Contrast how male and female high school

students perceive their physical appearances

Kaila Su Young Kim

Different perceptions

Hypothesis

• Women tend to perceive their physical appearances as unsatisfactory, while men tend to perceive it as satisfactory. Therefore women spend more time caring about their appearances to hide what they think are faults

Experiment

• Who: 47 KIS high school students• 22 male• 25 female

• How: Online (survey monkey)

• Questions:• Are you male or female?• Are you satisfied with your physical

appearance?• Rate how much you care about your physical

appearance on a scale of 1 to 5 (1-not at all / 5-a lot)

Results

Results

Potential Flaws• Number of the

subjects from each grade wasn’t controlled

• Some people might not have took the survey seriously

…But it’s still reliable

• At least two students from each grade

• Any other knowledge about the subjects wasn’t provided

Annual Beauty Spending

$0 $100 $200 $300 $400 $500

$475

$193

Men Women

Words that are related to physical appearance

• Dieting

• Fashion

• Cosmetic Surgery

• http://clues.yahoo.com/

Why?

* General stereotype

* Male dominance society1. “survival of the prettiest” – Nancy

Etcoff2. “good looks are a woman's most

fungible asset, exchangeable for social position, money, even love.”

3. Also symbolizes health and fertility

Unique audience