Internalization of Idealized Body Image Among Young Males in Australia: An Integrated Approach

Most idealized body image studies have employed surveys or experiments to measure immediate, rational responses to mediated messages conveying thin, idealized images. Affective and intuitive evaluations of media influence are not studied extensively. This paper employed focus group discussion with a projective assessment (i.e. cloning exercise) to reveal how 20 young males, aged 19 to 22 in Australia, associated their body and self-image issues with mediated imagery on both the conscious and unconscious levels. Results showed that participants tended to be less satisfied with their weight and most satisfied with their height. They believed that their female friends would be more influenced by these images compared to themselves and other male friends. The participants preferred to clone their “avatars” good-looking (but not overly attractive) with very appealing personalities, admirable careers, and hobbies. All participants were quite satisfied with their body image and chose their clone images over the models.