• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.839-854
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• 2018

This study (1) explores female consumers' attitudes toward fat people and perceptions about plus-size models, (2) addresses female consumers' responses to models with different body sizes, and (3) examines the effect of plus-size model presence on female consumers' body image. We collected an online questionnaire from a total of 600 female participants in their 20's and 30's. Stimuli included six full-colored photo images of models with thin and plus body sizes (three in each group). Images were captured from the online shopping site of the fashion brand currently providing both average and plus-size clothes. Respondents were randomly assigned one of the groups by model size. Results support the sociocultural perspective that a thin/ideal body of models has a negative influence on female viewers' sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, mood state and body satisfaction. Findings also suggest that exposure to plus-size models can reduce negative media effects on females body image perceptions, regardless of individual body size.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.563-578
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• 2022

Society's emphasis on a thin body ideal may intensify an individual's negative perceptions of fatness. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between sociocultural attitudes toward appearance (awareness and internalization of the female ideal) and anti-fat attitudes among middle-aged Korean women. In addition, the aim was to examine whether the body internalization of female ideals was a mediator in the proposed model. Participants included a sample of 264 middle-aged Korean women who completed a series of measures online. The following information was collected through online questionnaires: awareness and internalization of the female ideal, attitudes toward fat, body weight perception, and demographics. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The measurement model and the structural model testing provided an acceptable fit to the data, and all proposed pathways in the research model were statistically significant. Awareness of the female ideal was significantly and positively associated with internalization, and it significantly and positively predicted both constructs of anti-fat attitudes. Additionally, awareness of the female ideal was significantly and positively indirectly associated with attitudes toward fat people-dislike and willpower mediated by internalization. Overall, these findings suggest that society's emphasis on female appearance and a thin body can ultimately result in significant stigmatization of overweight/obese individuals. This study emphasizes the importance of establishing a healthy appearance standard to reduce anti-fat prejudice.