Abstract

MAGALLARES, Alejandro. Drive for thinness and pursuit of muscularity: the role of gender ideologies. Univ. Psychol. [online]. 2016, vol.15, n.2, pp.353-360. ISSN 1657-9267.  https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy15-2.dtpm.

The female sociocultural beauty ideal is ultra-thin, while the male beauty ideal is related with a muscular body. In this paper it is argued that these differences may be explained by the gender ideology that men and women have. Data obtained from 615 female students (with a Body Mass Index between 18 and 30) revealed that participants high in a gender ideology scale reported greater drive for thinness and less pursuit of muscularity. In addition, women with low scores in a gender ideology scale showed the opposite pattern: high scores on pursuit of muscularity and low in drive for thinness. Finally, it is discussed why men and women adopt different strategies to deal with these beauty ideals.

Keywords : Body Mass Index; disordered eating; drive for thinness; gender ideology; pursuit of muscularity.

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