Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Holistic Health: Shaping Women’S Experiences Of Positive Body Image, Helen Elizabeth Monks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This PhD thesis seeks to contribute to a nuanced understanding of positive body image and how it is expressed among a group of women participating in holistic health culture in a modern Western society. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth ethnographic interviews with 25 women in Perth, Western Australia, to illuminate an understanding of their holistic health beliefs and practices, perceptions of appearance and health ideals, as well as their understandings of positive body image. Thematic analysis of the data through Nvivo revealed several overarching themes, demonstrating how certain aspects of holistic health culture may encourage or dissuade the development …