The Perception of Malaysian Rural and Urban Indigenous Women on Body Image
(Persepsi Wanita Orang Asli Bandar dan Luar Bandar di Malaysia terhadap Imej Tubuh)
Abstract
This study investigates the perception of body image among indigenous women in Peninsular Malaysia. Using a sample drawn from urban (n=38) and rural (n=21) settings, the study engages participants who are more or less socio-economically acculturated to mainstream society in order to explore different attitudes to body image, and anxiety level about social physique between rural and urban women. Rural indigenous women registered a higher level of body dissatisfaction than their urban counterparts. However, there was no significant difference in attitudes towards body image between indigenous women in both locations. Due to a degree of presumed acculturation to western ideals of body image, urban indigenous women who were not underweight showed a higher anxiety level concerning their physique than those from rural areas with a similar body size. It was also found that a higher level of body dissatisfaction correlated with a poorer body image among indigenous women in Malaysia.
Keywords: Body Image, indigenous, Malaysian, perception, rural-urban, women
References
Barber, N. (1998). The slender ideal and eating disorders: An interdisciplinary "telescope" model. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 23, 295-307. doi:10.1002/(SiCi)1098-108X(199804)23:3<295::AiD-EAT7>3.0
Bearman, S. K., Presnell, K., Martinez, E., & Stice, E. (2006). The skinny on body dissatisfaction: A longitudinal study of adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 217-229.
Brown, P. (1991). Culture and the evolution of obesity. Human Nature, 2(1), 31-57. doi:10.1007/BF02692180
Cash, T. F., & Pruzinsky, T., (Eds.). (2002). Body images: A handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice. Guilford Press.
Chua, E. Y., Zalilah, M. S., Chin, Y. S., & Norhasmah, S. (2012). Dietary diversity is associated with nutritional status of Orang Asli children in Krau Wildlife Reserve, Pahang. The Malaysian Journal of Nutrition,18(1), 1-13.
Cinelli, R. L., & O'Dea, J. A. (2009). Body image and obesity among Australian adolescents from indigeneous and Anglo-European backgrounds: implications for health promotion and obesity prevention among aboriginal youth. Health Education Research, 24(6), 1059-1068. doi:10.1093/her/cyp040
Davis, C., & Katzman, M. A. (1999). Perfection as acculturation: Psychological correlates of eating problems in chinese male and female students living in United States. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 25, 65-70.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2010). Population and housing census of Malaysia 2010: Preliminary count report. Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Ding, E. (26 Oct 2016). The Temuans of Damansara. http://www.malaysia.my/article/culture/the_temuans_of_damansara_perdana/
Emmons, L. (1994). Predisposing factors differentiating adolescent dieters and nondieters. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 94(7), 725-731. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0002-8223(94)91937-2
Frederick, D. A., Peplau, L. A., & Lever, J. (2006). The swimsuit issue: Correlates of body image in a sample of 52,677 heterosexual adults. Body Image, 3(4), 413-419. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.08.002
Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps Desa Temuan, Damansara Perdana]. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.google.com/maps/@3.1701528,101.6009308,15z
Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps Desa Jakun, Semelai and Temuan, Muadzam Shah, Pahang]. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.google.com/maps/@3.0926464,102.8231032,10z
Humenikova, L. S., & Gates, G. E. (2008). Body image perceptions in Western and post-communist countries: a cross-cultural pilot study of children and parents. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 4(3), 220-231. doi:10.1111/j.1740-8709.2007.00133.x
Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA). (2006). Data maklumat asas jabatan hal ehwal Orang Asli Malaysia.Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli, Kementerian Pembangunan Luar Bandar.
Khor, G. L., Zalilah, M. S., Phan, Y. Y., Ang, M., Maznah, B., & Norimah, A. K. (2009). Perceptions of body image among Malaysian male and female adolescents. Singapore Medical Journal, 50(3), 303-311.
Lee, S., & Lee, A. M. (2000). Disordered eating in three communities of China: A comparative study of female high school students in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and rural Hunan. International Journal of Eating Disorders,27, 317-327.
Mahmud, N., & Crittenden, N. (2007). A comparative study of body image of Australian and Pakistani young females. British Journal of Psychology, 98(2), 187-198. doi:10.1348/000712606X112446
Masron, T., Masami, F., & Norhasimah, i. (2013). Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia: Population, spatial distribution and socio-economic condition. Journal of Ritsumeikan Social Sciences and Humanities, 6, 75-115.
McArthur, L., Holbert, D., and Peña, M. (2005). An exploration of the attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among male and female adolescents from six Latin American cities. Adolescence,40(160), 801-816.
