Obviously, our physical appearance is a huge part of gender identity. The way we think about our bodies, and the way our culture tells us we should think, is a key component of self esteem. body image refers to a consumers subjective evaluation of his or her physical self. Our evaluations don't necessarily correspond to what those around us see. A man may think of himself as being more muscular than he really is. or a woman may feel she appears fatter than is actually the case.
Whether these perceptions are accurate, is almost a moot point. As our body insecurities weigh us down, whether they're justified or not. They That self fulfilling prophecy cropping up again, just like we discussed in the last module. Unfortunately, some marketers exploit consumers tendencies to distort their body images. When they prey on our insecurities about appearance. They try to create a gap between the real and the ideal physical selves and consequently motivate a person to purchase products and services that he thinks will narrow that gap.
Like it or not, there are huge benefits in our society. For people who are physically attractive, beautiful people comm is an online dating site that allows only attractive people to join. You have to have your photo approved by members before you can become part of the site. Now it's expanding its service to employers who want to hire good looking staff. One of the sites managers explains, attractive people tend to make a better first impression on clients, win more business and earn more. He might be right.
One study reported that on average, an American worker who was among the bottom one seventh and looks as assessed by randomly chosen observers, earned 10 to 15% less per year than a similar worker whose looks were assessed in the top one third, a lifetime difference in a typical case of about $230,000. It pays to be attractive. Our satisfaction with the physical image we present to others depends on how closely we think the image corresponds to the ideal our culture values. An ideal of beauty is a particular model or exemplar of appearance. ideals of beauty for both men and women may include physical features. For example, a well rounded derriere for women or a well defined six pack for men, as well as clothing styles, cosmetics, hairstyles, skin tone, such as pale versus tan, and body type, petite, athletic, voluptuous, and so on.
Our desires to match up to these ideals, for better or worse drive a lot of our purchase decisions. A study asked men and women to create a composite of favorite celebrities features. The photo you see here includes the most popular women's responses Regardless of our physical features, the way we package our bodies still varies enormously. And that's where marketers come in. advertising and other forms of mass media play a significant role in determining which forms of beauty we consider desirable at any point in time. And ideal of beauty functions as a sort of cultural yardstick.
Consumers compare themselves to some standard, often one that the fashion media advocated that time and they're dissatisfied with their appearance to the extent that they don't match up to it. This may lower their own self esteem, or in some cases, possibly diminished the effectiveness of an ad because of negative feelings, a highly attractive model arouses