Asian Journal of Communication

Vol. 19, No. 2, June 2009, 227
247

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Americanized beauty? Predictors of perceived attractiveness from US
and South Korean participants based on media exposure, ethnicity, and
socio-cultural attitudes toward ideal beauty
Kim L. Bissell* and Jee Young Chung
College of Communication and Information Sciences, Box 870172, University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
(Received 30 September 2008; final version received January 2009)
The objective of this project was to identify themes, patterns and predictors
related to attractiveness ideals and appearance norms in other women among a
sample of men and women in the USA and South Korea. The socio-cultural
theoretical model has the strongest empirical support for understanding body
image disturbance and appearance anxiety, by presenting to women through
media representations the current societal standard for image and appearance.
What is not known is how these cultural norms present in the USA are also
present in countries like South Korea. This studys objective was a comparative
analysis of South Korean and USA perceptions of attractiveness and beauty
along with the influence of US media on South Koreans attractiveness ideals.
Several independent variables (media exposure, socio-cultural pressures to be
thin, socio-cultural pressures to be attractive, perceived influence of outside
sources in the development of ideal beauty, and gender) were measured to
determine which variables might be more significantly linked to attractiveness
estimates and appearance norms. Findings suggest significant differences between
US and South Korean participants evaluations of attractiveness in others, and
several predictor variables including BMI, self-discrepancy, and socio-cultural
attitudes were found to be related to higher or lower attractiveness evaluation
scores. These and other findings are discussed.
Keywords: image ideals; attractiveness norms; media; cultural identity

Introduction
Mass media can reflect basic beliefs, attitudes, and values toward female beauty and
can even affect changes in cultures when others are exposed to images of ideal beauty
and attractiveness. Advertisers and marketers have relied on beautiful and attractive
women to draw attention to their products and goods because they believe attractive
people are more desirable, credible, and aspirational (Solomon, Ashmore, & Longo,
1992). The intersection leads of values communicated through popular culture in
combination with media exposure direct us to a point of questioning how
appearance norms are communicated to women and girls worldwide. Of greater
importance is understanding how or if US media may be responsible for
perpetuating norms about beauty and attractiveness cross-culturally and if the
*Corresponding author. Email: kbissell@bama.ua.edu
ISSN 0129-2986 print/ISSN 1742-0911 online
# 2009 AMIC/SCI-NTU
DOI: 10.1080/01292980902827144
http://www.informaworld.com

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ideals as represented through American media result in a loss of cultural identity or

assimilation of norms. Certainly in the USA, physical attractiveness is celebrated and
upheld as a quality that will result in success in multiple arenas; magazines publish
special issues of the most beautiful people in the entertainment industry and devote
entire issues of their magazines to swimsuits and models. Women and girls of all ages
compete in beauty pageants, from Miss Universe to Miss Hawaiian Tropic. Online
dating websites require members to post at least one picture of themselves, allowing
others to judge and make decisions on a mate based on the pictures posted.
Practices similar to this can be found in South Korea as well. During the past
several years, even the language used to describe appearance in South Korean society
such as eoljjang (face king, a person with a handsome or pretty face), momjjang
(body king, a person with a toned body), saengeol (a pretty face without make-up),
dongan (a younger-looking face than his/her real age), longdari (a slang term for long
legs) (Park, 2007, p. 55) has changed. These new words that South Koreans have
never had before represent how much the South Korean society has become obsessed
with appearance ideals. Thus, it appears as if the emphasis of beauty and
attractiveness is not just a phenomenon found in Western countries; rather it may
be a problem or issue that is more global in nature. As Naomi Wolf (1992) argues,
existent in US culture is a false perception that a single set of characteristics
represent ideal beauty. Wolf further argues that the acceptance of these singular
representations of beauty in cultural and social contexts only serve to place women
in an inevitable position of feeling as if they are inadequate and unacceptable. While
some studies have examined the cross-cultural adoption of beauty ideals, what is not
known is how or if newer forms of technology have increased or decreased the
Westernization of these image ideals. As many scholars have noted, the globalization
of beauty and appearance ideals is becoming more prevalent across Asian cultures
(Isa & Kramer, 2003) and continues to do so as American media content permeates
societies and cultures on a worldwide basis. We acknowledge that much research has
identified trends and patterns related to the globalization of beauty across Asian
cultures, but few, if any, studies have specifically addressed the role of media
exposure in this relationship. Thus, the objective of this project was two-fold: to
conduct a cross-cultural comparison of US and South Korean mens and womens
perceptions of ideal beauty and attractiveness and to assess the possible predictors
related to higher or lower appearance evaluations, including exposure to US
entertainment media in South Korea. One overarching question of this project
was to assess whether South Korean participants exposure to US media might be
related to a convergence of ideas and opinions about attractiveness evaluations,
despite cultural differences, and we argue that the examination of US media use and
exposure is one of the contributions of this project.
Literature review
Scholars have analyzed the importance of physical attractiveness in personal
perception (Bersheid & Walster, 1974, 1978; Cash, 1981; Riggio, Widaman, Tucker,
& Salinas, 1991) and have found that attractive individuals are evaluated more
favorably by others (Miller, 1970). Furthermore, attractive people are viewed as
having more desirable personalities (Dion, Bersheid, & Walster, 1972), are preferred
as dating partners (Byrne, Ervin, & Lamberth, 1970; Hagiwara, 1975), and are

