Sex Roles, Vol. 40, Nos. 5/6, 1999

Television Situation Comedies: Female BodyImages and Verbal Reinforcements

Gregory Fouts1 and Kimberley BurggrafUniversity of Calgary

A content analysis of 28 different prime-time television situation comediesexam ined the body weights of 52 central female characters (88% White, 10%Black, 2% Asian), the verbal comments they received from other charactersas a function of body weight, and their self-comments with respect to theirown body weight, shape and dieting behaviors. Compared with the generalpopulation, below average central female characters were over-represented insituation comedies; above average weight characters were under-represented.Below average weight female characters received sign i® cantly more positiveverbal comments from male characters with regards to body weight and shapethan their heavier counterparts. Dieting female characters gave themselvessign i® cantly more verbal punishment for their body weight and shape thanthose less involved in dieting. This combination of modeling the thin idealand the verbal reinforcement associated with this modeling likely contributesto the internaliz ation of the thin ideal and may put some young femaleviewers at risk for developing eating disorders.

Older children and young adole scents spend almost 25% of the ir awake

time watching television (four hours per day; e.g., Liebert & Sprafkin,

1988) . Therefore , te levision has the potential to create and reinforce particu-

lar social value s, stereotypes and behaviors as well as alte r young viewers’

perceptions of reality (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988; Sipiora, 1991) . One area of

recent concern has been the ` ideal’ ’ female body attractive ness stereotypes

presented in television advertising and programming. For example ,

Ogle tree, William s, Raffe ld, Mason and Fricke (1990) found that the vast

majority (86%) of appearance enhance ment adve rtisements on television

targe t young female viewers. In 1980, Kaufman reported that relative ly few

1To whom requests for reprints should be addressed at Department of Psychology, Unive rsityof Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4.

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474 Fou ts and Burggraf

prime-time TV characte rs were overweight (12%) and under-represented

the proportion of overweight individuals in the general population; six years

later, Silve rste in, Perdue , Peterson and Kelly (1986) found that 5% of female

TV characte rs were rated as ``heavy,’ ’ whereas 69% of female characte rs

were rated as ``thin.’ ’ This sugge sts a trend towards an increasingly thinner

stereotype of the female body on television.

Exposure to these stereotypes like ly models and reinforce s the associa-

tion between thinness in women and characte ristics such as physical attrac-

tiveness, desirability, personal self-worth, and success (Garner, Gar® nkel &

Olmstead, 1983) . It has been sugge sted that this may lead some young

women to internalize the thin ideal stereotype and form a distorted mental

construction of themselve s which results in dissatisfaction with the ir bodie s

(Downs & Harrison, 1985; Ogletree et al., 1990; Salmons, Lewis, Rogers,

Gotherer & Booth, 1988) . Myers and Biocca (1992) found that watching

only 30 minute s of TV programming and adve rtising can alte r a young

woman’ s perception of the shape of her body, indicating that body image

is malle able and can be in¯ uenced by obse rving ideal body shape s. Levine ,

Smolak and Hayden (1994) found that ideas about having an attractive

body shape , the drive to be slender, and die ting were related to television

viewing and magazine reading for many female s.

Past research on the contents of television programs examine general

programming, much of which pre- and young adole scents do not watch.

Also, research examining the effects of te levised body images has focused

upon late adole scents and adults rather than younge r and more impression-

able viewers. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine

the occurrence of the two most powerful social in¯ uence variable s on

television (Bandura, 1965, 1969, 1977, 1986; Fouts, 1977) , modeling and

vicarious reinforcement, in the programs that pre- and young adole scent

viewers watch in great numbers. Situation comedies (e.g., ``Friends,’ ’

` Home Improvement’ ’ ) were the focus of this study because they are the

preferred programs of 10 ± 16 year old female s and they watch an average

of 14 situation comedie s per week (Fouts & Burggraf, 1997) . Thus, these

programs are the most like ly to in¯ uence young female viewers who are

at the stage when the ir body self-concept and self-esteem are deve loping.