Meland, E., Haugland, S., and Breidablik, H.-J. (2007). Body image and perceived health in adolescence. Health Education Research, 22(3), 342-350. doi:10.1093/her/cyl085
Mellor D, McCabe M, Ricciardelli L, Ball K. (Sept. 2004). Body image importance and body dissatisfaction among indigenous Australian adolescents. Body Image, 1(3), 289-97. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.05.003. PMiD: 18089160.
Nabila, T., Essmat, M., Amal, S., and Entisar, M. Y. 2011. Comparison between body image and self-esteem among female nursing students in three different Arab countries. Medical Journal Cairo University, 79(1), 509-517.
Paquette, C, M., and Raine, K. (2004). Sociocultural context of women’s body image. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1047-1058.
Smolak, L. (2006). Body Image. In J. Worell, & C. D. Goodheart (Eds.), Handbook of Girls' and Women's Psychological Health: Gender and Well-Being Across the Lifespan. Oxford Series in Clinical Psychology, 69-76. Oxford University Press.
Stunkard, A, Sorensen, T., & Schulsinger, F. (1983). Use of the Danish Adoption Register for the study of obesity and thinness. Research Publications - Association for Research in Nervous & Mental Disease, 60, 115-120
Swami, V., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2008). Factor structure of the body appreciation scale among Malaysian women. Body Image,5, 409-413. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.04.005
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2005). Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study. Body Image, 2, 115-128. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.02.002
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2007). The Relative Contribution of Profile Body Shape and Weight to Judgments of Women's Physical Attractivenes in Britain and Malaysia. Body image 4: 391-396. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.07.002
Swami, V., Frederick, D. A., Aavik, T., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Anderson, D., & Zivcic-Becirevic, I. et al. 2010. The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project i. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(3), 309-325. doi:10.1177/0146167209359702
Swami, V., Kannan, K., & Furnham, A. (2011). Positive body image: inter-ethnic and rural-urban differences among an indigeneous sample from Malaysian Borneo. International Journal of Social Psychiatry,58(6), 568-576. doi:10.1177/0020764011415208
Swami, V., Knight, D., Tovée, M. J., Davies, P., & Furnham, A. (2007). Perceptions of female body size in Britain and the South Pacific. Body Image, 4, 219-223. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.01.002
Teti, V. (1995). Food and fatness in Calabria. in i. d. Garine, & N. J. Pollock, (Eds.). Social aspects of obesity, 3-30. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.
Tovée, M. J., Swami, V., Furnham, A., & Mangalparsad, R. (2006). Changing perceptions of attractiveness as observers are exposed to a different culture. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 443-456. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.05.004
World Bank. (2011). Still among the Poorest of the Poor. Indigenous People Country Brief. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/10/15198880/stillamongpoorestpoor
Bearman, S. K., Presnell, K., Martinez, E., & Stice, E. (2006). The skinny on body dissatisfaction: A longitudinal study of adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 217-229.
Brown, P. (1991). Culture and the evolution of obesity. Human Nature, 2(1), 31-57. doi:10.1007/BF02692180
Cash, T. F., & Pruzinsky, T., (Eds.). (2002). Body images: A handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice. Guilford Press.
Chua, E. Y., Zalilah, M. S., Chin, Y. S., & Norhasmah, S. (2012). Dietary diversity is associated with nutritional status of Orang Asli children in Krau Wildlife Reserve, Pahang. The Malaysian Journal of Nutrition,18(1), 1-13.
Cinelli, R. L., & O'Dea, J. A. (2009). Body image and obesity among Australian adolescents from indigeneous and Anglo-European backgrounds: implications for health promotion and obesity prevention among aboriginal youth. Health Education Research, 24(6), 1059-1068. doi:10.1093/her/cyp040
Davis, C., & Katzman, M. A. (1999). Perfection as acculturation: Psychological correlates of eating problems in chinese male and female students living in United States. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 25, 65-70.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2010). Population and housing census of Malaysia 2010: Preliminary count report. Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Ding, E. (26 Oct 2016). The Temuans of Damansara. http://www.malaysia.my/article/culture/the_temuans_of_damansara_perdana/
Emmons, L. (1994). Predisposing factors differentiating adolescent dieters and nondieters. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 94(7), 725-731. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0002-8223(94)91937-2
Frederick, D. A., Peplau, L. A., & Lever, J. (2006). The swimsuit issue: Correlates of body image in a sample of 52,677 heterosexual adults. Body Image, 3(4), 413-419. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.08.002
Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps Desa Temuan, Damansara Perdana]. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.google.com/maps/@3.1701528,101.6009308,15z
Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps Desa Jakun, Semelai and Temuan, Muadzam Shah, Pahang]. Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.google.com/maps/@3.0926464,102.8231032,10z
Humenikova, L. S., & Gates, G. E. (2008). Body image perceptions in Western and post-communist countries: a cross-cultural pilot study of children and parents. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 4(3), 220-231. doi:10.1111/j.1740-8709.2007.00133.x
Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA). (2006). Data maklumat asas jabatan hal ehwal Orang Asli Malaysia.Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli, Kementerian Pembangunan Luar Bandar.
