Most studies on the effects of social media on young women’s ideal body image and self-perceptions are focused on the exposure to thinness and/or fitness portrayals that emphasize the thin ideal. However, today’s digital content exhibits the ideal female body as a hybrid of physical characteristics such as an hourglass figure consisting of full breasts, thin waists, and large buttocks of well-known celebrities (or influencers) on social media and specifically on the social media platform, Instagram. A fusion of attributes from Kim Kardashian, Scarlet Johansson, and other curvy celebrities reflects the “ideal body” that is voluptuous rather than thin all over. Like the ultra thin ideal, this voluptuous ideal body represents a physical figure that is impossible to achieve for most women. Based on sociocultural theory Thompson et al. (1999) and social comparison theory Festinger (1954), the present study surveyed 189 emerging adult women’s use of Instagram and employed a three-stage serial mediational model of Instagram use and endorsement of the voluptuous body ideal. Results found intensity of Instagram use to be linked to viewing Instagram as a source of information and pressure, which was then linked to participants making more appearance-related comparisons and greater endorsement of a voluptuous body type as ideal. Our study indicates the thin ideal is not the only harmful and influential pressure on women’s body image and supports our argument that the influence of the voluptuous body types should not be overlooked by researchers as well as therapists, counselors, and educators.

大多数关于社交媒体对年轻女性理想身体形象和自我认知影响的研究都集中在强调苗条理想的苗条和/或健身描述上。然而，今天的数字内容将理想的女性身体展示为多种身体特征的混合体，例如社交媒体上，特别是社交媒体上知名名人（或影响者）的沙漏型身材，包括丰满的乳房、细腰和大臀部。平台，Instagram。金·卡戴珊 (Kim Kardashian)、斯嘉丽·约翰逊 (Scarlet Johansson) 等曲线优美的名人的特质融合在一起，体现出性感而不是全身瘦弱的“理想身材”。与超瘦理想一样，这种性感的理想身材代表了大多数女性无法实现的身材。基于社会文化理论 Thompson 等人。 (1999) 和社会比较理论 Festinger (1954)，本研究调查了 189 名新兴成年女性对 Instagram 的使用情况，并采用了 Instagram 使用和对性感身体理想认可的三阶段序列中介模型。结果发现，Instagram 的使用强度与将 Instagram 视为信息和压力的来源有关，而这又与参与者进行更多与外表相关的比较以及更认可性感体型为理想身材有关。我们的研究表明，苗条的理想并不是对女性身体形象唯一有害和有影响的压力，并支持我们的论点，即研究人员以及治疗师、咨询师和教育工作者不应忽视性感体型的影响。