Appearance communicates much more about a person than just physical attributes. Compared to their less attractive counterparts, people perceived as attractive are viewed as being more socially skillful, popular, happy, confident, intelligent, warmer, and well-adjusted (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986). Attractive individuals also are more likely than the less attractive to receive support for developing positive life skills (Cash, 1990), to receive more attention from teachers (Martinek, 1981), to have more dating opportunities (Feingold, 1990), to get more social reinforcement (Barocas & Karoly, 1972), to receive more help from others (Benson, Karabenick, & Lerner, 1976), and to be favored in the hiring process (Cash & Kilcullen, 1985). Given the impact one's appearance has on responses from others, it is not surprising that most individuals are appearance conscious.

Appearance orientation is a reflection of one's body image, which Fallon (1990) described as "the way people perceive themselves, and equally important, the way they think others see them ... the body is experienced as a reflection of the self" (p. 80). The most prominent factor is the sociocultural standard of thinness for women in Western societies, a standard that is portrayed as not only desirable but attainable by all women. Historically, women have attempted to modify their bodies

A third factor receiving increased attention is the effect of childhood appearance-related teasing. The thin ideal may be heightened within a competitive college environment, and educational efforts within these semiclosed environments may help challenge the normalcy and expectation of feminine thinness. Joint efforts among student affairs practitioners (e.g., counseling staff, health education, nutrition, and medical staff, and physical education and fitness staff) may prove to have the broadest impact in a college setting. Education programs may include media campaigns, campus-wide body pride fairs, and personal growth or exercise groups targeted toward increased self-esteem, body satisfaction, and sense of body control. Not only should these education programs encourage individuals to develop their own sense of body pride, but they should also challenge the thin ideal as a form of oppression within the larger society. Body pride campaigns on a college campus should carefully avoid the message that this is only a "woman's issue" and should educate men and women alike about how they may contribute a mass discontent by uncritically accepting the thin ideal.