Repeated exposure to female characte rs’ mode ling the thin ideal may

be particularly detrimental for individuals predispose d to developing an

eating disorde r such as anorexia nervosa. Not only do thin mode ls present

body images that young viewers may inte rnalize and use to judge and

motivate themselve s, they may also mode l the means (e.g., die ting) for

achieving unrealistic body shape s. For example , Hamilton and Walle r

(1993) found that exposure to female fashion image s contribute s to over-

estimation of body weight by young women with eating disorders. Similarly,

Body Image 475

Stice , Schupak-Ne uberg, Shaw and Ste in (1994) found a direct relationship

between overall media exposure (TV and magazine s combined) and eating

disorde r symptomatology. The present study examine s the body images

and die ting behaviors that central female characters in situation comedies

mode l for young viewers. It was expected that there would be more be low-

average weight characte rs than above -ave rage weight characte rs.

The positive and negative verbal comments these characters received

regarding their bodie s was also examined. This social in¯ uence variable has

not been examined by researchers. This is unfortunate because obse rving

vicarious reinforcement has been shown to have a major in¯ uence on

young viewers (e.g., Bandura, 1965, 1977) . For example , vicarious positive

reinforcement and punishme nt provide information to young viewers as to

what is and is not acceptable , respective ly, as well as motivation and inhibi-

tion, respective ly, for engaging in modeled behavior. Thus, the combination

of mode ling of thinne ss and the receipt of positive reinforcement (e.g.,

verbalizations such as ` You look great! ’ ’ or ``Wow! ’ ’ ) may increase the

inte rnalization of the mode ling and in¯ uence young viewers’ behaviors

more than eithe r mode ling or positive reinforcement alone . Similarly, ob-

serving a heavie r mode l and her receipt of negative comments about her

weight from others may present a strong emotional message, leading the

viewer to be dissatis® ed with her body and wanting to be like the thin

mode ls she obse rves. The combination of diffe rential mode ling and rein-

forcement is the most in¯ uential means to shape behavior (e.g., Aronfreed,

1968; Bandura, 1965, 1977) . This is consistent with Stice (1994) and the

research by Toro, Salamero and Martine z (1994) who found that the degree

of exposure to social mode ls and verbal messages signi® cantly diffe rentiate s

anorexics and non-eating disorde red women. It was expected that thin

female characters on television would receive more positive comments

about their bodie s than heavie r characte rs, with the latte r receiving more

negative comments about the ir bodie s.

The mode ling of self-re inforcement on situation comedie s may also

be of importance for young viewers. Verbal self-re inforcement re¯ ects the

inte rnalization of the value s of external agents of reinforcement and/or

cultural values (e.g., Bandura, 1986) as well as leve ls of self-esteem. There-

fore, the obse rvation of self-reinforcement associated with body shape and

weight may give young viewers the message s that (a) self-esteem should

be related to how one looks, and (b) in the case of negative self-statements,

that is it acceptable to denigrate oneself based upon how one appears

physically. Therefore , it is important to know whether such mode ling occurs

on popular programs that young viewers watch. It was expected that thin

characters would make more positive comments about themselves (e.g.,

` Don’ t I look fantastic! ’ ’ ) than heavie r characte rs, with heavie r characters

476 Fou ts and Burggraf

making more negative comments about themselves (e.g., ``Ugh, I need to

lose weight.’ ’ ).

And ® nally, it was expected that thinne r and heavier female characte rs

would make more positive and negative comments, respective ly, about

other characte rs’ weight or body shape . That is, te levision characte rs may

mode l behaviors that re¯ ect a belief that it is acceptable to expect and

reward thinne ss in others and punish (e.g., harass) those who are over-

weight. Thus, the present study extends previous notions of mode ling thin-

ness by examining various kinds of mode ling and the complex combination

of modeling and vicarious reinforcement for young viewers.

METHOD

Twenty-e ight diffe rent prime-time situation comedie s were available

(broadcast, cable ) in the Calgary metropolitan area in the week of October

9± 16, 1996. Each program was half an hour in length and recorded between

7± 10 p.m.; there were no repetitions of the same program. Within these

programs, 52 female characte rs (88% White , 10% Black, 2% Asian) were

identi® ed as central characte rs, i.e ., characte rs who appeared weekly on

the programs and the actors were listed as ``stars’ ’ of the programs (e.g.,

for ``Friends,’ ’ Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Jennife r Aniston) .