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typically more successful in social interaction (Reis, Nazlek, & Wheeler, 1980; Reis,
Wheeler, Spiegel, Kernis, Nazlek, & Perri, 1982). Saltzberg and Chrisler (1997)
believe that beauty cannot be quantified or objectively measured; it is the result of
the judgment of others (p. 135). Yet, studying and understanding such judgments
allow for the insight into ideal beauty in American society and how exposure to US
media may influence others perceptions and beliefs about what is considered
attractive.
Historical emphasis on appearance ideals
Stice and Shaw (1994) argue that a socio-cultural female ideal is communicated to
women, with mass media being one of the strongest transmitters of this pressure
(p. 289). Along with the media, researchers have found that other institutions aid in
the creation of the female ideal through friends (Paxton, Schultz, Wertheim, & Muir,
1999), family members and peers (Stice, 1998). Tantleff-Dunn and Gokee (2004)
suggest that reflective appraisal is used by many women, which suggests that what a
woman views in the cultural mirror is directly linked to her social worth. A
contributing cause of these self-destructive attitudes and behaviors is the constantly
surfacing unrealistic images of women. In the meantime, although emphasis on
appearance or attractiveness has been placed in Asian cultures as well, the ideal
beauty images among Asian cultures have been assimilated to a Westernized look
concurrently (Kramer, 2003). Through this assimilation or adaptation, media play a
central role. Isa and Kramer (2003) suggest that the media are largely responsible for
creating what they call a collective psyche (p. 42) as it relates to ideal beauty and
attractiveness because it is through the representation of beauty in fashion and
entertainment magazines and through the narrow representation of beauty that
readers and viewers perceptions and beliefs are formed. This may be especially true
for men and women in South Korea who view advertisements in magazines using
Caucasian-looking models.
Identifying ideal beauty
Understanding the factors related to perceptions of beauty are quite complex.
Defining what is beautiful for women and attempting to produce a norm for
attractiveness is unlikely, due to the numerous cultural interpretations of female
beauty (Langois, Kalakanis, Rubenstein, Larson, Hallam, & Smoot, 2000). Research
has traditionally analyzed Anglo-Saxon definitions of beauty, or one that is
beautiful, blond, young, slim, tall, virginal, and upper-class (Patton, 2006). Others
have found high cross-cultural agreement in the attractiveness rating of faces of
different ethnicities (Cunningham, Roberts, Wu, Barbee, & Druen, 1995; Jones,
1996). This suggests that if different people can agree on which faces are attractive
and which are not when judging faces of varying ethnic background, then . . . people
everywhere are using similar criteria in their judgments (Eisenthal, Dror, & Ruppin,
2006, p. 120). Isa and Kramer (2003) argue that the judgment of anothers
attractiveness can be made within 10 seconds because an individuals judgment of
another is largely based on aesthetics. Arguably, the media may be responsible for
this, and certainly, as US media and media content have become more global, the
homogenized representation of beauty and attractiveness results in more critical

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assessments of others. Thus, one question this study seeks to answer is how women
with varying appearances are evaluated by others. More simply, are women and men
from other cultures more accepting of a variety of representations of attractiveness?
Ideal attractiveness in South Korea
Although cross-cultural analyses of image ideals are limited, a few studies have
examined either the representation of beauty across different cultures or have
examined the way individuals in those cultures perceive attractiveness norms. For
example, Frith, Shaw, and Cheng (2005) examined womens fashion and beauty
magazines in the United States, China, and Taiwan to determine how or if portrayals
of beauty were different. They found that the ads published in US-based magazines
relied more heavily on sexuality, indicating that perceptions of beauty in the United
States may be based more on the entire body rather than facial characteristics. In a
study of cross-cultural perceptions of female attractiveness, Cunningham et al.
(1995) found that sexual maturity and or perceived sexual attractiveness appeared to
be strong predictors of increased attractiveness evaluations across Asian, Hispanic,
and White participants. Furthermore, in a second part of their project, they found
that evaluations of the models body contributed significantly to perceptions of the
models attractiveness.
In South Korea, while a significant amount of dieting and body-image research
has been conducted among marketing professionals, femininist scholars, and
governmental institutes locally (Park, 2007), few English-written studies have
examined young South Korean womens body-image perception (e.g. Yoon,
Thorson, & Lee, 2003) or cross-cultural differences on body-image (e.g. Jung &
Lee, 2006; Lennon, Rudd, Sloan, & Kim, 1999). Park (2007) argued that a
majority of local studies in dieting and body image have shown that pursuing ideal
body images enables women to achieve social recognition in a male-dominant
society. In many cases, studies of Westernization have been centered around
appearance or body-image research. What used to be considered a traditional
image of beauty in South Korea, being average or even overweight in size because
it represented abundance, has changed over the last few decades due to what some
are calling the Westernization of the country (Jung & Lee, 2006). In South Korea,
industrialization and modernization have occurred simultaneously along with the
adoption of Western cultural values and norms (Park, 2007) similar to Japan
(Kramer, 2003). This societal pressure has changed South Koreans perceptions of
ideal attractiveness and body image, calling on researchers to determine how South
Koreans perceive their body images or dieting, or compare the beauty or body
image based on the adoption of more Westernized ideals. Han (2003) examined the
influence of thin media images on young South Korean womens body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance and found that thin models in magazine ads have
mediating effects on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance. Lennon et al.
(1999) conducted a study comparing the attitudes, self-esteem, and body image
among South Korean, Singaporean, African American, and Caucasian American
college women and found that high self-esteem was associated with positive
body images and non-traditional attitudes toward gender roles for women in all
three countries. Jung and Lee (2006) found, in their comparison of appearance
self-schema, body image, self-esteem, and dieting behavior between South Korean

