Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Body Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating Among College Women’S Social Networks: An Investigation Of Perceived Changes Following A Dissonance-Based Body Image Intervention, Rachel I. Macintyre

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Body dissatisfaction is associated with numerous health consequences and is pervasive among college women. Effective interventions exist that reduce body dissatisfaction in college women by helping them resist sociocultural pressures to conform to the appearance ideal, such as the Body Project. Yet research is limited on whether social and behavioral processes help participants reduce their engagement in sociocultural appearance-ideal messages and contribute to the intervention’s effectiveness. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine these social and behavioral processes, including the changes in college women’s social networks associated with their participation in the Body Project. Undergraduate and graduate …

Nothing To Lose: A Literature Review On Combating Anti-Fat Bias Through Expressive Therapies, Katlyn Tracy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Anti-fat bias exists and is a pervasive and often overlooked form of oppression that significantly harms the mental health of fat people. Similar to other forms of oppression, anti-fat bias remains perpetuated through ideology, enforced institutionally through discriminatory practices, and enacted through interpersonal harassment. There is growing interest in exploring not only the mental health impacts of anti-fat bias, but also the development of effective therapeutic interventions to support fat people impacted by it. However, research on therapeutic strategies for combating this issue remains scarce. The field of Expressive Therapies, with its range of creative modalities and focus on engaging …

Media’S Portrayal Of Women And Its Impact On Body Image And Self-Esteem, Hannah Bareis

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project addresses the portrayal of women in media and its damaging effects on body image and self-esteem. It raises two critical questions: What negative impact is media creating on women? What can be done to combat these destructive effects?

According to a study done by Common Sense Media, "American teens use an average of 9 hours of media daily, not including for school and homework" (Common Sense Media, 2015). This data, along with many others, shows the severity of media exposure to teens. This has brought a valuable discussion to the table. How has this impacted female body image, …

Artistic Expressions Of Vegan Women With Disturbed Eating Behavior And Body Image Distress, Lee Ann Thill

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This research explores the experience of women who are vegan, and have disturbed eating behaviors (DEB) and body image distress (BID). Four participants completed a series of three art-making sessions. Participants were invited to visually explore their experience as a vegan woman with DEB/BID. They made a mixed media collage with an emphasis on layering in each session. They engaged in discussion about their process, and the final art piece’s meaning. Between sessions, researcher response art pieces were created for each participant piece, with accompanying journal reflections to engage with the ideas they explored. All participant sessions were video and …

A Fat Imposter: The Embodied Intersection Between Race, Body Type And Fatness In Margaret Cho’S Comedy, Julia Cox

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Margaret Cho is a comedic goddess who, in her mockery, serves flaming hot social commentary about race, body image, and fatness. Within this thesis, I used critical discourse analysis to understand how Margaret Cho embodies Asianness, whiteness, and the body types and images prescribed respectively. While working on data analysis, I came across a common media trope of fat women: the use of indexically Southern (United States), Appalachian, and Working class indexicals in speech and lexical items. I connected the ideologies surrounding Southern and Appalachian language to the inequalities that fat women face. This voicing had not previously been written …

Women In Combat Boots: U.S. Servicewomen’S Collective Self-Esteem And Adherence To Weight Regulations, Latavia Monét Ford

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Women’s bodies are scrutinized and objectified in western societies broadly. For servicewomen however, the military is a specific site where women’s bodies receive close examination and scrutiny. Military members must adhere to height-based weight standards to remain in compliance. For servicewomen, the military is an important part of their life, and as such, it has a pivotal role in shaping their identity. The purpose of this study is to examine women’s experiences of managing and responding to the weigh-ins, particularly the ways it shapes their collective self-esteem. Data for this study consist of ten qualitative interviews conducted with servicewomen. Findings …