FAT STIGMA AND THE SKINNY IDEAL: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE INTERNALIZATION AND EXPRESSION OF BODY NORMS AMONG AMERICAN VERSUS GUATEMALAN ADOLESCENTS

Fat-stigma has become a popular topic of research in recent years as obesity and Western ideals have made their way around the globe. Previous studies have found that the internalization and expression of body norms can vary dramatically depending on location, gender, and many other cultural factors. Differing levels of body satisfaction have been linked to the internalization of these norms, and the development of low body esteem can result in many physical and emotional problems. Although there is an abundance of research on the topic of fat-stigma, few studies have investigated the related, but seemingly independent, topic of the ideal thin body. Furthermore, limited research has looked directly at body size stereotypes in Guatemala, and those that have, focused solely on Guatemala City. Furthermore, no previous cross-cultural analyses were found comparing body norms among US and rural Guatemalan adolescents. By surveying 9-10 year old students in Acatenango, Guatemala and Phoenix, Arizona, this study compared the preferences as well as stereotypes for average, thin, and fat body sizes in these two contexts. The results of this study illustrate a contrast between a fat-negative and a thin-negative culture, and highlight the complexity of the emergence of body norms around the world. We find that, in contrast to previous studies, neither the western ideal thin body nor obesity stereotypes have been internalized in Acatenango. Furthermore, negative evaluations of fat bodies and positive evaluations of thin bodies seem to be made independently of each other. Americans had a much higher prejudice against fat children and were more likely to be thin-positive (OR=1.997), while Guatemalans were more likely to be thin-negative. On average, the American students were much more polarized in their judgments on different body sizes, and experienced greater levels of body dissatisfaction. Finally, American students favored an ideal figure over one size smaller than Guatemalan students. Results suggest that there are still rural communities that have not been entirely affected by the spread of western body norms.