Congratulations, Dr. Whisenhunt!
Dr. Brooke Whisenhunt, professor of psychology, researches body image ideals among women in the media.
Along with Dr. Danae Hudson, professor of psychology, and students, Whisenhunt studied the changing ideal figure. For women today, it’s a contradictory tall, thin and muscular.
“We expect women to restrict eating to get really thin, but now we also expect them to build muscle, which is very contradictory,” Whisenhunt said. Beyond it being unrealistic, she said, “the real kick is that it’s touted as healthier, making it harder for women to reject the notion.”