As feminists have long argued, objectification as a form of oppression is often
manifested in women's weight and appearance preoccupation, eating disorders,
and body image disturbances. While these theories have accounted
for the experiences of women in a culture that devalues and oppresses them,
they have often disregarded the experiences of women of color, women with
disabilities, lesbian and bisexual women and women with various socioeconomic
statuses. Moreover, until recently, much of the literature on body
image disturbances, eating disorders, sexual objectification, and media
images of women has been conducted primarily with White, middle-class,
presumably heterosexual, young women. Yet a paucity of research has illuminated
the fact that women in all these groups experience the pressure to be
thin as well as unique appearance standards such as cultural standards of
beauty, racial identity, sexual identity, or a combination of such factors. The
unique experiences related to these identity categories may not necessarily be
a deficit, but rather provide a potential buffer against societal messages.