Keeping it raw on the ‘gram: Authenticity, relatability and digital intimacy in fitness cultures on Instagram

2020 ◽  
pp. 146144481989169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josie Reade
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Growing Body

This article builds on a growing body of research on social media and authenticity through examining practices of ‘keeping it raw’ in fitness cultures on Instagram. Such practices include posting unedited or ‘realistic’ visuals of the body, storying the everyday and ‘real talk’ about topics such as mental health and body image. Drawing on empirical findings from my research with 21 Australian women aged 20–35 who use Instagram to post and engage with fitness inspiration – fitspo – content, I specifically trace how enactments of ‘raw’ cultivate digital intimacies between Instagram users. Here, I take up a feminist new materialist approach to consider how various body parts, objects, platform functionalities and discourses come together to create affective encounters between my participants and other Instagram users. The contribution of this article lies in attending to the work that raw does, to what end and for whom.

scholarly journals The Shackles of The Mirror? - A Case Study on Body Dysmorphic Disorder

2021 ◽  
pp. 156-161
Author(s):  
Smita B. Thomas ◽  
Suphala Kotian
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Skin Color ◽  
Body Dysmorphic Disorder ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Body ◽  
Medical Psychology ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Body Type

Purpose: This case study was done to do a detailed study on the recent trends with photographs and how it affects the body dysmorphic disorder [BDD] across all genders and age groups. The intention was to understand how is body dysmorphic disorder affects persons eating habits, social interaction, and body image. In this article, various research studies and scholarly articles were studied to understand in detail regarding Body dysmorphic disorder. The emphasis was given on age, gender, social media networking site users, etc. It was also intended to study how the media influences people towards a certain skin color and body type. It was found not a single study was done in India though there are articles by Indian authors on body shaming, body image, and how media is obsessed with unrealistic beauty standards which indirectly creates body image concerns in people. This case study justifies the need for studies to be done in India to identify Body dysmorphic disorder using various scales like Body image concern inventory, etc. Objective: This case study was done to understand the studies done on body dysmorphic disorder around the world. To understand the pattern, occurrence ratio between youngsters and elderly and social media users and non-users. Design/Methodology/Approach: Detailed Review of literature was done on various scholarly articles provided over medical, psychology, and journal websites. Findings/Results: Most of the studies were done in European countries and very few in Asia. The studies revealed that women are more affected by BDD than men. People active on social networking sites, following celebrities, and media were more discontent with their body parts or in general. Studies also show that the younger population is more affected by body dysmorphic disorder. It was also noted that there was no direct study done in India for identifying body dysmorphic disorder. Type of Paper: Research Case Study.

The Role of Hand Size in the Fake-Hand Illusion Paradigm

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5853 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1547-1554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Pavani ◽  
Massimiliano Zampini
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
Body Representation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Video Image ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Statistical Correlations ◽  
Hand Size ◽  
Visible Hand

When a hand (either real or fake) is stimulated in synchrony with our own hand concealed from view, the felt position of our own hand can be biased toward the location of the seen hand. This intriguing phenomenon relies on the brain's ability to detect statistical correlations in the multisensory inputs (ie visual, tactile, and proprioceptive), but it is also modulated by the pre-existing representation of one's own body. Nonetheless, researchers appear to have accepted the assumption that the size of the seen hand does not matter for this illusion to occur. Here we used a real-time video image of the participant's own hand to elicit the illusion, but we varied the hand size in the video image so that the seen hand was either reduced, veridical, or enlarged in comparison to the participant's own hand. The results showed that visible-hand size modulated the illusion, which was present for veridical and enlarged images of the hand, but absent when the visible hand was reduced. These findings indicate that very specific aspects of our own body image (ie hand size) can constrain the multisensory modulation of the body schema highlighted by the fake-hand illusion paradigm. In addition, they suggest an asymmetric tendency to acknowledge enlarged (but not reduced) images of body parts within our body representation.

Body Schema and Body Image

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Body Dysmorphic Disorder ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Neural Activities ◽  
Body Shapes ◽  
Influential Book ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors

Body schema refers to the system of sensory-motor functions that enables control of the position of body parts in space, without conscious awareness of those parts. Body image refers to a conscious representation of the way the body appears—a set of conscious perceptions, affective attitudes, and beliefs pertaining to one’s own bodily image. In 2005, Shaun Gallagher published an influential book entitled ‘How the Body Shapes the Mind’. This book not only defined both body schema (BS) and body image (BI), but also explored the complicated relationship between the two. The book also established the idea that there is a double dissociation, whereby body schema and body image refer to two different, but closely related, systems. Given that many kinds of pathological cases can be described in terms of body schema and body image (phantom limbs, asomatognosia, apraxia, schizophrenia, anorexia, depersonalization, and body dysmorphic disorder, among others), we might expect to find a growing consensus about these concepts and the relevant neural activities connected to these systems. Instead, an examination of the scientific literature reveals continued ambiguity and disagreement. This volume brings together leading experts from the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry in a lively and productive dialogue. It explores fundamental questions about the relationship between body schema and body image, and addresses ongoing debates about the role of the brain and the role of social and cultural factors in our understanding of embodiment.