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and US women, that South Korean women placed greater importance on

appearance, were more critical of their bodies, and had lower self-esteem than
US women. The researchers argued that the differences found across their samples
were a result of cultural difference.
As a result, desiring a thin body has become a societal obsession for South
Korean women (Han, 2003, p. 65). Lee, Popkin, and Kim (2002) reported that South
Korea has a low prevalence of obesity compared to other Asian countries. Wardel,
Haase, and Steptoe (2006) analyzed female college students perceived self body
image, desire to lose weight and their actual BMI among 22 countries. The authors
found that young South Korean women had the lowest BMI across a sample of
women and men in 22 countries but had the greatest desire to lose weight. However,
ironically, Lee, Popkin, and Kim (2002) reported that the traditional South Korean
diet which is a low-fat and high-vegetable diet has not changed despite the
introduction of Western culture. The results from these studies indicate that even
though South Korean men and women have displayed a tendency to adopt and
model Western traditions in many areas, that adoption of traditions has not carried
over into the consumption of food because South Korean men and women recognize
the poor quality of many popular US foods and recognize that the traditional South
Korean diet is a healthier choice.
At the same time, South Korean womens desire to have facial appearances
similar to Caucasian women has led to increases in plastic surgery over the last
several decades. Rainwater-McClure, Reed, and Kramer (2003) write of the
increased use of cosmetic surgery to alter ones facial or body features across
multiple cultures and further argue that to alter ones features to appear Western is
evidence of double consciousness and the acceptance of the beauty myth around
the world (p. 225). As it relates specifically to individuals from Asian countries, the
authors write that the beauty ideal for Asian women is internalized in relation to the
Western eyelid and further write that one of the main reasons Asian women undergo
these procedures is for the purpose of making their appearance more like
mainstream America (Rainwater-McClure et al., 2003, p. 227). However, the
beauty ideals as represented through facial appearance are just one area in which
Asian women and men are seeking more Westernized looks. During the past decades,
the beauty and plastic surgery industries in South Korea have increased dramatically.
The research conducted by the Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) in
2002 showed that the beauty industry has a considerable portion in the domestic
market with approximately US$5.5 billion in cosmetics, US$0.5 billion in plastic
surgery, and US$1 billion in dieting. Recently, the city of Seoul had a city-wide
survey addressing whether South Koreans expressed a desire to have plastic surgery
during 2007, and the results showed 41.4% of teenagers wanted to do so (Seoul City
Government, 2008). As Herman (2006) reported, young South Korean males are
also choosing to have plastic surgery in the hopes of getting a better job. Although
many factors are involved in the obsession South Korean women and men have with
their bodies, few empirical studies have attempted to examine the influence of media,
especially US media, on ideal attractiveness estimation towards others among South
Koreans.

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Theoretical framework
Understanding such complex issues can, to some extent, be explained with
cultivation theory (Gerbner, 1998; Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1994).
Overall, cultivation theory suggests that exposure and frequency of a message
disseminated through a media form influences perception; in other words, the more
media a person is exposed to, the more he/she will interpret the message to be valid.
Hesse-Biber, Leavy, Quinn, and Zoino (2006) examined four social psychological
theories, including cultivation theory, to better understand how women are exposed
to and affected by the media as it relates to body-image distortion and the cult of
thinness. They argue that these theories offer a nexus of influence and provide
important clues to our understanding of the pervasive influence and impact of these
industries on the development of Eating Disorders in women (Hesse-Biber et al.,
2006, p. 208). While Hesse-Biber and colleagues did not study beauty and
attractiveness on a more general level, they do suggest that the image-obsessed
culture in which we live is partially responsible for creating culturally-induced
diseases that profit from womens obsession to modify their image because of
dissatisfaction with it. Lastly, they argue that it is the repeated exposure to ideal
imagery in the mass media that leave women with feelings of unhappiness and
dissatisfaction.
Levine and Smolak (1996) expanded on this line of thinking by stating that the
constant repetition of certain forms and themes (values) as well as the constant
omission of certain types of people, actions, and stories, powerfully influence and
homogenizes viewers conceptions of social reality (p. 250). Media frequently project
images of femininity, beauty, success, and body shape (Cusamano & Thompson,
1997), and it is through repeated exposure to these consistent and pervasive types of
images that women become cultivated to think about beauty and attractiveness using
a single framework. Cultivation theory suggests that the more a female is exposed to
visuals of a specific ideal, the more likely she will begin to view the images as real and
attainable. This additive assumption focuses on the mere exposure to such media,
but does not control for frequency of exposure. Overall, cultivation theory allows
researchers to make assertions about exposure rather than the content individuals
are being exposed to; yet, content analyses of entertainment media indicate that what
we see (regardless of the medium or channel) reinforces these image ideals.
The examination of the medias influence as it pertains specifically to cultivation
theory has been expanded and applied in other cultures. Saito (2007) showed the
cultivation effect of television on gender-role attitudes. Also, given the prevalence of
US media across the world, many researchers have examined the cultivation effect of
US media on their local countries. Pingree and Hawkins (1981) found that US
television programs have influenced the perceptions of violence of Australian
children who are more exposed to US television programs than local television
programs. Particularly in South Korea, exposure to US television programs has been
accompanied with rapid economic growth following the Korean War. The American
Forces Korea Network (AFKN, which is now called AFN) has aired in South Korea
for almost 65 years. Although the network was designed for US militaries armed in
South Korea for US entertainments and news, it has been easily accessed by South
Korean people as well (Kim, n.d.). Kang and Morgan (1988) reported that
approximately 52% of college students in South Korea watched AFKN-TV for

