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The good body: when big is better.

C M Cassidy1

  • 1University of Maryland.

Medical Anthropology
|September 1, 1991
PubMed
Summary

Globally, larger body sizes signify survival skills and social power. In Western societies, thinness combined with tallness and muscularity projects power amid abundance, enabling upward mobility.

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Area of Science:

  • Cultural Anthropology
  • Sociology
  • Body Image Studies

Background:

  • Cultural ideals of a 'good' body vary significantly.
  • Historically, larger body sizes have been associated with survival and power.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the cultural significance of body size and its relationship to perceived survival skills.
  • To examine how body size symbolism influences social hierarchy and power dynamics.
  • To understand the redefinition of body ideals in Western societies.

Main Methods:

  • Qualitative analysis of cultural perceptions of body size.
  • Examination of the link between body composition (tallness, muscularity, fattiness) and social power.
  • Cross-cultural comparison of body ideals.

Main Results:

  • Worldwide data indicate a preference for larger body sizes (tall and fat) linked to survival.
  • Individuals achieving larger body ideals are often socially powerful.
  • In food-secure Western cultures, thinness combined with tallness and muscularity is now desired, projecting power.

Conclusions:

  • Body size ideals are culturally constructed and linked to perceived survival capabilities.
  • The symbolism of bigness (tallness, muscularity, fattiness) traditionally equates to power and social mobility.
  • Modern Western ideals adapt this symbolism, with thinness in abundance signifying power and upward mobility.

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