Khor, G. L., Zalilah, M. S., Phan, Y. Y., Ang, M., Maznah, B., & Norimah, A. K. (2009). Perceptions of body image among Malaysian male and female adolescents. Singapore Medical Journal, 50(3), 303-311.
Lee, S., & Lee, A. M. (2000). Disordered eating in three communities of China: A comparative study of female high school students in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and rural Hunan. International Journal of Eating Disorders,27, 317-327.
Mahmud, N., & Crittenden, N. (2007). A comparative study of body image of Australian and Pakistani young females. British Journal of Psychology, 98(2), 187-198. doi:10.1348/000712606X112446
Masron, T., Masami, F., & Norhasimah, i. (2013). Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia: Population, spatial distribution and socio-economic condition. Journal of Ritsumeikan Social Sciences and Humanities, 6, 75-115.
McArthur, L., Holbert, D., and Peña, M. (2005). An exploration of the attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among male and female adolescents from six Latin American cities. Adolescence,40(160), 801-816.
Meland, E., Haugland, S., and Breidablik, H.-J. (2007). Body image and perceived health in adolescence. Health Education Research, 22(3), 342-350. doi:10.1093/her/cyl085
Mellor D, McCabe M, Ricciardelli L, Ball K. (Sept. 2004). Body image importance and body dissatisfaction among indigenous Australian adolescents. Body Image, 1(3), 289-97. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.05.003. PMiD: 18089160.
Nabila, T., Essmat, M., Amal, S., and Entisar, M. Y. 2011. Comparison between body image and self-esteem among female nursing students in three different Arab countries. Medical Journal Cairo University, 79(1), 509-517.
Paquette, C, M., and Raine, K. (2004). Sociocultural context of women’s body image. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 1047-1058.
Smolak, L. (2006). Body Image. In J. Worell, & C. D. Goodheart (Eds.), Handbook of Girls' and Women's Psychological Health: Gender and Well-Being Across the Lifespan. Oxford Series in Clinical Psychology, 69-76. Oxford University Press.
Stunkard, A, Sorensen, T., & Schulsinger, F. (1983). Use of the Danish Adoption Register for the study of obesity and thinness. Research Publications - Association for Research in Nervous & Mental Disease, 60, 115-120
Swami, V., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2008). Factor structure of the body appreciation scale among Malaysian women. Body Image,5, 409-413. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.04.005
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2005). Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study. Body Image, 2, 115-128. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.02.002
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2007). The Relative Contribution of Profile Body Shape and Weight to Judgments of Women's Physical Attractivenes in Britain and Malaysia. Body image 4: 391-396. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.07.002
Swami, V., Frederick, D. A., Aavik, T., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Anderson, D., & Zivcic-Becirevic, I. et al. 2010. The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the international body project i. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(3), 309-325. doi:10.1177/0146167209359702
Swami, V., Kannan, K., & Furnham, A. (2011). Positive body image: inter-ethnic and rural-urban differences among an indigeneous sample from Malaysian Borneo. International Journal of Social Psychiatry,58(6), 568-576. doi:10.1177/0020764011415208
Swami, V., Knight, D., Tovée, M. J., Davies, P., & Furnham, A. (2007). Perceptions of female body size in Britain and the South Pacific. Body Image, 4, 219-223. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.01.002
Teti, V. (1995). Food and fatness in Calabria. in i. d. Garine, & N. J. Pollock, (Eds.). Social aspects of obesity, 3-30. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.
Tovée, M. J., Swami, V., Furnham, A., & Mangalparsad, R. (2006). Changing perceptions of attractiveness as observers are exposed to a different culture. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 443-456. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.05.004
World Bank. (2011). Still among the Poorest of the Poor. Indigenous People Country Brief. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/10/15198880/stillamongpoorestpoor
Published
2021-07-02
How to Cite
KUI-LING, Emily Lau et al.
The Perception of Malaysian Rural and Urban Indigenous Women on Body Image.
Melayu: Jurnal Antarabangsa Dunia Melayu, [S.l.], v. 14, n. 2, p. 285-304, july 2021.
ISSN 2682-8049.
Available at: <https://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/Melayu/article/view/8127>. Date accessed: 24 apr. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.37052/jm.14(2)no7.
Section
Articles
