Shifting Perspectives in an Image Saturated Society
When she received the proposal from her now-husband, Doris Bazzini asked him to flip a coin for whose last name they would take with their marriage.
Her husband said his male friends wouldn’t “let him hear the end of it” if he took her name. She chose to take both names.
“Be proud of who you are,” said Bazzini, a nationally known social psychologist on gender roles in the media at Appalachian State University. “Being unapologetic means knowing you have choice. Knowing you are allowed to have that choice. It means dropping the baggage and having peace of mind.”
Bazzini, a psychology professor at Appalachian State University, is drawn to the interpersonal piece of social psychology—things that alter how an individual changes around others. Her focus lies in this standard for women and their body image in a hypocritical and stereotypical media world. Bazzini’s studies have included topics ranging from how Disney characters promote beauty-goodness stereotypes to the concept of “fat talk” and its contribution to negative body image among women and their peers. Most recently, she and her team were featured in the Washington Post for their research regarding the covers of Health Magazine and the messages it brings to women and men alike regarding their body image. In the end, there is an undeniable common theme.
Her most recent research, “How Healthy are Health Magazines? A Comparative Content Analysis of Cover Captions and Images of Women’s and Men’s Health Magazine,” analyzes 54 different covers combined of the magazines. Although prior studies have been done regarding pressures men and women may feel through print media, these have focused on magazines with an array of topical emphases. Bazzini and her team were the first to directly compare gender magazines with the similar aim of improving health.
"We looked for and counted objectifying phrases, those emphasizing the human body as an object for observation rather than a body with capabilities,” explained Bazzini.
Bazzini’s findings demonstrated that while each magazine was equally likely to objectify, the messages portrayed were stereotyped per gender. Women’s Health promoted a beauty and thin ideal whereas Men’s Health promoted masculinity.
“I see copies of Women’s Health almost every day whether it be standing in the line at the grocery store, gas station, wherever,” said Appalachian State student Melissa Machado. “I guess I never really consciously thought about what the images were telling me as a woman. The covers, no matter if I open the magazine or not, subtly remind me of what I need to work on to be a better woman. And it’s all based on my appearance.”
It seems endless research on the topic still hasn’t drawn Bazzini away from the seemingly unshakeable roles women still face in society—roles that may be shaken off if we agree with the scary concept of change.
“Physical attractiveness plays a major role in how women are judged,” explained Bazzini. “You can watch any TV show and it always contains the pretty wife or female figure, but it doesn’t matter what the guy looks like as long as he’s funny or completely inept to do ‘wife duties’—there’s always a wider spectrum for men as far as looks.”
For women, it’s more about slimming down, said Bazzini. She added that the importance of the “bikini body” is portrayed in magazines supposedly catering to healthy lifestyles—men get the message that they are supposed to “bulk up.” So while they get messages too, respective stereotypes are still present.
“Appearance and body image are the biggest triggers for women,” said Karly Cochran, co-researcher with Bazzini. “Women are valued based on their looks. I think these magazine covers are the perfect example of how this issue can seep into every corner of our society without much notice.”
“Women face very real health issues, like breast cancer and heart disease,” said Cochran. “It’s time to start focusing on their health and stop focusing on how quickly they can lose their pregnancy weight.”
Bazzini admits that her research is a double-edged sword.
“It’s showing women that pressures are out there, and at times I think, ‘am I making the situation worse by asking these women how they feel about themselves’?” said Bazzini. “Insight can be a gift and a curse at the same time.”
She remains confident in her work and its reminder to women that remaining united is the ultimate source of empowerment.
“Others are doing this to us. The people in these industries have decided they want to alter us. We have to realize we don’t have to comply and [criticize] ourselves in this image as well,” said Bazzini. “We have to remain united.”
