TY - JOUR
T1 - What can my body do vs. how does it look?
T2 - A qualitative analysis of young women and men's descriptions of their body functionality or physical appearance
AU - Alleva, Jessica M
AU - Holmqvist Gattario, Kristina
AU - Martijn, Carolien
AU - Lunde, Carolina
N1 - Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - The aim of this study was to explore the themes that emerge when individuals are asked to describe their body functionality, and those that emerge when individuals are asked to describe their physical appearance. Data were gathered from undergraduate women and men's (N = 75, Mage = 20.66) responses to a writing exercise (Alleva et al., 2014), wherein they were either asked to describe their body functionality or their physical appearance. Through thematic analysis, six themes were identified from participants' descriptions of their body functionality (ordered by frequency): (a) evaluating the functionality of the body, (b) positive body-self connection, (c) resilient body, (d) comparisons to the norm, (e) body behind the scenes, and (f) enjoyment of body functions. Five themes were identified from participants' descriptions of their physical appearance (ordered by frequency): (a) comparisons to the norm, (b) evaluating the appearance of the body - own evaluations, (c) evaluating the appearance of the body - other people's evaluations, (d) the body project, and (e) appearance appreciation. Overall, the findings suggest that the themes that emerge when people are asked to reflect on their body functionality tend to be more positive, as they can be linked to positive embodiment, gratitude, and less self-objectification.
AB - The aim of this study was to explore the themes that emerge when individuals are asked to describe their body functionality, and those that emerge when individuals are asked to describe their physical appearance. Data were gathered from undergraduate women and men's (N = 75, Mage = 20.66) responses to a writing exercise (Alleva et al., 2014), wherein they were either asked to describe their body functionality or their physical appearance. Through thematic analysis, six themes were identified from participants' descriptions of their body functionality (ordered by frequency): (a) evaluating the functionality of the body, (b) positive body-self connection, (c) resilient body, (d) comparisons to the norm, (e) body behind the scenes, and (f) enjoyment of body functions. Five themes were identified from participants' descriptions of their physical appearance (ordered by frequency): (a) comparisons to the norm, (b) evaluating the appearance of the body - own evaluations, (c) evaluating the appearance of the body - other people's evaluations, (d) the body project, and (e) appearance appreciation. Overall, the findings suggest that the themes that emerge when people are asked to reflect on their body functionality tend to be more positive, as they can be linked to positive embodiment, gratitude, and less self-objectification.
KW - APPRECIATION
KW - Body functionality
KW - Body image
KW - CONTROLLED-TRIAL
KW - DISSATISFACTION
KW - EXPERIENCES
KW - Embodiment
KW - IMAGE
KW - INTERVENTION
KW - MEDIA
KW - OBJECTIFICATION THEORY
KW - PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION
KW - Physical appearance
KW - Qualitative analysis
KW - SATISFACTION
U2 - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.08.008
DO - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.08.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 31499411
SN - 1740-1445
VL - 31
SP - 71
EP - 80
JO - Body Image
JF - Body Image
ER -