Analysis of the aesthetic stereotypes of women in nine fashion and beauty Mexican magazines

Nowadays there are many health problems associated with body dissatisfaction experienced by many women, such as eating disorders. Such body dissatisfaction is associated with promoting an aesthetic ideal based on thinness. Mass media seem to play an important role in the dissemination of this aesthetic model. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether, the covers of the best-known beauty magazines fashion in Mexico continue to spread an aesthetic model based on really thin women. Nine most popular magazines in Mexico, and a total of 53 covers were analyzed, they had been published over the six previous months. Covers were rated in several categories related with aesthetic aspects. The results show that 100% of the covers still show the photograph of a woman as a lure, and that 98% of cases she was a thin or a skinny woman. Other data related to body shape and skin type of the model on the cover were also obtained. These results indicate that these magazines continue to spread the aesthetic model of thinness as the reference, and that the models on the covers are distant from the prototype women in Mexico. This could contribute to the development and maintenance of certain health problems, as other international investigations have also pointed out.