pressure these days. But also everything comes with time. Sometimes your friends are so pretty and you have to work hard to fit into that society (Interviewee 13).

Self esteem and Locus of Control are often associated with womens body image concerns (Venkat and Ogden, 2002). Literature has demonstrated that usually women develop a negative attitude towards their body image after being exposed to media (Richins, 1991). By using the social comparison theory, it has been established that women with a higher self esteem will be less prone to social comparison process and also experience greater levels of satisfaction with the self. Similarly women with an internal LOC will take to the upward social comparison more positively and work towards enhancing their looks and seeking inspiration from the images of the models in ads (Venkat and Ogden, 2002). Thus not all members of society feel negatively towards the artificial world of advertising and take it more as a wake up call that will improve their chances of looking beautiful in society.

Economic Development: I think economic development of a country matters when we see the demand for international magazines. In India we consider foreign brands to be associated with luxury. Not everyone can afford this luxury. The urban women will travel and they have the buying ability to purchase these products (Interviewee 9).

As stated earlier, India has been very open towards the liberalisation of its economy and globalisation of mass media with foreign companies launching their products has played

109 a major role in the country. The economic development of a country has a huge impact on the way the advertising industry works. For example, in India there is a dichotomy between the urban and the rural section of society. The educated, well to do urban members are the ones who get highly influenced by international mass media and western products (Thapan, 2004). Similarly, when considering the impact of advertisements for products that promise make women look young, factors such as purchasing power and social and economic background play a very important role in catering to women who are segmented on the basis of their need for the product (Kotler, 2003).

Popularity of Foreign Magazines and products with Indian women:

I think international fashion magazines are a cheap source of spreading awareness about clothes and secondly in India there are many upcoming designers and fashion artists that copy the way models are portrayed in international fashion magazines and try and copy that in Indian magazines (Interviewee 2).

I think there is a lot of difference between Femina and a Cosmopolitan. Femina is very woman oriented and more serious whereas Cosmo is more young and open. Also the women in the Cosmo advertisements are very sexily dressed whereas Femina is very subtle (Interviewee 7).

I think American companies are always trying to dominate the developing countries. India is just one of their targets. Thats why we have allowed foreign magazines featuring white models to come into our country. And also there is so much demand these days in India for whiteness that even Indian companies are promoting whitening creams such as

110 Fair and Lovely. Today girls get rejected for marriage if they are not fair (Interviewee 8).

I think its very necessary for cosmetic companies to cater to different skin tones because once when I went shopping with my sister to buy a Mac foundation she had to choose a shade that was different from me. So I think its a good think and its very necessary (Interviewee 12).

I think the reason why we have so many companies coming to India is because today Indians dont want to buy products that are Indian. They want foreign products and we have too much foreign invasion in our country for beauty products (Interviewee 6).

I believe that a lot of young Indian women are housewives and these magazines are their favourite pass time. Also, another aspect that cannot be overlooked is that Indian women want to look good and younger all the time. My own cousins use creams and cosmetics to look good (Interviewee 13)

It is said that the economies of various countries have become extremely interrelated, which makes it extremely crucial for people of such countries to be adopt means that will facilitate inter-country communication. In the field of advertising and the ongoing debate between adopting a standardized versus a localized global strategy, it is argued that the visual elements of country specific magazines will differ between the developed and developing countries to some extent. This is because economically and culturally these countries are different and even though India is regarded as a less developed nation with lesser liberalized policies than the developed nations like the United states, United States

111 of America is also the worlds biggest advertiser and is dominant in standardizing its advertisisng practices throughout the world (Cutler, Javalgi and Erramilli, 1992).

Visual components in womens magazines convey profound messages to women regarding their roles and worth in society. These magazines are mainly inclined towards topics such as beauty, body image and feminine identity. Femina happens to be a very popular Indian magazine read by women from both the upper and middle class strata of society. Majority of the middle class women are housewives and some also are enrolled in the workforce. These women are ardent readers of this magazine and enjoy viewing the beauty and fashion pages the magazine contains. Even then some international magazines such as the Cosmopolitan, has posed to be a big threat to the Indian magazine through its superior quality of paper and flamboyant images of women in sexual poses. Taking into consideration the low economic development of the country, such international magazines are not easily accessible to women from lower middle class families and those that belong to the rural parts of India (Thapan, 2004). It has already been iterated in the earlier part of this section that Indians have an undying love for white beauty and many Indian cosmetic companies are spending thousands of rupees marketing such products in every strata of Indian society. Conversely, many international cosmetic companies are catering to Asian women with creams and foundations that will match their complexion and enhance their visual appeal (King, 1998).

112 Steps taken to deal with the far fetched norms of beauty established by global mass media 5.4.11

Today loosing weight, dieting and going to a gym has become so popular that every girl is doing it. Although I have never stepped into a gym, but yes, if I ever put on weight I will start exercising (Interviewee 12).

