Multiple factors are likely to influence body dissatisfaction in young Asian American women. Research across multiple studies indicates that Asian American women continuously have higher levels of body dissatisfaction than any other racial group (Javier and Belgrave, 2019, pp. 141-143). The biggest internal influences on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating from the sociocultural perspective include sexual objectification, acculturative stress, and intergenerational trauma.

​

Sexual objectification is defined as “the treatment of women as sexual objects ‘valued predominantly for its use to (or consumption by) others’ and is maintained through patriarchal social structures … that cater to male domination” (Cheng & Kim, 2018, pp. 237-238). In this context, sexual objectification is any instance where an individual is viewed as merely a sexual object and through the lens of the white supremacist patriarchy. In turn, self-objectification is when individuals view themselves as sexual objects through a patriarchal lens, causing an individual to examine their body to prevent “unattractive” features (Frederick, Kelly, Latner, Sandhu, and Tsong, 2016, pp. 113-114). Objectification theory does not take race and racism into account, so new models of objectification theory have been developed to describe how minorities may objectify themselves through the lens of white supremacy (Cheng & Kim, 2018, pp. 237-238). However, for Asian American women, objectification is a complex issue. Objectification for women can lead to body dissatisfaction as a result of racialized oppression (Wong, Keum, Caffarel, et al, 2017, pp. 296-297). Racism can send negative messages to minorities about their body image, causing them to internalize unrealistic beauty standards which leads to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating (Javier and Belgrave, 2019, pp. 141-143). Asian American women may internalize Eurocentric beauty standards as the ideal of sexuality and solely look at themselves through that lens. Also, while objectification from men can make women uncomfortable, some Asian American women describe wanting to receive catcalls from men to validate their beauty (Wong, Keum, Caffarel, et al, 2017, pp. 303-305). Through racial trauma and the desire to receive catcalls, individuals self-objectify themselves, viewing their self-worth through the lens of their sexuality. Objectification and self-objectification largely influence Asian American women’s body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating.

​

Another internal influence on Asian American women’s body images and rate of disordered eating is acculturative stress. Acculturative stress is the “physiological and psychological distress that results from an individual’s attempt to maintain a balance between a dominant culture and their native culture in a certain lime domain” (Javier and Belgrave, 2019, pp. 141-143). Almost every Asian American woman’s life is a battle between balancing American values with the values of their ethnic culture, and these values present themselves when one considers which aspects of their bodies are considered to be attractive and unattractive. When asked about their least favorite body parts, Asian American women pointed to their noses, breasts, body size, and stomach (Winter, et al, 2019, p. 75-77). Another study presented that over fifty percent of Asian American women were dissatisfied with their weight, twenty-seven percent were dissatisfied with their hair, and fourteen percent were dissatisfied with their faces (Koff, Benavage, and Wong, 2001, pp. 923-924). Many of these features are ethnically or racially constructed such as noses, height, and hair. When living in the United States, Asian women receive messages that their ethnic features are not beautiful and face acculturative stress when navigating beauty through American standards and ethnic standards. Internalizing both beauty ideals adds trauma and stress to an Asian American woman’s life.

​

The third internal influence on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating of Asian American women is intergenerational conflict. Intergenerational conflict is defined by the tension between an individual and their elders as the individual internalizes and adopts more cultural values outside of the older generation’s traditional values (Javier and Belgrave, 2019, pp. 141-143). This conflict results in both societal trauma, “the collectively carried and intergenerationally transmitted system oppression of minority groups” and insidious trauma, “the psychological toll of accruing microforms of objectification and discrimination through an individual’s lifespan” (Cheng & Kim, 2018, pp. 239-241). Asian American families present intergenerational conflict when an older family member comments on a younger relative’s behavior or body out of care but the younger family member interprets the comment to be rude or mean (Wong, Keum, Caffarel, et al, 2017, pp. 303-305). These comments can result in the younger relative feeling uncomfortable, causing them to hyper-fixate on the areas where elders had pointed out imperfections. Thus, intergenerational conflict can exacerbate body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in young Asian American women.