Research on body image has neglected adolescents' ideals beyond thinness, p
articularly those of adolescent boys. Two studies are reported which examin
e a range of qualities in order to capture English adolescents' images of i
deal bodies for same- and other-gender individuals. Study 1 used a qualitat
ive approach, where 58 pupils aged 12-16 years discussed photograph arrays
of "good-looking" media personalities of both genders and then chose descri
ptors for "ideal" women and men. Adolescents' preferences for qualities in
either art "ideal woman" or an "ideal man, " and possible influences on tho
se preferences, were assessed quantitatively in Study 2, which used a quest
ionnaire with 458 pupils in the same age range. With few exceptions, all re
spondents were white Caucasian and roughly equally split between working-cl
ass and middle-class backgrounds. The main findings were that body-image id
eals are multidimensional, show systematic gender differences, and become m
ore conventional with age (closer to cultural ideals). Adolescents' own bod
y mass is linked systematically to body-image preferences, but only with re
spect to the "ideal woman," where heavier adolescents of both genders (high
er BMI) distance themselves from conventional notions of female beauty.