Globalisation, Culture, and Body Image: An Anthropological Perspective

Body image reflects an individual’s perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about their own body, encompassing both subjective evaluations and objective anthropometric measurements. Assessment commonly relies on questionnaires and figural drawing scales, enabling the identification of discrepancies between perceived, ideal, and actual body shapes, which indicate body dissatisfaction. From childhood, gender differences are apparent: females tend to aspire to thinness and report higher dissatisfaction, while males often seek greater muscularity and may perceive themselves as either underweight or overweight. Cultural context strongly influences these ideals, with Western societies promoting thin and muscular bodies, whereas African and Asian populations often exhibit different preferences and generally lower levels of dissatisfaction. Family, peers, and media are central in shaping body image, with social media intensifying exposure to curated, digitally altered images, reinforcing appearance-based comparisons, the internalisation of ideals, and self-objectification. Globalisation further amplifies the diffusion of Western beauty standards, sometimes creating tension with local norms and elevating dissatisfaction worldwide. These sociocultural and global pressures are closely linked to the development of eating disorders, reflecting the complex interplay of perceptual, cognitive, and developmental factors. Addressing body image concerns requires culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate interventions that engage family, peers, and media influences. An anthropological approach, integrating objective measures, subjective perceptions, gender and cultural variations, and global dynamics, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the determinants of body dissatisfaction and informing strategies to promote healthier body image across diverse populations.