Sex Roles, Vol. 33, Nos.

3/4, 1995

Brief Report

Feminist Ideology as a Predictor of Body

Dissatisfaction in Women I
Michelle Dionne, 2 Caroline Davis, John Fox, and Maria Gurevich
York University

A relationship between feminist attitudes and body satisfaction has been

suggested in the literature, but has received no empirical support. Multiple
regression analyses were performed on a sample of 200 primarily Caucasian
women. Results indicated that after controlling for certain known predictors
of body dissatisfaction, the Physical Attractiveness (PA) subscale of the CFIS
was negatively related to both General and Specific Body Dissatisfaction, but
that the total CFIS score was not. These findings suggest that women's feminist
attitudes regarding physical attractiveness relate significantly to body
satisfaction, but an overall feminist identification does not. Applications of
this finding may contribute to the reduction of women's excessive concerns
with their bodies.

Contemporary western culture extols the virtues of slenderness while pro-

moting a fear of fat. Fashion' magazines, billboards and television adver-
tisements are replete with images of young, super-slim women that portray
these bodies not only as the ideal, but as the normal. As a disturbing con-
sequence, poor body image has become so entrenched in the feminine gen-
der-role in our society that it is considered "normative" (Rodin, Silberstein,
& Striegel-Moore, 1985). Throughout recent history these beauty ideals
have been changing toward an increasing preference for the ideal male
body type to be mesomorphic and for the female to be thin and fragile.
Mishkind, Rodin, Silberstein, and Striegel-Moore (1986) suggest this to be
a societal reaffirmation of traditional sex-roles at a time when women are

1The authors wish to thank Adele LeMaire for her assistance with the data collection.
ZTo whom correspondence should be addressed at 343 Bethune College, York University,
4700 Keele Street, North York, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada.

277
0360-0025/95/0800-0277507.50/0© 1995PlenumPublishingCorporation
278 Dionne et al.

moving in very non-traditional directions. Further, for women, these ideals

appear to be changing with the increasing emphasis placed on their pro-
fessional competence, and there is evidence that women who worry about
other's perceptions of their intelligence will desire a slimmer standard of
attractiveness (Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986).
It is arguable that a woman who spurns the societal emphasis on physi-
cal attractiveness in determining her worth would have a more positive view
of her own body. Indeed, studies of lesbian women have provided support
for the notion that the rejection of certain patriarchal ideals, including
those surrounding body image and dieting, serves as a buffer against weight
and diet concerns (e.g., Herzog, Newman, Yeh, & Warshaw, 1992; Brand,
Rothblum, & Solomon, 1992). Relatedly, feminist ideology emphasizes that
a woman's subjective physical beauty should not be so influential in deter-
mining her self-worth. Not surprisingly, feminist writers, researchers, and
theorists have shown great interest in the societal and political interpreta-
tion of the troubled relationship that women have with their bodies
(Wooley, Wooley, & Dyrenforth, 1979; Boshkind-Lodhal, 1976; Orbach,
1986).
Despite the abundance of theoretical arguments, there are few ex-
amples of focused empirical study of the relationship between feminist
attitudes and body image.. Past research has shown that both men and
women who hold traditional gender-role orientations tend to prefer mus-
cular, traditionally masculine, male body types (Lavrakas, 1975; Maier &
Lavrakas, 1984). In more recent studies dealing specifically with women's
body image, both Mintz and Betz (1986) and Kelson, Kearney-Cooke,
and Lansky (1990) concluded, on the basis of their findings, that feminist
ideology played no mediating role in women' body esteem. On the basis
of a principal components analysis performed on a relatively small sam-
ple, Xinaris and Boland (1990) also suggested that feminist attitudes were
unrelated to disordered eating, a factor closely related to body dissatis-
faction.
These predicted relationships may have been obscured by the use of
unidimensional scales to quantify feminist ideology, therefore, failing to rec-
ognize the heterogeneity of this belief system. For example, although it is
reasonable to assume that a 'feminist' attitude toward the importance of
women's attractiveness to men would be related to body image, it is more
difficult to hypothesize a similar relationship between body image and sup-
port for day care or affirmative action. An updated, multidimensional psy-
chometric instrument will be used in the current study for the measurement
of feminist ideology in order to capture the diversity of issues and the
agenda of the advocates of modern feminism.
Feminist Ideology and Body Dissatisfaction 279

In addition to assessing the influence of feminist ideology, the pre-

sent study will take account of several other relevant factors in the in-
vestigation of body dissatisfaction in women. These include physical
activity participation (see Garner, Rockert, Olmsted, Johnson, & Coscina,
1985), neuroticism, previously shown to positively relate to body dissat-
isfaction, (e.g., Davis, 1990; Hollin, Houston, & Kent, 1985), and objec-
tive measures of body size, given the strong positive relationship between
body composition and body disparagement (e.g., Davis, Durnin, Gure-
vich, LeMaire, & Dionne, 1993). While most research has only addressed
the undergraduate population, the present study has broadened the range
of ages studied.

