114 Body Dissatisfaction
weight, positive self-image, childhood exercise, high self-motivation, and
beliefs that exercise is enjoyable and provides social support (Riddle, 1980;
Dishman, 1982; Dishman, Sallis, and Orenstein, 1985; Paxton, Browning,
and O’Connell, 1997). In addition, women cite weight control, changing
body shape, and attractiveness as the main motivators for exercise (Furnham
and Greaves, 1994). Grogan (2008) reported the results from interviews
concerning women’s body dissatisfaction and concluded that “the primary
motivator to exercise for all the women interviewed was to improve muscle
tone and lose weight rather than for health” (p. 45), and cited one woman
who said that she exercised “entirely for weight. To try to firm up and try
to use some calories and I’m always thinking I’m not doing enough.
Afterwards...I actually feel slimmer” (p. 45).
Cosmetic surgery
A minority of women who are dissatisfied with the way they look resort
to cosmetic surgery; however, this minority has been getting larger over
recent years in what Wolf (1990) has labeled the “surgical age.” The most
common forms of cosmetic surgery are rhinoplasty (nose jobs), breast
enlargements, and liposuction (Viner, 1997). Whether cosmetic surgery
reflects women’s right to take control of the way they look and is the result
of a free choice (Davis, 1995) or an expression of female oppression and
conformity (Morgan, 1991) is currently debated within the feminist
literatures. But it is on the increase, and studies have yet to assess whether
it removes the problem of body dissatisfaction or simply exacerbates it by
making the female body seem even more open to change.
MenMen are less likely to diet than women and more likely to engage in sports
such as football and rugby and solo activities such as jogging and cycling
(Fallon and Rozin, 1985; Cox, Huppert, and Whichelow, 1993). The main
motivator among men for exercise is a combination of social contact and
enjoyment (Dishman, 1982), but many men also exercise to change their
body shape. For example, Baker (1994) reported that 500,000 men in the
UK use weights to change their body shape and muscle tone, and Grogan
(1999) indicated that 65 percent of the men interviewed engaged in sport
specifically to improve their body shape. Most men want to develop mus-
cle mass and attain the mesomorphic male ideal. Some become bodybuilders
and develop mass to the extreme.