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more than an hour a day, and it remained popular until South Korean networks were
developed. With this popularity of American television programs, especially
entertainment programs, Kang and Morgan (1988) reported that American
television programs contributed to the Westernization of traditional cultures in
South Korea.
Just as American television programs become more popular and widely viewed
across the country, Westernized appearance and attractiveness have been pervasive
for South Koreans (Jung & Lee, 2006) as well. Oh (2004) argues that the
attractiveness ideals found in US media immediately influenced the image ideals
of commercial models and entertainers and, as a result, both groups became
significantly thinner and took steps to alter the shape of their face in order to
emulate what was seen in the US media. As a result, commercial models and
entertainers shown on television promoted the importance of slim bodies and
Western features in South Korean society (Jang, 2008). Moreover, the globalized
media networks allow South Korean people to watch current US television programs
(Jang, 2008). For young South Korean females, Sex and the City now becomes a
bible for their shopping, showing that the profits of Manolo Blahnik have increased
dramatically in the South Korean market (Jang, 2008). Not only do the Westernized
South Korean celebrities in the media affect the beauty perceptions of South Korean
people, but American celebrities or people in reality shows also influence the way
South Korean people perceive body images and attractiveness. Although several
studies have shown that US media have had an influence on politics (Kim, n.d.), on
the beauty/fashion industry (Oh, 2004) and on an individuals value system (Kang &
Morgan, 1988), little research has attempted to show the influence of US media on
South Koreans perceptions of ideal attractiveness using cultivation as the theoretical
foundation for the study.
This study examines several predictors of respondents evaluations of the faces
seen in this study; ethnicity, exposure to entertainment media, perceived pressure to
be thin, and beliefs about cultural perceptions to be attractive. Also, the present
study examined how ideal attractiveness among South Koreans is related to exposure
to US media. Literature in the area and the proposed theoretical framework suggest
several of the above independent variables serve as potential predictors of what we
are calling the Americanization of beauty. That said, these independent variables are
exploratory in nature in that we examine several of them in combination to see
which, if any, serve as better predictors of a more ethnocentric perspective on beauty
and attractiveness.
Based on the literature reviewed, the following research questions are posed:
RQ1: How does media exposure relate to attractiveness estimations across the two
groups of participants?
RQ2: How does exposure to US media relate to attractiveness estimations among South
Korean participants?
RQ3: What factors are related to higher or lower attractiveness evaluations: selfdiscrepancy, socio-cultural attitudes for self, socio-cultural attitudes for others,
perceived media influence, and media reliance?
RQ4: What differences exist between US and South Korea participants evaluations of
the models attractiveness and femininity?
RQ5: How do self-discrepancy and BMI relate to attractiveness evaluations?

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Method
Participants
In order to draw comparisons between exposure to photographs of 17 models faces
and the subsequent attitudes that might be related to that exposure, undergraduate
male and female students at two major state universities in the southern United
States were recruited in undergraduate courses in mass communication, communication, psychology and education during the Spring 2008 semester. South Korean
participants were recruited through contacts at universities throughout South Korea
who offered extra credit for participation in the research project. The total obtained
sample was 474, with 314 (66.2%) US participants and 160 (33.8%) South Korean
participants. While one of the main objectives of this study was to examine crosscultural differences in the evaluations of beauty and femininity, we wanted to know
how gender might have an interaction effect in the attractiveness assessments when
also examining participants country of origin. Of the sample, 73% was female and
27% was male.
Procedures
To examine participants evaluations of the 17 models attractiveness and femininity,
women of different ethnicities and cultures were chosen, and images of the models
upper bodies and faces were selected so that evaluations would not be based on body
shape or size. To select the images used in this project, a pretest was conducted with 35
images of women with a broad range of appearance attributes. Participants completed
an online survey, which contained 17 color images of women from around the world
and were asked to evaluate each according to perceived attractiveness, perceived
femininity and participants beliefs about how society would view the model.
Participants answered several other questions related to media use and exposure,
socio-cultural attitudes, self-discrepancy, and the perceived influence of the media.
Independent variables
Media exposure
The second series of research questions examined participants exposure to the media
(television and magazines) and compared those responses to their evaluations of
attractiveness and femininity. Respondents were asked to first report the number of
days per week they spent viewing television (M5.08, SD 2.11). Then, participants
were asked to list the television programs they watched with the most frequency.
Participants could list up to 10 television shows they watched with any frequency, and
then participants indicated their frequency of viewing each of the 10 shows using the
following response items (regularly watch, often watch, sometimes watch, rarely
watch). The researchers created a list of the television shows listed by participants and
then assigned each of the television programs listed a numerical code so a more precise
measure of television viewing could be assessed. The list included more than 37 shows,
including shows aired in the USA and South Korea. In some cases, South Korean
participants indicated watching US television programs, so a separate code was
created for those shows. The television programs viewed with the most frequency by
the US sample were Greys Anatomy, Americas Next Top Model, and Project Runway,

