身體形象：台灣學生與國際學生間之性別、地域與文化比較研究

Body Image: A Comparative Study Across Gender, Place and Culture Among Taiwanese and International Students

女性或多或少都被「瘦就是美」這樣的觀念壓迫著：多數女性雖然不會力行嚴格的減重計劃，卻多多少少會控制或留意自己的飲食。從這樣的角度出發，本研究旨在研究女性的自我身體形象、以及影響女性自我身體形象的可能因素－－這些因素，都和女性身心健康的改善息息相關。儘管過去已有許多關於女性身體形象之研究，卻都是以西方國家（如：美國、加拿大、英國等）為研究重點，而較少將關注焦點放在亞洲女性身上。此外，雖然厭食症被大眾視為是「西方才有的問題」，但對苗窕身材的偏好卻是不分東西方、一樣的在亞洲越見盛行。更重要的是，在這些身體形象相關的研究中，很大一部分都是以厭食症為研究重心，而忽略了去探討：沒有厭食症的「正常人」，是如何被身體形象影響著其日常生活中的想法及行為。本研究以問卷調查之形式調查了134位平均年齡為23歲之學生（其中79位是女性、55位是男性），以了解其社經狀況、體重、以及和身體形象相關態度、行為、偏好。除了量化之問卷調查，本研究也包含了三場本地及國際學生之焦點小組訪談。研究的結果顯示：相較於西方女性，亞洲女性不僅對外表更感壓力，也擁有更為負面的身體形象。其次，在實驗中，我們以身體質量指數（BMI）去劃分不同受訪者族群，結果發現：人們普遍不同意「瘦就是美」這樣的敘述，但矛盾的是，BMI越低的受訪者卻對自己的體重和體型有越高的滿意度。同時，我們也發現：無論是在東方或西方，女性都比男性更常想到自己的體重、體形、以及減重。另外，跟西方受訪者相比，亞洲人更傾向相信廣告中所呈現的美貌標準是能夠透過「對的產品」與「足夠的努力」去達成的。本文研究結果為樣本分析所得之結果，雖無法擴大解釋為東西方價值觀差異，然卻不失為後續探討身體形象跨文化比較之參考依據。

The idea of “slenderness is beauty” has affected women’s self body image in an oppressive way. Most women may not be undergoing a strict weight loss plan, but are more or less controlling and paying attention to what they eat. This research is carried out with the belief that understanding of women’s self body image and the attribute factors is important for improving women’s health, both mentally and physically. There has been some previous research on women’s self body image. However, it has mainly focused on the situation in Western countries such as the US, Canada, and the UK, and has seldom investigated Asian women in similar regards. While Anorexia has long been regarded as a Western issue, the preference for slender bodies has become more and more popular among Asian women. Besides, while most work has been devoted to Anorexia, few have revealed how people without Anorexia are affected in both thinking and behavior in their daily life. For this paper, we surveyed 134 students with an average age of 23, including 79 females and 55 males, through a questionnaire to inquire after their socio-economic characteristics, body weight, attitudes, behaviors and preferences in relation to self body image. We also conducted three focus group interviews of local and international students. Our results show that not only are Asian women more pressured than Western women, but they also have a more negative self body image. Second, we differentiated people with various BMI levels and found that, while people are generally not in agreement with the concept of “slimness is beauty”, people with lower BMI levels had higher satisfaction toward their bodies in terms of both shape and weight. Third, we compared men’s self body image with women’s, and found that across cultures, women more often think about their body shape and weight, and are more frequently concerned about losing weight than men. Finally, we found that compared to Western respondents, Asians tend to believe that the beauty standards as shown in advertisements is mostly attainable as long as people use the right products and make enough efforts. Our sample analysis tries to answer our research question only, and it is not meant to give an interpretation of differences between Asian and Western people in general.