Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Harper, Brit; Tiggemann, Marika. “The Effect of Thin Ideal Media Images on Women’s Self-Objectification, Mood, and Body Image.” Sex Roles; May2008, Vol. 58 Issue 9/10, p649-657, 9p

Summary: The present study used an experimental design to examine the effects of media images on self-objectification. A total of 90 Australian undergraduate women aged 18 to 35 were randomly allocated to view magazine advertisements featuring a thin woman, advertisements featuring a thin woman with at least one attractive man, or advertisements in which no people were featured.

Participants who viewed advertisements featuring a thin-idealized woman reported greater state self-objectification, weight-related appearance anxiety, negative mood, and body dissatisfaction than participants who viewed product control advertisements. The results demonstrate that self-objectification can be stimulated in women without explicitly focusing attention on their own bodies.

This was a very helpful source. It combined a study with further research on how women can begin to objectify women as a whole instead of just their own bodies. I like how it mentioned the psychological effect of images in the media being projected as the standard.

O'Riordan, Siobhan S. Zamboanga, Byron L. “Aspects of the media and their relevance to bulimic attitudes and tendencies among female college students.” Eating Behaviors; Apr2008, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p247-250, 4p

Summary: Examines whether media pressures would mediate the association between two dimensions of the media (source of information and internalization) and bulimic attitudes/tendencies. The study sample consisted of 106 female college students. Participants completed anonymous, self-report measures on media influences on body image and appearance as well as disordered eating attitudes/behaviors.

Findings showed that the association between two dimensions of the media (source of information and internalization) and bulimic attitudes/tendencies was mediated by perceived media pressures. Such findings highlight the significant influence of media pressures on bulimic attitudes/tendencies. Future research and prevention implications are discussed.

This was also a good source, doing a study to determine a specific demographic of female college students. Not only this but the study examines how this body image can relate to eating disorders and influence psychological damage which can lead to physiological effects.

Ukachuckwu, Jephther, “The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill.” European Journal of Communication; Mar2008, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p93-96, 4p

Summary: The article reviews the book "The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill," by Maggie Wykes and Barrie Gunter. This was not helpful in the least, and it was simply a book review. I should probably go find the actual book before I listen to someone critique it.

Aubrey, Jennifer Stevens. “Does Television Exposure Influence College-Aged Women's Sexual Self-Concept?” Media Psychology; 2007, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p157-181, 25p

Summary: The present study examined whether television exposure shapes female emerging adults' sexual self-concept, defined as self-perceptions of one's qualities in the sexual domain. Results from two-year panel data collected from undergraduate women suggested that Time-1 exposure to soap operas, prime-time dramas, and amount of television viewing predicted a deflation in college women's Time-2 sexual self-concept.

In addition, Time-1 sexual self-concept negatively predicted Time-2 prime-time drama exposure and Time-2 television watched per day. The results are interpreted in light of the cognitive information processing model and the selective exposure hypothesis.

This was a bit confusing but it did offer me direction to take on the specific topic that I chose. I find this particular topic fascinating and think that this article would have been a lot more interesting if it weren’t so wordy.

Woo, Jane S. T.; Brotto, Lori A. “Age of First Sexual Intercourse and Acculturation: Effects on Adult Sexual Responding.”Journal of Sexual Medicine; May2008, Vol. 5 Issue 3, p571-582, 12p, 3 charts, 1 graph

Summary: The goal of this study was to explore the association between age of first intercourse and adult sexual function in a sample of Euro-Canadian and Asian Canadian university students. In addition, culture-based comparisons of sexual complaints were made to clarify the role of culture in sexual response. Ethnic group comparisons revealed that Asians reported more sexual complaints including sexual avoidance, dissatisfaction and non-sensuality.

Among the women, Asians reported higher scores on the Vaginismus and Anorgasmia subscales whereas the ethnic groups did not differ on the male-specific measures of sexual complaints. In the overall sample, older age of first intercourse was associated with more sexual problems as an adult, including more sexual infrequency, sexual avoidance, and non-sensuality.

This gave a whole lot of information which I did not need to know or think I would find out. This was more culture-based instead of on a general basis. But it was helpful in identifying the actual statistics of women’s sexual activities at young and old age to tie into my argument on how the media could affect this. This was basically to get a better perception of what is “normal.”

Unknown author. “Women hate distorted media depictions.” http://www.Chinadaily.com.cn. July 5, 2007

Summary: Women hate betrayal the most and don't consider themselves subordinate to men. These are the findings of a major online survey on women's attitudes toward the media. It finds that media depictions of women as pathetic subordinates to men, sex objects and a "third person" between a couple are hated most.

They also dislike overused sensational media catch phrases that stereotype some types of women with sexy images and judge women based only on their appearance. The survey also finds that independence, self-worth and intelligence are the top three qualities sought by respondents, who are mainly aged 20-30 and have college degrees. But confronted with reality, about half said they would not be a woman if they had a choice. Social discrimination and physical pain caused by pregnancy and childbirth are the major reasons they gave.

This article was extremely helpful. My only complaint is that this demographic is wide in age and specific in race. It was only a study of Chinese women, but I think it will be helpful in finding a general attitude towards their own gender in the media. It was interesting to hear how liberal and conservative at the same time. I would recommend this to other people.

Reichert, Tom “The Ageless Allure: Sex, Media, and Marketing.” Journal of Promotion Management; 2007, Vol. 13 Issue 1/2, p3, 9p

Summary: In this introductory article, Reichert argues that greater research attention should be paid to the area of strategic-or direct-effects of sexual information in the media. He begins by describing the nature of sexual information and the response it evokes in viewers. More important, Reichert outlines several ways that media organizations and advertisers use sex to promote their content and branded goods with the ultimate goal of enhancing revenue.

Last, the author describes how the articles in this contributed volume advance the study of sex and promotion into new and important contexts (e.g., television news, sports coverage, magazine covers, etc.)

This was interesting in finding why there is even a projected image in the media about sex in the first place. Sex sells and is strategically placed in areas where it will lure viewers to indulge. Audiences are nothing but consumers and it appears we are motivated by sex, which is why it is so prevalent in our culture.