METHOD

Subjects

Two hundred women between the ages of 17 and 48 (median = 28.5)

were tested. Volunteers were solicited from among the students, staff, and
faculty of a large Canadian University, and were primarily Caucasian, yet
represented a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Participants were
advised that the purpose of the study was to assess attitudes and behavior
regarding certain "lifestyle issues" and were paid a small sum for their par-
ticipation.

Measures

1. Body Dissatisfaction
(a) General Body Dissatisfaction: (GBD) was assessed by a modified
version of the Body Cathexis Scale (Secord & Jourard, 1953). An
overall GBD score was obtained by summing the respondents'
ratings of 10 parts of their bodies.
(b) Specific Body Dissatisfaction: (SBD) was assessed by the Body
Dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner
& Olmsted, 1984).
2. Neuroticism (N) was' measured by the 24-item N scale from The
Eysenck Personality Inventory, Form A (Eysenck and Eysenck,
1968).
3. Physical Activity Participation (Activity): Participants were
questioned about the frequency, and duration in minutes (1-30,
30-60, 60-90, and 90+) of their participation in physical activity
280 Dionne et al.

over the past four weeks. For each activity (e.g., bicycling,
swimming, aerobics) the frequency of the activity was multiplied
by its duration category (1, 2, 3, or 4). A total score was obtained
by summing across activities.
. Body Mass Index [weight(kg)/height2(m)] (BMI) was calculated.
Weight was measured using a Seca spring scale, and height with
a standard metal measuring tape with participants standing in
stocking feet.
. The Composite Feminist Ideology Scale (CFIS) is a compilation
and modification of three separate measures of feminist ideology
designed for the purpose of this study to assess degree of
concordance with the tenets of the women's movement (Dionne,
1992). The scale contains seven subscales (Inequality Recognition;
Domestic Issues; Job Equality, Reproductive Rights; Social
Gender Differences; Legal Issues; and Physical Attractiveness).
Subjects rated items on a four-point scale from strongly disagree
to strongly agree. For conceptual clarity in the analysis, the total
CFIS score was obtained by summing six of the seven sub-scales,
excluding Physical Attractiveness (PA), which was treated as a
separate variable.

Procedure

By individual appointment, participants completed the questionnaires,

and then responded to a short interview concerning their current partici-
pation in physical activity. Following this interview, height and weight were
measured.

RESULTS

Descriptive Statistics

Means, standard deviations, and minima and maxima for all variables
used in the analyses are given in Table I. The statistics reported here are
similar to those obtained iia earlier validation studies, or where those are
not available, in recent studies using similar samples (Garner & Olmsted,
1984; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968; Davis, Shapiro, Elliott, & Dionne, 1993;
and Ministry of Health & Welfare, 1988). A correlation matrix of all vari-
ables used in the analyses is presented in Table II.
Feminist Ideology and Body Dissatisfaction 281

Table I. Variable Means, Standard Deviations, Minima, and Maxima

Variable Mean SD Minimum Maximum
General Body Dissatisfaction 28.9 7.8 10.0 48.0
Specific Body Dissatisfaction 9.8 8.2 0.0 27.0
Physical Activity 25.6 28.2 0.0 180.0
Body Mass Index 22.2 3.1 15.6 34.2
Neuroticism 11.8 5.2 0.0 23.0
Age 28.2 8.2 17.0 48.0
Composite Feminist Ideology Scale 72.7 11.4 47.0 96.0
Physical Attractiveness 17.8 3.7 5.0 24.0

Table II. Correlation Matrix of All Variables Used in the Analysesa

SBD ACT BMI N AGE CFIS PA
GBD .81c .12 .38c .38c -.13 -.09 -.13
SBD .16 .32c .32c -.11 -.15b -.14b
ACT -.04 -.04 -.03 .11 .16b
BMI -.07 .25c .09 .09
N -.23c -.14b -.08
AGE .24 .06
CFIS .63c
aGBD: General Body Dissatisfaction; SBD: Specific Body Dissatisfaction; ACT: Physical
Activity; BMI: Body Mass Index; N: Neuroticism; CFIS: Composite Feminist Idelogy Scale;
PA: Physical Attractiveness Subscale.
bp < .05.
Cp < .01.

Regression Analyses

S e p a r a t e hierarchical regression analyses were conducted using two

different, yet correlated (r = 0.81), measures of b o d y dissatisfaction as de-
p e n d e n t variables. For each analysis, the i n d e p e n d e n t variables were age,
b o d y mass index, neuroticism, physical activity level, the total score f r o m
the C F I S (less the PA subscale), and the Physical Attractiveness subscale
o f the CFIS.
General Body Dissatisfaction (GBD). Table I I I shows the results of the
hierarchical regression analysis using G B D as the d e p e n d e n t variable. Miss-
ing data resulted in a total sample size of 195.
I n the full model, neuroticism and B M I were strongly and positively
related to G e n e r a l Body Dissatisfaction, holding the other factors constant.
As hypothesized, w h e n both measures o f feminist ideology are included in
the model, the Physical Attractiveness subscale contributes significantly to
282 Dionne et al.

