Your textbook states, “members of both sexes often feel pressured to meet current cultural ideals of physical appearance.” Discuss what this means. As part of your answer, be sure to identify and explain the form of nonverbal communication directly relevant to the statement. Be able to discuss gender and race-ethnic variations (if any) in relationship to physical appearance.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANS: The framework for this answer may be found on pages 110 to 115. You may also wish to have students address classroom discussion regarding this issue. The following answer represents some of the many ideas from the text that could be utilized to answer this question.

The form of nonverbal communication relevant to this statement is physical appearance. Physical beauty is culturally defined and changes over time.

In general, satisfaction with physical appearance varies across gender and race. Typically, men report being satisfied with their appearance and do not attach their appearance to self-esteem. However, some gay men have reported linking appearance to self-worth and are more likely to develop eating disorders. Girls and women, particularly Caucasian, tend to report they are dissatisfied with their bodies and are more likely to diet. Females report being strongly influenced by media images of ultrathin models. Popular culture images of an idealized female body may lead to eating disorders. However, the influence is not limited to females. Males are also developing eating disorders and may practice extreme workout regimes in an attempt to build an idealized muscular body.

In general, African-American women report being more satisfied with their bodies, are less prone to eating disorders, and have less extreme unrealistic body image, especially if they identify strongly with their ethnic heritage.