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and the US television programs viewed with the most frequency by the South Korean
sample were Americas Next Top Model and Project Runway. This information allowed
for the testing for research question RQ2, whereas the goal was to determine if
participants from both countries who read the same versions of the magazines would
have similar scores on the attractiveness and femininity evaluations. To generate a
measure of South Korean TV exposure and US TV exposure, programs were recoded
as US TV programs and South Korean TV programs. South Korean participants
answers for each 10-program list were multiplied by its frequency (regularly watch 4,
often watch 3, sometimes watch 2, rarely watch 1), and all 10 numbers were
summed. The mean of South Korean TV exposure was 7.51 programs (SD 6.13) and
the mean of US TV exposure was 1.64 programs (SD 2.70).
To generate South Korean magazine exposure and US-licensed magazine
exposure for RQ2, magazines were recoded as US-licensed magazines and South
Korean magazines. South Korean participants answers for each 10-magazine list
were multiplied by its frequency (regularly read4, often read3, sometimes
read2, rarely read1), and all 10 numbers were summed. The mean of South
Korean magazine exposure was 2.62 magazines (SD2.89) and the mean of US
magazine exposure was 3.12 magazines (SD 3.22).
Internet use
Participants were asked to report the average number of times they used Internet in a
day: 34% of participants reported using the Internet for 3
4 hours (n162); 31% of
participants used the Internet for 1
2 hours (n 146); 27% of participants used it
more than 5 hours (n 129); 7% of participants used it less than 1 hour (n 33); and
0.6% of participants answered none (n3).
Media reliance (MR)
Several items measured participants reliance on the media for information about
health, diet, fashion, and careers. Participants were asked to respond to the following
statements: If I want information about fashion or what is currently in style, I rely
on the media; If I want information about womens health issues, I turn to the
media; If I want information about careers, I turn to the media; If I want
information about how to lose weight, I turn to the media. Responses to these items
were on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree
(5). The four-item scale had a Cronbachs alpha of .79.
Perceived media influence (PMI)
Similar items measured participants beliefs about the importance the media place on
attractiveness and thinness ideals. Examples of these items are as follows: I feel the
media reinforce cultural norms about what is considered beautiful in society; I feel
the media tell other people in society what types of people are beautiful. Responses
to these items were on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to
strongly agree (5). A higher number represented a greater belief that the media are
responsible for shaping societal and cultural norms about attractiveness. This fiveitem scale had a Cronbachs alpha of .76.

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Socio-cultural attitude toward self (SAS)

Other independent variables related to cultural pressures to conform to image ideals
were two scales assessing participants beliefs about the importance of particular
physical attributes and the degree of emphasis the US placed on similar physical
attributes. The first scale contained seven items asking participants to indicate how
important the each feature was to them: to be thin; to be tall; to be muscular; to be
athletic; to be attractive; to be sexy; and to be feminine. Responses ranged from 0
4,
from I dont know to extremely important, with a higher number indicating
greater importance. The seven-item scale has a Cronbachs alpha of .72.
Socio-cultural attitudes toward US (SAUS)
The scale measured related beliefs and perceptions about the perceived emphasis of
the same physical attributes to people who live in the United States. Participants in
the USA and in South Korea were asked the same questions. The objective of this
was to determine if the values an individual placed on those physical attributes was
perceived to be greater or less than the perceived value of others in US culture.
Participants were shown the same seven attributes and asked to assess the
importance others would place on those attributes. This seven-item scale also
proved reliable with an alpha of .88.
Self-discrepancy (SD)
Using an unpublished scale created by Cash (see Cash & Szymanski, 1995), a selfdiscrepancy scale was created. Respondents were asked to evaluate different physical
attributes in terms of what they viewed as ideal for themselves. Respondents were
asked about eight separate physical attributes for themselves with statements such as,
my ideal weight is exactly as I am, almost as I am, somewhat like me, fairly unlike
me and very unlike me. The eight items proved to be reliable with a Cronbachs alpha
of .86. Respondents were then asked the importance of the eight same body attributes
with statements such as how important to you is your ideal weight? Responses ranged
from not at all important to very important (Cronbachs alpha .87). Responses to
the eight statements were used to create an additive scale measuring participants selfdiscrepancy scale. The mean response for the self-discrepancy scale was 5.15
(SD1.07) on a scale ranging from 2
8.25, with a higher number representing lower
satisfaction (i.e., greater self-discrepancy) with their appearance.
Demographics
Participants were also asked several questions related to their demographics, and
gender and body mass index (BMI) were used as predictor variables for RQ5.
Participants were asked to report their height and weight so that their BMI could be
calculated. The BMI was calculated using http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ and
then recoded into four groups according to the following designations: underweight
(less than 18.5); normal (between 18.5 and 24.9); overweight (between 25 to 29.9);
and obesity (over 30).

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Dependent variables
Three key variables were used as dependent variables for this project: participants
evaluations of each models attractiveness (AttE), femininity (FemE), and their
projections on how society would view the model in attractiveness (SE). After
viewing each projected image of a model, respondents were asked to evaluate each
model on the three items using the following responses: 1 extremely attractive to
10 extremely unattractive (these responses were used for the self-evaluations and
the projected evaluations of others); 10extremely masculine to 1extremely
feminine. Once all data was entered, the femininity responses were reverse-coded so
that a higher number represented greater perceived femininity. The overall scale
mean of AttE was 6.05 (SD 1.21), the overall scale mean of FemE was 7.11 (SD 
1.32), and the overall scale mean of SE was 6.43 (SD1.10) (see Table 1).
Results
Media exposure and attractiveness estimations
RQ1 explored how media exposure related to attractiveness estimations. Multiple
regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of media exposure
including TV exposure, magazine exposure, and Internet usage on AttE (see Table 2).
Results of the multiple regression test indicated that only the model including
magazine exposure was a significant predictor, R2 .009, adjusted R2 .007, F(1,
461) 4.289, p.039. Additionally, the effect of media exposure on FemE was
examined. Results of the regression test indicated that the model only including
magazine exposure was a significant predictor, R2 .014, adjusted R2 .012, F(1,
461) 6.383, p .012. However, media exposure did not affect SE.
To explore differences between participants from the two countries, further
statistical tests were conducted. However, there is no significant media exposure
predictor on AttE, FemE, and SE in both South Korean participants and USA
participants.

US media exposure and attractiveness estimations in South Korean participants

RQ2 asked how US media exposure affected the attractiveness estimations among
South Korean participants. US TV exposure, South Korean TV exposure, US-licensed
magazine exposure, and South Korean magazine exposure were examined (see Table 3).
Results of multiple regression analysis showed that all four variables were
significant for AttE. When considering the adjusted R2 and the significance, the third
model which included South Korean magazine exposure and US-licensed magazine
Table 1. Descriptive statistics: means, standard deviations, and correlations of dependent
variables.

