Thin-ideal Depictions On Retail Fashion Web Sites Popular With Teenage Females: An Exploratory Content Analysis

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the body type portrayals teenage females are exposed to during an online shopping experience. The researcher conducted an exploratory content analysis of prominent images found on 367 web pages across 16 web sites popular with teenage females. Three theoretical perspectives informed the research: Social Comparison Theory, Cultivation Theory, and Objectification Theory.Research revealed that images on the web sites that contained models in prominent images depicted the thin-ideal. Additional findings are reported regarding the physical attributes of images found on retail fashion web sites popular with teenage females, as well as suggestions for future research.