Body size, physical attractiveness, and body image among young adult women: relationships to sexual experience and sexual esteem

Journal of Sex Research, August, 1998 by Michael W. Wiederman, Shannon R. Hurst

Note. EDI = Eating Disorders Inventory (Garner et al, 1983). Standard deviations are shown in parentheses.

(**) p < .01.

Last, we considered the simple correlations between the body-image variables and scores on measures of sexual attitudes and sexual esteem, as well as the lifetime number of sexual intercourse partners among women who had experienced coitus. These correlations are presented in Table 5. Sexual attitudes were unrelated to any of the attractiveness or body-image variables. For lifetime number of sexual partners among nonvirgins, only the relationship with self-rated facial attractiveness approached a medium effect size. Sexual esteem scores, however, were positively related to self-rated facial and bodily attractiveness and negatively related to social avoidance due to appearance concerns. Women with greater sexual esteem believed themselves to be more physically attractive and were relatively less likely to avoid social settings in which one's appearance might be a focus.

Table 5. Pearson Correlations Between Attractiveness and Body-Image Variables and Sexuality Variables

                                     Sexuality Variables

                                     Lifetime      Sexual
Attractiveness and                    Number      Opinion
Body-Image Variables                of Partners    Survey

Body Mass Index                         .01          .05
Experimenter-Rated Attractiveness       .12         -.05
Self-Rated Facial Attractiveness        .27(**)      .08
Self-Rated Bodily Attractiveness        .16          .01
Body Dissatisfaction (EDI)             -.04          .07
Appearance Orientation                  .04          .14
Social Avoidance due to Concerns       -.13          .00
 About Appearance

                                     Sexuality Variables

                                    Casual Sex     Sexual
Attractiveness and                   Attitudes     Esteem
Body-Image Variables

Body Mass Index                        -.01         -.14
Experimenter-Rated Attractiveness       .02          .18
Self-Rated Facial Attractiveness        .09          .47(**)
Self-Rated Bodily Attractiveness        .05          .35(**)
Body Dissatisfaction (EDI)             -.02         -.08
Appearance Orientation                  .02          .14
Social Avoidance due to Concerns       -.08         -.26(**)
 About Appearance

Note. EDI = Eating Disorders Inventory (Garner et al, 1983). Lifetime Number of Partners = lifetime number of sexual intercourse partners among nonvirgins (n = 144). Sexual Opinion Survey = short-form of Sexual Opinion Survey (Fisher et al, 1988). Casual Sex Attitudes = attitudinal items from Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (Simpson & Gangestad, 1991). Sexual Esteem = short-form of the sexual esteem scale from Wiederman and Allgeier (1993).

(**) p<.01.

DISCUSSION

We hypothesized that women's physical attractiveness and body image would be related to their relationship status and sexual experience as well as to their sexual esteem. Across indices of heterosexual experience, some attractiveness and body-image variables evidenced fairly consistent relationships, whereas others did not. Women who were relatively heavier (higher BMI) and rated as less facially attractive by the experimenters were less likely to be involved in a steady dating relationship and to have had sexual intercourse. Also, heavier women were less likely to have received oral sex from a male, and women rated as less facially attractive were less likely to have performed oral sex on a male. Are these general relationships between body size and attractiveness and sexual experience due to a lack of opportunity, differential sexual attitudes, or inhibition due to self-consciousness on the part of larger women?