The 'body beautiful': English adolescents' images of ideal bodies

Two studies examine qualities capturing adolescents' images of ideal bodies for both genders. Data from questionnaires and discussions of photographs indicate that body-image ideals are multidimensional, show systematic gender differences, and become more conventional with age. Adolescents' own body mass links systematically to body-image preferences, with heavier adolescents of both genders distancing themselves from conventional female beauty ideals.