There is now a new definition of beauty for women according to a research done by University of Missouri-Kansas City USA.
A research led by Frances Bozsik of the University measured perceptions of beauty by showing photographs to 78 female undergraduate students.
The photographs were of the winners from the 1999 to 2013 Miss USA beauty pageant which is an annual competition where women are believed to be predominately judged on their appearance. Those who participated were asked to judge from how muscular, thin and attractive the women were.
MS Bozsik who published the study in the research journal ‘Sex Roles’ said: ‘There is a shift in the thin ideal female figure to one that now includes the appearance of physical fitness via muscularity’
She said: ‘These websites allow individuals to collect images of women with whom they identify or admire, essentially allowing them to cultivate their own media repertoire of highly salient thin and fit media.
‘This process of selecting preferred images and then narrowing the media focus by placing these images on their ‘boards’ may inadvertently increase the risk of developing higher levels of body dissatisfaction, as well as subsequent disordered-eating behaviors that are linked to it.’
There was a follow-up study where participants rated the muscular figures to be the more attractive ones.
