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Ideals of beauty and product information are transmitted via sociocultural channels, including social media. Through the framework of objectification theory, we examined the relation of involvement on Facebook to women's internalization of appearance ideals, psychological well-being, and their intentions to make online purchases. Participants were 796 female college students who completed online measures regarding internalization, sources of beauty information, social comparisons, body satisfaction, self-esteem, purchases referrals, and purchase intentions. Using structural equation modeling, we found that passive Facebook usage influenced the women's internalization of societal beauty ideals, which was related inversely to the women's satisfaction with their bodies and self-esteem. Active Facebook usage had direct effects on attention to friends' referrals and purchase behaviors. Purchase intentions also were influenced by referrals, the importance they placed on social media outlets as sources of information about fashion and appearance, and a more positive self-image. Findings suggest that women's intentions to make online purchases are determined through their involvement in social media, their friendship connections, and the extent to which their self-perceptions have been affected by sociocultural processes.

In this study, we examined the relation of participation in an alternative sport (i.e., Roller Derby) in the U.S. to women's body image, gender role and self-esteem. Roller Derby (n=64) and non-Roller Derby (n=129) women participated; the majority of the women (59.4 to 77.7 %) were from Texas though participants also were drawn from 14 other states across the U.S. All the women completed quantitative measures of body esteem, self-esteem, and gender characteristics; the athletes also provided qualitative responses to questions about their Roller Derby persona, self-esteem, dress, and motivation. In both groups, self-esteem was related to endorsing more instrumental characteristics as well as with greater satisfaction with sexual attractiveness, weight, and physical condition. The Roller Derby women's endorsement of instrumental, as opposed to expressive, characteristics was related significantly to all three dimensions of body esteem. Roller Derby women endorsed more instrumental characteristics and were more satisfied with their weight and physical condition than the non-Roller Derby women; both groups reported generally high and similar levels of self-esteem and did not differ significantly on their satisfaction with their sexual attractiveness. Roller Derby challenges traditional hegemonic notions of masculinity/femininity and negates the idea of the female body as passive sex object. As a sport, Roller Derby may provide an alternate system of body evaluation based on functionality, rather than appearance. This alternative perspective may empower women who traditionally are seen as overweight and unfeminine in today's society, thereby instilling a more positive body image and instrumental view of themselves as athletes.