1. Attractiveness evaluation (AttE)

2. Femininity evaluation (FemE)
3. Projections on societal evaluation on attractiveness (SE)
Note: All correlations are significant at the pB .01 level.

Mean

SD

6.05
7.11
6.43

1.21
1.32
1.10

.00
.00

.00

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K.L. Bissell and J.Y. Chung

Table 2. Descriptive statistics: media exposures.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

TV exposure
Magazine exposure
Sports TV exposure
Internet use
AttE
FemE
SE

.513
.003
.959
.979
.783
.908

.625
.128
.037*
.011*
.093

.206
.945
.062
.996

.699
.567
.968

.000**
.000**

.000**

Notes: **. Correlation is significant at the p B.01 level.

*. Correlation is significant at the pB.05 level.

exposure was most reasonable, R2 .108, adjusted R2 .089, F(2, 97) 5.856, p 
.004.
For FemE, results from multiple regression analysis indicated that South Korean
TV exposure and US-licensed magazine exposure were significant predictors. When
considering the adjusted R2 and the significance, the fourth model which only
included US-licensed magazine exposure was most reasonable, R2 0.068, adjusted
R2 0.058, F(1, 98) 7.141, p .009. For SE, results from multiple regression
analysis showed that South Korean TV exposure, South Korean magazine exposure
and US-licensed magazine exposure were significant predictors. When considering
the adjusted R2 and the significance, the third model which only included USlicensed magazines exposure and South Korean magazine exposure was most
reasonable, R2 0.065, adjusted R2 0.045, F(2, 97) 3.352, p.039.
Additionally, to explore how US media exposure affected South Korean
participants self-discrepancy, further statistical analysis was conducted. Results
from multiple regression analysis showed that US TV exposure and South Korean
magazine reading were significant predictors for South Korean participants selfdiscrepancy. When considering the adjusted R2 and significance, the third model
which included US TV and South Korean magazines was most reasonable, R2 
0.061, adjusted R2 0.042, F(2, 97) 3.169, p .046. Table 4 summarizes the results
of multiple regression analyses.
Table 3. Descriptive statistics: media exposure among Korean participants.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
6.

US TV exposure
Korean TV exposure
US-licensed magazine exposure
Korean magazine exposure
AttE
FemE
SE
SD

.007
.177
.725
.900
.962
.746
.084

.578
.095
.141
.389
.255
.601

.066
.091
.008
.071
.543

.002**
.628
.034*
.036*.

.000**
.000**
025*

.000**
.397

.057

Notes: **.Correlation is significant at the p B.01 level.

*.Correlation is significanta at the pB.05 level.

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239

Factors related to attractiveness evaluation

To explore what other factors might be related to attractiveness evaluations (AttE),
self-discrepancy (SD), socio-cultural attitudes for self (SAS) and perceived others
(SAUS), media reliance (MR) and the perceived influence of the media (PMI) were
examined (see Table 5).
The result of several multiple regression analyses showed that when the model
included SAUS, PMI, and SD, it had more explanatory power, R2 0.054, adjusted
R2 0.046, F(3, 355)6.815, pB.001. To explore differences between South Korean
and US participants responses, further statistical tests were conducted. Results of
multiple regression analysis indicate that the model including SAUS, PMI, and SD is
most suitable, R2 .060, adjusted R2 .046, F(3, 202) 5.710, p .006.
For South Korean participants, results indicate that the model including MR and
SD, is most suitable, R2 .048, adjusted R2 .036, F(2, 150) 5.135, p.024.
Standardized beta coefficient was .137 and .130 for MR and SD, respectively, in the
final model. Table 6 summarizes the results of multiple regression analyses.

Cultural differences in attractiveness estimations

RQ4 explored whether differences existed between US and South Korean participants evaluations of the models attractiveness and femininity. Results of t-tests
indicated that, as predicted, there were significant differences on AttE between US
and South Korean participants (t4.992, p B.001). Also, nationality made
significant differences on FemE (t5.496, pB.001) There were also significant
differences between US and South Korean participants on SE (t4.120, p B.001).
US participants scored higher on AttE, FemE, and SE than South Korean
participants.
For the AttE, other than nationality, BMI and gender did not make any
significant difference on attractiveness evaluations. For FemE, other than nationality, gender proved to be the strongest predictor of differences in femininity
evaluations (t3.268, p .001). However, a factorial ANOVA test showed that there
was no interaction between gender and nationality. In other words, both US and
South Korean male participants assigned the models higher femininity scores than
both US and South Korean female participants. BMI was not a significant predictor
of higher or lower femininity evaluations. Furthermore, for SE, gender and BMI
were not significant predictors of higher or lower projections on societal evaluation.
Table 4. Multiple regression analysis.

AttE
FemE
SE
SD

US-licensed magazine exposure

Korean magazine exposure
US-licensed magazine exposure
US-licensed magazine exposure
Korean magazine exposure
Korean magazine exposure
US TV exposure

R2

adjusted R2

beta

.108

.809

.004

.068
.065

.058
.045

.009
.039

.061

.042

.046

.115
.287
.261
.145
.184
.204
.133

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K.L. Bissell and J.Y. Chung

Table 5. Descriptive statistics: media exposures.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

SAS
SAUS
MR
PMI
SD
AttE

.000**
.000**.
.000**.
.000**
.238

.038*
.006**
.940
.000**

.000**
.000**
.594

.000**
.011*

.123

Notes: **. Correlation is significant at the pB.01 level.

*. Correlation is at the significant pB.05 level.