I think all these magazines do not affect every individual in the same way because some women eat absolutely everything and in huge quantities and yet they are like models (Interviewee 5).

I think anyone can look like these models if you work towards them but not everyone really needs to. I am very happy the way I am and would not want to look like any of these models (Interviewee 3).

Richins (1991) study has indicated that not all women are affected adversely by the pressures of media and not all of these women feel dissatisfied with their bodies. In fact some women are already dissatisfied with their bodies and do not blame media only for their feelings of dissatisfaction. It has been proposed that women who are already dissatisfied with themselves are more prone to social comparison and compare themselves to the women portrayed advertisements. Reiterating literature, it can be concluded that some women are also very impervious to advertisements and the portrayal of women. These women do not consider themselves to be any less beautiful than the portrayed images. Others, who seem to be affected by the images of women in global mass media, are found to indulge themselves in excessive dieting and exercising to

113 become slim and maintain a body weight that is accepted in society and also matches the cultural body ideal.

114 A Conceptual model representing various individual and environmental moderators which lead to beauty and body dissatisfaction in young Indian women 5.4.12

Beauty and Body Dissatisfaction

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS

ENVIORNMENTAL FACTORS Globalisation, Capitalism, Culture and Advertising, Visual appeal, Barbie dolls,

Ethnicity, Social class, Age, Gender, Third person effect, Gender stereotypes, Attitude, Influence of westernisation Society and Social Pressure, Economic Development, Entry of Foreign Magazines and products.

115 Discussion 5.5

A Case for Advertising 5.5.1

I dont think there is anything wrong in what these advertisers are doing. Because they also have to run a business and the very fact that we are also buying these magazines is because we also want to see such images and learn how to use these foreign products. They are doing their business and as far as ethics is concerned its for us to judge that (Interviewee 11).

Basically I dont think that these magazines are promoting white or the thin beauty. Some models just suit the product and we live in a common culture where everyone uses all kinds of products. For example, in the Sunglow ad for Maybelline and in the Summer Mist ad for Loreal ,the models used are chosen on the basis of good skin and not because they are white. Even Indian models would do an equally good job (Interviewee 3).

Culture has a deep impact on the way consumers perceive and react to advertisements. In fact it is argued that No matter how hard man tries, it is impossible for him to diverse himself of his own culture, for it has penetrated the roots of his nervous system and determines how he perceives the world (Hall, 1966). The focus of this dissertation has remained centred on advertisings relationship with its consumers. As a result, it is suggested that advertising raises the overall standard of living of consumers by offering them goods and services that make them satisfied and content. Advertising informs consumers about the correct usage of the products and also facilitates them in shopping goods quickly and confidently (Kale and Ahmed, 2003). Witty advertisers who are well

116 versed with consumers and their cultural values must create advertisements that are congruent with the cultural values of the target market. Such advertisements prove to be more effective and persuasive in contrast to culturally incongruent advertisements (Gregory and Munch, 1997). On a global scale, Kale (1993) has advocated that advertisers and marketing practitioners will not profit financially if the cultural values are not adhered to between the buyers and sellers of goods.

A Case against Advertising 5.5.2

I think its really sad that advertisers promote their products only through models who are bony looking and white. If any of these advertisements featured Indian models they would be as appealing as the international models. Also the degree of fakeness would be a little less I think (Interviewee 10).

One of the major criticisms of advertising is its growing role in the lives of modern consumers over and above the traditional institutions such as churches, schools, political institutions and elders of the family. The visual imagery of advertisements and the symbols used transport a consumer away from reality and its immediate surroundings to another transcendental planet (Chu, 1978). Advertising and the portrayal of stereotypes has successfully replaced the traditional cultural schools of communication by disseminating superficial happiness and material comfort (Leiss et al., 1986). In addition, critics of advertising have accused it as a callous attempt against culture and its people in dissuading many innocent consumers who are oblivious of the hidden and artificial meanings behind advertisements (O Barr, 1994). A campaign for educating the consumers and aiding them to analyse advertisements can instigate many consumers to

117 evaluate their subjective bend in the interpretation of advertisements within the larger framework of modern capitalism (Nicholson, 1997).

Social and ethical considerations in Advertising: I totally blame advertisements for spreading whiteness in India. These Fair and Lovely advertisements should be shut down because they are trying to demean the Indian women. If people do not have to see such ads then they would probably not even think about such issues that much (Interviewee 7).

I personally do not think there is anything wrong with such advertising. Everyone admires beauty and beautifying ones body is not wrong. But some people who are not good looking or extremely dark will get bothered so it is unethical in that sense (Interviewee 9).