Each characte r was separate ly obse rved and coded for the following

variable s: Age, body weight, die ting, and verbal reinforcements. The age

of the characte r was coded as teenage r, 20± 35, 36 ± 50 or 50 1 years; charac-

ters who appeared younge r than teenage rs were not coded. Body weight

was coded by comparing each characte r’ s body weight and shape to the 12

visual image s deve loped by Singh (1993a, 1993b) which systematically vary

from below average to above average in weight. There were three categorie s

(` below average,’ ’ ``ave rage ’ ’ and ` above average ’ ’ ) employe d in the pres-

ent study with four of the 12 images in each category. Each characte r was

coded as being in one of these three categorie s when a match was found

between the character and one of the 12 images. Dieting and food restriction

were coded by recording whether or not the central female characte r dis-

played these behaviors or made verbal references to these behaviors (e.g.,

drinking diet beverage s; saying ``No dessert for me, I’m watching my

weight.’ ’ )

There were eight measures of verbal reinforcement: (a) frequency of

positive comments made by male s about or to a central female characte r

regarding her weight or body (e.g., ` You look great! Have you lost

weight? ’ ’ ); (b) frequency of positive comments by other female characte rs;

(c) frequency of negative comments made by males (e.g., ``You’ re too fat

Body Image 477

to wear that dress in public! ’ ’ ); (d) frequency of negative comments by

other female characte rs; (e) frequency of positive comments (positive self-

comments) made by the central female characte r about her own weight or

body (e.g., ``I’m a size four! I look great! ’ ’ ); (f ) her frequency of positive

comments about othe r female characte rs; (g) frequency of negative com-

ments (negative self-comments) made by the central female characte r about

her own weight or body (e.g., ` My behind looks huge in this bathing suit! ’ ’ );

and (h) her frequency of negative comments about othe r female characters.

Interobse rver reliability was ascertained by randomly selecting 20 of

the 28 situation comedie s and having each character independently coded

by two trained obse rvers. The obse rvers were trained by providing them

with exemplars for each variable and practicing coding on videotapes of

television programs not employe d in the present study. Discrepancie s were

resolved and coding criteria re ® ned. After this training, the observers inde -

pendently coded the situation comedie s without furthe r discussion. Interob-

server reliabilitie s were obtained by calculating the percentages of

agreement for each of the 11 variable s. Reliabilitie s for 10 of the 11 variable s

were moderate to high: age (.92) , body weight categorization (.68) , dieting

behavior ( .88) , positive comments by male s (.72) , positive comments by

female s (.80) , negative comments by female s (.80) , positive self-comments

by central female characte rs (.92) , negative self-comments by central female

characters (.76) , positive comments made about anothe r female by central

female characte rs (.92) , and negative comments made about anothe r female

by central female characte rs (.92) . Negative comments by male s had a low

inte robse rver reliability (.60) and this variable was de le ted from further

statistical analyse s.

RESULTS A ND DISCUSSION

A majority of the central female characte rs (69%) were between the

ages of 20± 35; 21% were between the ages of 36 ± 50; 10% were teenage rs;

none were over 50. These percentage s are inconsistent with age data from

the U.S. Census Bureau (1998) which indicate that 21% of the female

population is between the ages of 20 ± 35 and 27% of the female population

is over 50. Thus, younge r female central characters are over-represented

in situation comedie s and olde r central female characte rs are unde r-repre-

sented.

Out of the 52 central female characte rs, 33% were be low average in

weight, with 60% and 7% being average and above average in weight,

respectively. This is in contrast to actual prevalence rates of be low-ave rage

weight women (25% of 20 ± 24 year olds) and above average weight women

478 Fou ts and Burggraf

(26% of 20± 34 year olds; Statistics Canada, 1994; National Center for Health

Statistics, USA, 1994) . The over- and unde r-representation of be ing be low

and above average weight, respectively, on television is consistent with the

results of Kaufman (1980) , Silve rstein et al. (1986) , and Dietz (1990) . Thus,

te levision programs that olde r childre n and young adole scents prefer watch-

ing present a distorted and unrealistic picture of women’ s bodie s in socie ty.