Overall, only nationality made a difference on AttE and SE. However, for FemE,
nationality and gender made differences.

Self-discrepancy and BMI

RQ5 was designed to examine the relationship between self-discrepancy (SD), BMI,
and attractiveness evaluations (AttE). From the results of RQ4, SD was found to be a
significant predictor in overall attractiveness evaluations. However, from the results of
RQ4, there were no significant differences in AttE among the four different BMI
groups. Results of an ANCOVA test show that BMI and SD together were not
significant predictors in AttE. However, there was a discrepancy between US
participants and South Korean participants. For US participants, there were
significant differences on SD, with obese participants having the highest SE. However,
there was no significant difference on AttE among four groups (BMI), and SD was not
a significant predictor for attractiveness evaluation. For South Korean participants,
there was no significant difference on SD among four groups (BMI). However, there
were significant differences on AttE among four groups (BMI). Results from the posthoc analysis of Tukeys HSD test revealed significant differences between participants
classified as overweight and the other three groups (see Table 7).
Self-discrepancy was also a significant predictor of AttE. Results of an ANCOVA
test showed that BMI and SD together were significant predictors in AttE, R2 .150,
adjusted R2 .107, F(7, 139) 3.498, p .002. In other words, the higher the SD
score, the higher the AttE was for every group. Also, the lowest AttE scores were
Table 6. Multiple regression analysis.

AttE

AttE of US participants

AttE of Korean participants

SAUS
PMI
SD
SAUS
PMI
SD
MR
SD

R2

adjusted R2

beta

.054

.046

B.001

.060

.046

.006

.048

.036

.024

.169
.122
0.111
.142
.148
0.185
.137
.130

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241

Table 7. Post-hoc analysis: Tukey HSD.

(I) BMI_

(J) BMI_

Underweight

Normal
Overweight
Obese
Underweight
Overweight
Obese
Underweight
Normal
Obese
Underweight
Normal
Overweight

Normal

Overweight

Obese

Mean difference (I
J)

Std. error

Sig.

.023
1.05*
1.53
.023
1.07*
1.50
1.05*
1.07*
2.57*
1.53
1.50
2.57*

.23
.37
.81
.23
.33
.79
.37
.33
.84
.81
.79
.84

1.000
.025
.236
1.000
.007
.231
.025
.007
.014
.236
.231
.014

Notes: *.The mean difference is significant at the pB.05 level.

found in participants classified as overweight, and this was statistically significant

compared to other groups.
Discussion
Scholars have examined the medias influence on appearance norms and ideals for
decades, determining that increased exposure to media, especially thin-ideal media, is
related to a cultivation of perceptions about standards of beauty and thinness for the
self and others. Many studies have addressed the complex factors related to the
beliefs that thinness and attractiveness are the only acceptable norm for women, and
increasingly girls; however, individual traits and characteristics such as general selfesteem, body self-esteem, socio-cultural attitudes, age, ethnicity and cultural
differences are important variables as well. Scholars do know a good bit about the
way young women in the USA uphold norms and beliefs about appearance ideals,
but significantly less empirical data exists documenting these belief patterns in other
countries and even fewer studies exists that use a cross-cultural analysis to examine
the phenomenon. It is further relevant to determine how or if US media are creating
a sense of lost cultural identity because of the narrow view of beauty and
attractiveness being presented to readers and viewers. This study of 474 South
Korean and US college women and men measured media use and media preferences,
their beliefs about the importance of appearance attributes and self-discrepancy to
determine if these factors shaped the way participants viewed attractiveness in
others. This survey of the college men and women yielded interesting but conflicting
results with regard to potential correlates of higher or lower appearance evaluations.
However, because of the size of the sample and the inclusion of participants from
two very different cultures, the hope is that the results may prove helpful in
understanding the complicated factors related to womens desire to adopt or emulate
societal beliefs that uphold attractiveness as an important attribute.
This cross-cultural analysis examined factors that might influence others
perceptions of attractiveness and beauty in others. As reported, of all the media
exposure variables examined here, magazine reading proved to be the strongest

242

K.L. Bissell and J.Y. Chung

predictor of higher or lower attractiveness evaluations. Although much research on

cultivation theory acknowledges that it is the repetition of themes or patterns on
television that lead to a cultivation effect, we would argue that similar types of
themes and patterns evident in fashion and entertainment magazines could have a
similar effect, especially when the content itself is related to messages about ideal
beauty and ideal thinness (Pompper & Koenig, 2004). Han (2003) found that
exposure to thin-ideal characters in television had no relationship to body
dissatisfaction among young South Korean females but she found that exposure
to thin-ideal content in magazines did have a significant, positive relationship to
higher levels of body dissatisfaction. Results such as this have been found in women
with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, as Pompper and Koenig (2004)
reported that exposure to attractive images in magazines was related to young
Hispanic women becoming more weight-conscious.
One of the most important contributions of this project to mass communication
scholars is what was learned about participants use of the media, especially South
Korean participants use of US media. While it was not unexpected to find US
participants interested in programming such as Americas Next Top Model or Project
Runway, it was a little surprising to learn these US-based television programs were
among the favorites in the South Korean sample. Furthermore, female South Korean
participants listed US-licensed fashion and beauty magazines such as Cosmo Korea
and Vogue Korea as the most widely read. This suggests that the way beauty and
attractiveness are defined and presented to US readers may be assimilating with
other societies and cultures, thus shaping their own perceptions about ideal beauty
and attractiveness. When examining the mean attractiveness evaluation scores across
the sample, one of the models who received one of the highest attractiveness score
from South Korean participants was a Caucasian model who did not epitomize the
blonde bombshell stereotype, but who still had very soft, feminine features in her
face, and this same model received the second-highest attractiveness score from US
participants. A close second in terms of overall appearance evaluations from the
South Korean sample was a model with very distinct Caucasian characteristics:
blonde hair, blue eyes, soft facial features and highly feminine, and this model
received the highest attractiveness scores from US participants. A third model
receiving high scores across the sample was another blonde, Caucasian model with
similar facial features and a very soft look. The unknown question still remains if
exposure to US media is responsible for this convergence of thought on ideal
appearance or if other factors are playing an important role in the development of a
belief system about ideal beauty. The results from this study indicate that exposure to
US-licensed magazines was a significant predictor of appearance evaluations. This
finding is congruent with Yoon, Thorson, and Lees (2003) finding of the influence of
foreign media on body-image processing. In the meantime, when examining the
magazines the South Korean participants read that were not US-based, what was
found were many images where models still had a Westernized look. US celebrities
are also quite popular in the advertisements seen in these magazines, so it is quite
possible that even though the magazines were based in South Korea for South
Korean readers, the representation or presentation of attractiveness through the lens
of US attractiveness norms is partially responsible for shaping young South Korean
women and mens perceptions about beauty. As magazines have shaped American