The role of advertising has long been criticized for creating an aura of hedonistic and materialistic desires in society (Pollay, 1986). Contemporary advertising is often criticized for making consumers unhappy and dissatisfied with their existing life. They argue that advertisers use advertising as a tool for maximizing profits at the expense of naive consumers (Kale and Ahmed, 2003). As the most prominent and discernable element of marketing (Tsalikis, 1989), advertising is criticized on one hand and supported on the other. For instance, the criticism is associated with the social role of advertising in the field of business ethics whereas the appreciation is associated with the economic utility of advertising in society (Pollay, 1986, Lantos, 1987, Greyser, 1972). Whether

118 viewed from a social perspective or an economic perspective, advertising is an important medium for enforcing fundamental values, ideas and lifestyle (Lantos, 1987).

I believe that the model and the product are not compatible with each other most of the times. Many a times the models taken are very misleading and for that you cannot blame the product. I love perfumes personally and I would try out the perfume myself to judge whether its nice or not (Interviewee 13).

Ethics is defined as a set of moral principles and rules of conduct. It refers to the moral duty and obligation that an advertiser has towards the society. Thus, ethics in advertising means truthfulness and absence of misrepresentation of facts in the advertisements (Kale and Ahmed, 2003). The omnipresence of advertising in every strata of society and targeting both consumers and non- consumers results in inculcating lifes meanings that can be subtle, yet intense in their ethical implications (Hackley, 1999). Today, advertising has become so engrossed with toying with emotions rather than providing information to the consumers, use of sexually stimulating advertisements with highly attractive models and celebrities have become answers to consumers commonly held shortcomings (Camenish, 1991).

Implications for international marketing managers debating between the standardisation versus localisation of advertising appeals 5.5.3

Reflecting back to the standardisation versus adaptation debate in international advertising, the debate was initiated in the year 1961 and is being carried on since then. Supporters of advertising propagate that a standardized advertising campaign will be

119 successful because even though people are unique in their outlook, they share a common psychological and physiological need. Critics argue that factors such as culture, mass media and economic development of the target market are important to be adapted to locally and cannot be undermined (Onkvisit and Shaw, 1994). Nevertheless, a consensus seems to have reached in the international advertising industry to disseminate a standard theme with modified representations to meet local needs, in other words international advertisers must Think globally; and act locally (Cateora and Graham, 1999).

Summary 5.6

This section of the dissertation has mainly dealt with the justification of using qualitative research methodology in collecting data and the interpretation of this primary data with the extant literature. Considering the nature and scope of this study, qualitative methodology was found to be the most appropriate tool of investing the in depth and first hand experiences of women with regards to their beauty and body image dissatisfaction. This section has contributed tremendously in bringing out some old and some new theories to the forefront and how advertising can affect so many lives and so many different ways. The Conceptual model developed is beneficial in differentiating between internal and environmental factors that can affect individuals internalisation of the beauty ideal which eventually leads to beauty and body dissatisfaction. Since its inception, the aim of this dissertation has been to understand the insecurities and complexes of young ethnic (Indian) women at varying levels because literature has shown that not all women think, feel and consume advertising in a similar manner. In addition we have also seen that inconsistent with the marketing concept theory which

120 proposes to satisfy its consumers, the depiction of unrealistically thin models have caused distress and depression in the lives of many young women (Richins, 1991) and defeated marketings core purpose. Even though it is essential in selling products that can enhance womens flaws but it is seen that women either get adversely affected by these images or do not seem to think these images are genuine. Some of the respondents also believe that a lot of manipulation has been done using technology to make the fashion models look unmistakably gorgeous. Some however do seek inspiration from the images depicted and do not let factors such as ethnicity and social distance come in their way of appreciating beauty.

121 Chapter 6

Conclusion

Overall Summary 6.1

The journey of this dissertation began with the understanding of literature in the field of culture, womens magazines, stereotyped beauty in international fashion magazines, Asian beauties, Indian beauties, female body dissatisfaction, Asian womens dissatisfaction with their bodies and the impact of advertising in accelerating young womens dissatisfaction with their outwardly beauty. This has been followed by the use of inductive and exploratory methods of research where data was collected using semi structured interviews. Young women, who formed the research sample, were international students from India and studying for their Masters programme in the University of Nottingham. The voices of these young women were very appreciative of their Indian origin but also not critical of international beauty. Majority of the participants stressed on having a glow on the face rather than being racially different and white. However, they also believed that beauty comes with a well shaped body and not all bodies look nice when they are anorexically thin. Some women were more philosophical in their versions of the perception of beauty and considered beauty to be more spiritual as oppose to physical. In conclusion, it is seen that globalisation, not only of mass media but overall has had a very deep impact on these young women and some of them have learnt to appreciate themselves even more due to Indian womens role in western mass media that has given them a very contemporary and fashionable outlook.

