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Does This Make Me Look Fat ?: Character Body Size and Viewer Self Image By ( Emily ( AcostaJLewis ,(( Sonoma ( State ( University ( ( (
Many factors , such as gender , age , race / ethnicity , culture , and individual psychology have been offered as explanations to individuals ’ dissatisfaction with their body . However media exposure and consumption have been the most widely studied and arguably the most influential of all known predictors to body dissatisfaction ( Spurgas , 2005 ). Past research suggests that media conveys an ideal female and male body and can thus negatively impact many people ’ s attitudes toward their body . As a result , some individuals subsequently partake in unhealthy and often dangerous behavior . Indeed , the image of the ideal woman portrayed in entertainment media over the past five decades has gotten thinner in the waist and
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