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243

readers understanding of American culture (Kitch, 2006), they appear to be quite

influential in other cultures as well.
Other possible influences on attractiveness estimations are those more individualistic in nature. Several studies have examined the relationship between BMI or
waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and female beauty (DeSoto, & Kopp, 2003; Fisher &
Voracek, 2006; Swami, Caprario, Tovee, & Furham, 2006). WHR has been found to
be positively correlated to BMI and both have been found to explain variance in
attractiveness evaluations of others. In this study, BMI was only a significant
predictor of higher or lower attractiveness scores among participants classified as
overweight. However, when participant BMI was compared with participants level
of self-discrepancy, significant relationships emerged. As levels of self-discrepancy
decreased, meaning the individual had a more positive self-image of his/her body
shape, appearance evaluations increased, but only for the US sample. There is little
doubt that an individuals sense of self, including that individuals self-evaluation of
attractiveness, femininity/masculinity, and body shape may be factors that influence
how that individual evaluates others. Additionally, South Korean respondents had
higher self-discrepancy than US respondents; in other words, South Korean
respondents were more dissatisfied with their overall appearance than US
respondents, congruent with previous research (Jung & Lee, 2006; Park, 2000).
While it is erroneous to conclude that the media are solely responsible for a
negative outcome with respect to ideal beauty, it is argued the media, in combination
with other outside influences, help shape the world in which these women and men
feel they have to be attractive in order to be popular or successful. Cultivation theory
(Gerbner et al., 1994) offers one approach for better understanding how notions of
ideal beauty have become adopted and accepted by women across ethnic and socioeconomic groups, across women from different countries, and across age groups. If
the television world presents its viewers with images of only attractive characters, and
women and men are exposed to these images with some frequency over a long period
of time, those same viewers worldview may be similar to the mediated view as
presented to them. Even more, when it comes to global media networks, the media
may be responsible for influencing others to negotiate their own cultural values with
respect to adopting what is considered to be more mainstream or acceptable. Along
these lines, of particular note were the findings for RQ4: the models receiving the
lowest attractiveness scores across the sample were the models least likely to be
represented in US and South Korean entertainment media. Certainly, participants
could be experiencing a degree of interpersonal attraction to the models who looked
more glamorous and/or celebrities whom they see on television, in advertisements, in
magazines and on the Internet. The message from this is simple: if average women do
not possess the appearance qualities of that seen in entertainment and fashion
media, they may not be perceived as attractive or as desirable by others.
Limitations
The use of a convenience sample, and one from two geographic regions, limits the
generalizability of the studys findings. It is possible that a random sampling of
women older than college-aged in the two geographic regions would have resulted in
different attractiveness evaluations of the 17 models. A second limitation was the
single measure of overall body dissatisfaction, in this case, self-discrepancy. While the

244

K.L. Bissell and J.Y. Chung

measure is reliable in terms of assessing an individuals perception of self compared

to her vision of her ideal self, other measures of body dissatisfaction and body selfesteem could have been included.

Directions for future research

This studys findings may lend themselves to further exploration under the broader
auspices of communication ecologies. Given the lack of precision of the media
exposure measures, it appears that participants more critical assessment of the
models may be related within a broader communicative context. Failure to account
for the breadth of influences on an individual oversimplifies, and perhaps overexaggerates, the relationship between the target recipient of a message and a single
source or opinion-leader. As young girls grow older and are exposed to more thinideal media content, or are potentially exposed to more frequent discussions about
body image with peers, they are also more likely to engage in social comparison with
media models and with models within their social group; furthermore, they are more
likely to be exposed to media content that touts the benefits of thinness and
attractiveness at the expense of exposure to content with characters representing
more diverse body types and appearances. Finally, if young girls and boys are
learning from an early age to expect mediated representations of beauty in others
and in themselves, they will be set up to live a lifetime of dissatisfaction and low selfesteem because of these perceived inadequacies.
Notes on contributors
Kim Bissell (PhD, Syracuse University, 1999) is an associate professor in the Department of
Journalism at the University of Alabama. Bissell is also the Southern Progress Corporation
Endowed Professor in Magazine Journalism. Her professional experience is as a sports
photographer and photojournalist for magazines and newspapers. Her research interests are in
the area of the social effects of mass media as it relates to body-image distortion, appearance
anxiety and anti-fat bias in adolescent and adult samples.
Jee Young Chung is a doctoral student at The University of Alabama. She worked for
cosmetics companies in South Korea and this professional experience led her to study beauty
image research. Her primary research focuses on public relations especially issues management
and organizational legitimacy.

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