122 Limitations of the study 6.2

Some of the shortcomings of this research study can be seen in its limited nature of selecting research participants. Due to time and convenience the sample was only taken from young Indian students studying as international students in England. Despite being an Indian myself, as a novice researcher I was limited in my skills and capacity to conduct rich and in depth interviews that form the heart and soul of this research. Perhaps using a mixed methods approach would have been more appropriate in getting a more accurate account of how women experience and deal with their satisfaction/dissatisfaction levels with respect to their physical appearances. For instance, the mixed methods approach that was used by Langmeyer and Shank (1994), clearly demonstrated the importance of employing both qualitative and quantitative analysis to capture an array of consumers perceptions and their beauty ideals. In addition, this study has been limited in scope due to its limited study of beauty ideals in the advertising industry of global mass media. Exploration of other streams of global mass media such as television and outdoor advertisements were not included in this study. The age bracket has also been restricted to young Indian women between 18-25 years of age, even though literature has revealed that beauty concern is an ongoing process and there are some older women who want to look young and slim.

Directions for further Research 6.3

In the future, research can demonstrate how travel can play a major role as a decisive factor in judging young Indian womens attitudes towards the cultural beauty ideal seen in international mass media. As a consequence of globalisation, some women from Asia

123 are more frequent travelers to the West and it is quite likely for these women to view images of international models differently than those Asian women who are limited in their outdoor travel experiences. Perhaps this aspect can be considered as an important criterion for sampling research participants, for Indian women who come into contact with white women face to face will get affected by these magazines more differently than those women who have only seen white models in international advertisements. Secondly, one can also consider: How do white women perceive images of Indian women in international fashion magazines? Do Asian women produce any form of dissatisfaction in white women with regards to their beauty and body image concerns? Again, this study was limited to young Indian women only, perhaps other ethnic women from South Asia and other Asian countries are prone to experience similar or dissimilar feelings towards the dominance of white beauty ideals in global advertisements. Lastly, the beauty industry has become so diverse and magnanimous today that even men are being victimized with appearance enhancing products. Ethnicity has been a major factor in this research study for extracting rich information on beauty and body dissatisfaction of young Indian women. Studying these concepts from the perspective of young Asian or Indian men is one more avenue that can be explored in the future.

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163 APPENDIX 1 Interview Guide

1. Do you read transnational fashion/beauty magazines? If yes, can you name which ones? How often do you read them? (At home, at a salon, office waiting room etc?)

2. What in your opinion is the reason behind the influx of international beauty magazines in India? In your opinion do skinny white models in advertisements for global brands represent universal beauty?

3. At what age were you exposed to these fashion magazines? Did the models in the advertisements affect your concern for beauty and body satisfaction at an early age? Or do you feel the pressure due to the media created perfect beauty ideal now? (Does age matter?)

4. The women in the advertisements are advertising for a beauty or a fashion related product. What is your definition of beauty?

5. In your opinion is beauty in the face or in a womans body? 6. Do you experience any kind of body dissatisfaction?

164 7. Print Advertisements that set the beauty norms for being thin have any impact on your self esteem? (Do u feel anxious, depressed, angryetc?) Why is body image important? (Attention from the opposite sex? Asian women are more inclined towards familial roles and need a certain amount of body fat to bear children)

8. Do you experience any cultural conflict when you see a westernized advertisement featuring white beauty? What is your opinion on the Americanisation of the female beauty industry? (Do you believe multinational companies need to adapt their advertising imagery to relate to the Indian audience?)

9. Do you develop a negative or a positive attitude towards the model in the ad? Are they a source of inspiration for you to enhance your body image and sense of beauty?

10. Do you think that it is vital for advertisers to use such unrealistically thin female models to sell their products? Are you familiar with the dove campaign? Would you like to see more of real beauty in fashion magazines? If yes, why? If no, why?

11. Do you have a tendency to compare your physical appearance and body image with other women? Is it more with women of Indian origin or ethnicity does not

165 make any difference? Do inanimate objects such as slender vases cause any sense of body dissatisfaction in you?

12. What is your opinion on the westernized portrayal of Indian women in advertisements for beauty magazines? Are the images any less threatening?

13. Do you notice any conflict in the body sizes of Indian women and white women as depicted in print advertisements of fashion magazines?

14. How do you deal with the pressure to conform to the body ideals set by the print media such as advertisements in womens fashion magazines? Do you indulge in sports? Dieting? Or, in your opinion it is just not worth it?

15. Lastly, as a woman do you ever feel that fashion magazines that offer space to advertisements featuring unrealistically perfect women are doing the right thing? Do you encourage such form of female representations in fashion magazine advertisements or do you feel its offensive to a womans sense of beauty?

16. Background Information: Name: Age: Occupation:

166 Ethnic Background: Country and City of Residence:

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