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284 Dionne et al.

the model, while the total feminism score does not. Unique variance ac-
counted for by this PA subscale is 2.5%.
Specific Body Dissatisfaction (SBD). Table IV shows the results of the
hierarchical regression analysis using SBD as the dependent variable, with
194 observations after removing records with missing data.
This model showed results similar to those using GBD as the depend-
ent variable (note that GBD and SBD are highly correlated), yet the full
model in this analysis accounted for somewhat greater variance (R 2 = 0.36).
BMI and neuroticism again proved to be highly significant predictors in
the hypothesized direction. Unlike the previous analysis, in this case age
was significantly and negatively related to specific body dissatisfaction. That
is, the younger a subject was, the more dissatisfied she was with her body.
As in the previous analysis, lower scores on the physical attractiveness CFIS
subscale were predictive of increased specific body dissatisfaction, while the
total score of the CFIS was not significantly related.

DISCUSSION

Results of this study confirmed the hypothesis that certain feminist

beliefs are related to women's body satisfaction. Two separate analyses
showed that the Physical Attractiveness subscale of the CFIS was signifi-
cantly and negatively related both to a specific, and to a more general,
measure of body dissatisfaction. When Physical Attractiveness was con-
trolled, however, the total of the remaining CFIS items was not related
to body dissatisfaction. In other words, although the two measures of
feminist ideology are related, it is specifically the attitudes towards physi-
cal attractiveness that account for the relationship with body dissatisfac-
tion. In previous reports (Mintz & Betz, 1986; Kelson et al., 1990), no
relationship was found between body satisfaction and general measures
of feminist orientation. In light of our results, it would appear that past
research did not fail conceptually in predicting a relationship between
feminism and positive body image, but rather that subtleties in this re-
lationship were overlooked.
In accord with previous research (Davis, Durnin et al., 1993; Striegel-
Moore et al., 1986) objective body size (viz. BMI) was positively related
to both measures of body dissatisfaction. This finding, while hardly sur-
prising, is disheartening. Many reports have documented the virtual inef-
fectiveness of dieting for permanent weight-loss, and suggest that this
inevitable failure only results in a further battering of some women's al-
ready low self-esteem (e.g., Wooley & Wooley, 1984; Garner & Wooley,
Feminist Ideology and Body Dissatisfaction 285

1991). As feminist writers have continually stated, women's increased body

satisfaction will likely not be a result of weight loss, but rather through
changes in cultural attitudes surrounding the importance of women's body
weight.
There was also a highly significant effect of neuroticism on both
measures of body dissatisfaction, consistent with previous recent research
(see Davis, 1990). It is suggested that a sensitivity to social and environ-
mental stressors indicative of this variable (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968)
predisposes an individual to anxiety about not living up to ideal standards
of beauty. It is likely that mass-media images of women and the associ-
ated pressures to be thin have even greater implications for highly anx-
ious women.
Age displayed slightly different results for the two measures of body
dissatisfaction, showing a strong inverse effect on Specific Body Dissat-
isfaction, but no significant effect on General Body Dissatisfaction. This
seems to indicate that younger women are more dissatisfied with hips,
thighs, and buttocks (the components of the Specific Body Dissatisfaction
scale) than the older women. With respect to the remaining independent
variable, physical activity failed to reach significance in either model.
There are several important implications of ti~e conclusion that femi-
nist convictions surrounding appearance do, indeed, relate positively to
enhanced body-satisfaction. While the percentage of unique variance ac-
counted for by the PA subscale is relatively small, it is nonetheless, sig-
nificant. The results suggest that hitherto empirically unsupported feminist
theory concerning the relationship among body image, eating disorders,
and attitudes towards women's (in)equality do have a basis in fact. Al-
though body-image problems persist in our society despite the increasing
acceptance of feminist ideals, the findings of this study may fortify efforts
to inform and educate women about obsessions with weight and appear-
ance.
Perhaps one way to improve women's body esteem is not through
the promotion of excessive diet and exercise, but by advocating further
equality between the genders and by discouraging the view that women
are defined simply by their appearance. If education is the key, then
popular books such as Wolf's (1990) The Beauty Myth may help women
in our culture to improve their relationships with their bodies. Future
research in the area of feminist issues and body image might consider
other criterion variables, such as weight and diet concerns, dietary re-
straint or a measure of "feeling fat." Since there is evidence that feminist
ideology is related to attitudes about the body, it would be of interest
to determine if this relationship holds for these measures as well.
286 Dionne et al.

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