ABSTRACT
Slimness is seen as a desirable attribute for women in prosperous cultures, and is associated with self-control, elegance, social attractiveness and youth (Bordo, 2003; Murray, 2016). The ideal female shape is epitomized in the slim but full-breasted figures that Gail Marchessault (2000) describes as “the physically impossible, tall, thin and busty Barbie-doll stereotype” (p. 204). Women show a preference for an “hourglass” shaped figure (Grogan et al., 2013) with an underweight body mass index (BMI; e.g. Aghekyan et al., 2012) and large breasts, so long as they are not uncomfortably large (Reardon and Grogan, 2011; Swami et al., 2015). Muscle tone is also important, and the twenty-first century ideal is a firm-looking body for women as well as men (Lupton, 2013).