Turning to verbal reinforcements made about central female charac-

ters’ weight, shape or bodie s by other television characte rs, it was found

that 46% of the central female characters received positive comments from

male television characters regarding their weight, shape or bodie s; and 21%

of the central female characte rs received positive comments from other

female television characte rs regarding the ir weight, shape or bodie s. A one-

way ANOVA revealed that male television characte rs made signi® cantly

more positive comments about female characte rs’ weight, shape or bodie s

than did other female television characte rs (F{1,51} 5 5.2, p , .001) . The

message for female viewers of situation comedie s appears to be that males

are expected to pay attention to women’ s bodie s and make comments

regarding the ir bodie s more than do female s. The message for male viewers

is that it is acceptable , even desirable , to make positive comments about

women’ s bodie s.

It was found that the thinne r the female character, the more positive

comments she received from male s (r 5 2 .30, p , .05) . Thus, the message

for young female viewers is that one has to be slim in order to be found

attractive by the opposite sex, and the way to elicit approval is by achieving

a low weight or thin shape . The message for young male viewers is that it

is acceptable to differentially respond to women according to the ir body

weights, and especially to withhold positive comments from heavie r women.

No relationships were found between central female characte rs’ body

weight or shape and negative comments; i.e ., heavie r characte rs did not

receive nor did they make more negative comments than their slimmer

counte rparts. This is not surprising since situation comedies (a) emphasize

positive and humorous reactions from others, e .g., there were 15% more

positive than negative comments; and (b) avoid over-weight issue s through

the ir under-representation of heavier people .

The die ting of central female characte rs was examined. Twelve percent

of the central female characte rs dieted or restricted food as indicated by

the ir behavior or verbalizations that they were doing so. There was no

signi® cant corre lation (r 5 2 .15, p . .05) between central female characte rs’

weight and their involve ment with dieting; thus, situation comedie s may

be re¯ ecting the fact that in North America, many women die t who are

healthy and not overweight. Interestingly, the more female characters en-

gaged in die ting activitie s, the more they made negative comments about

Body Image 479

themselves (r 5 2 .31, p , .05; e .g., ` I look huge in these pants! ’ ’ ). Uttering

negative comments about themselve s like ly re¯ ects the ir negative self-

esteem, since die ting women tend to have lower self-esteem than non-

die ting women (e.g., Chandarana, Helmes & Benson, 1988; Rees, 1996;

Rodin, Silbe rste in & Striegel-Moore , 1984) . The message for young female

viewers appears to be that it is acceptable for dieting adults to make negative

comments about themselve s, regardle ss of whether they have weight issue s

or not. This is consistent with the behavior of many die ting individuals

who justify die ting based upon the ir distorted perceptions of the ir bodie s

(Heilbrun & Friedberg, 1990) and/or the attention they receive for being

negative about themselves. The combination of mode ling of die ting and

providing a rationale for the die ting (self-comments) may be particularly

potent in in¯ uencing young female s to consider dieting.

The more female characters were involve d in die ting, the more

they made negative comments about other women’ s weight and bodie s

(r 5 2 .37, p , .05) . This suggests a proje ction of the ir own body issues

and like ly lower self-esteem. The message for young viewers is that it is

acceptable for die ters to denigrate and perhaps harass others who are not

die ting. Thus, situation comedie s mode l victimization of othe rs based upon

one’ s own issues associate d with weight. There were no other signi® cant

® ndings related to die ting.

In summary, the present study provide s evidence that the thin female

ideal is clearly presented in the types of television programs that older

childre n and young adole scents predominantly view. Young viewers not

only obse rve the modeling of thin female characte rs, but also observe the ir

success in receiving positive comments from males. They also obse rve

die ting and negative verbalizations indicating low self-esteem. For young

female viewers, the combination of obse rving mode ling and verbal rein-

forcement are two of the most powerful behavioral change in¯ uences

(Aronfreed, 1968; Bandura, 1965) that they experience , and this may con-

tribute to the ir inte rnalization of the thin ideal and may put them at risk

for developing eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia (Stice et al.,

1994) . Concomitantly, young male viewers also view this mode ling and

vicarious reinforcement and may learn to expect and pressure females to

achieve thin bodie s through their comments.

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