Judging Bodies in Europe: Examining the Variety of Repertoires for Evaluating the Beauty of Male and Female Bodies in Six European Countries Using Visual Q-Methodology

Being perceived as beautiful is associated with many social and economic benefits, including advantages in dating and labour markets. In post-industrial European societies, “physical capital” is increasingly becoming a valuable asset, for men as well as women. Yet little systematic and inductive cross-national comparative research has been done on what is perceived as physical capital by people of different social backgrounds, genders and age groups. As a result, most existing studies on beauty ideals emphasize universal criteria of beauty evaluation inherent in human evolutionary psychology, or the homogenizing effects of beauty standards propagated by transnational media imagery and a transnational beauty industry.   

                In our study, using a structured sampling method, a total of 180 respondents in six European countries are asked to sort picture sets of a wide variety of both male and female bodies according to their own tastes. This is done in the context of semi-structured interviews in which respondents are asked about their ideas on beauty and the role it plays in their lives and social interactions. Through factor analysis, separate “taste groups” are identified on the basis of their sorting patterns, and their particular criteria for evaluating beauty interpreted with the help of their own comments.

                The effects of gender, education, age and nationality on ideals of bodily beauty, are ascertained through regression analyses with factor scores, and systematic coding of the interview material. Furthermore, we investigate to what extent bodily beauty ideals are informed by moral or symbolic, rather than purely aesthetic, considerations. We predict, on the basis of the theories of Elias and Bourdieu among others, that social norms relating to specific gender roles, self-control, race and other status and identity markers play a marked role in the repertoires Europeans use for assessing the bodies of both men and women.