scholarly journals Medicated bodies: Mental distress, social media and affect

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 549-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Tucker ◽  
Lewis Goodings
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
The Body ◽  
Psychiatric Medication ◽  
Social Media Site ◽  
Health Social Media ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
The Impact

Social media are increasingly being recruited into care practices in mental health. This article analyses how a major new mental health social media site ( www.elefriends.org.uk ) is used when trying to manage the impact of psychiatric medication on the body. Drawing on Henri Bergson’s concept of affection, analysis shows that Elefriends is used at particular moments of reconfiguration (e.g. change in dosage and/or medication), periods of self-experimentation (when people tailor their regimen by altering prescriptions or ceasing medication) and when dealing with a present bodily concern (showing how members have a direct, immediate relationship with the site). In addition, the analysis illustrates how users have to structure their communication to try to avoid ‘triggering’ distress in others. The article concludes by pointing to the need to focus on the multiple emerging relationships between bodies and social media in mental health, due to the ways the latter are becoming increasingly prominent technologies through which to experience the body when distressed.

scholarly journals #BodyProudMums: Promoting Body Positivity through Brand Storytelling on Social Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-341
Author(s):  
Ruvira Arindita
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Body Satisfaction ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Perinatal Period ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Appreciation ◽  
Body Image Satisfaction ◽  
Body Acceptance

Previous researches showed that there is relation between body image satisfaction and depression in perinatal period. Given this fact, it is important to educate and find ways to enhance mothers’ postpartum self-esteem and body satisfaction. For the last decade body image literature has risen and brought to new discussion about body positivity. This research focuses on women’s body positivity campaign presented by Mothercare called #BodyProudMums. The objective of this research is to identify the storytelling elements used to promote women’s body positivity campaign and whether the issue creates good brand story for Mothercare. The concepts used are body positivity, postpartum, brand storytelling, and social media with qualitative content analysis as research method. The unit of analysis are ten posts of #BodyProudMums campaign on @mothercareuk, while the samples are three randomly chosen posts. This research notes that the body positivity messages of body appreciation, body acceptance, and love, as well as broad conceptualization of beauty are carried out by the elements of storytelling namely: basic plots (the quest), archetype (the change master) with the following story objectives: communicating who they are, fostering collaboration, transmitting values and sparking action. There are only three out of four elements of good brand story present on the campaign. However, the absence of humor element is justified because of the nature of the postpartum story in which it shares mothers’ hardship and how they finally cope with it. Therefore, it can be said that the issue of mothers’ body positivity creates good brand story for Mothercare. Key words: positive body image, postpartum, brand storytelling, social media

scholarly journals Anthropomorphization Framework for Human-Object Communication

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1007-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirotaka Osawa ◽  
◽  
Jun Mukai ◽  
Michita Imai ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Ubiquitous Computing ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Body Language ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Object ◽  
Computing Environments ◽  
Ubiquitous Computing Environments

We propose an anthropomorphization framework that determines an object’s body image. This framework directly intervenes and anthropomorphizes objects in ubiquitous-computing environments through robotic body parts shaped like those of human beings, which provide information through spoken directions and body language. Our purpose is to demonstrate that an object acquires subjective representations through anthropomorphization. Using this framework, people can more fully understand instructions given by an object. We designed an anthropomorphization framework that changes the body image by attaching body parts. We also conducted experiments to evaluate this framework. Results indicate that the site at which an anthropomorphization device is attached influences human perception of the object’s virtual body image, and participants in experiments understood several instructions given by the object more clearly. Results also indicate that participants better intuited their devices’ instructions and movement in ubiquitous-computing environments.

scholarly journals The Effects of Self-Esteem and Influence of Friends via Social Media on Body Image Amongst Children

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Arman Hj Ahmad ◽  
Izian Idris ◽  
Regina Moy Li Jing
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Theoretical Implication ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Comparison Theory ◽  
The Government

Introduction: With the rise and fall of many communication platforms embedded into our everyday lives and the on-going maturity of the digitalization era, social media usage has tremendously increased over the past decade. The purpose of this research is to identify to what extent self-esteem and the influence of friends’ impact children's perception of their body image through social media and how powerful social media in influencing the body image of children.Methodology: The theoretical implication of this study is to expand the usage of Signalling theory, Sociocultural theory and Social Comparison theory towards better explaining children’s behaviours and the factors that impact children view of their body image. 282 children were recruited using the snowball sampling technique and data collected were analysed using Smart-PLS to see the impacts and relationship between all variables.Results: This study found that the self-esteem and friends do impacts body comparison on social media. However, the self-esteem is negatively correlated. The study also identified that there is a significance direct relationship between the direct impacts of self-esteem and friends towards the body image. On the other hand, the social media is found to have no direct impact on body image.Conclusion/- and Recommendations: This study provides a better insight for the government on the importance of regulation of advertisements particularly via social media and for the society at large to create a more socially supportive environment for adolescents to communicate and help them grow their mind-set on the acceptable and realistic standards of beauty as well as contributes to the existing knowledge on the role of social media and adds knowledge to how powerful social media in giving impacts to body image among adolescences.

Cultural scripting of body parts for emotions

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix K. Ameka
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Cultural Construction ◽  
West African ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
African Language ◽  
Moving Body ◽  
Three Body ◽  
Red Eyes

Different languages present a variety of ways of talking about emotional experience. Very commonly, feelings are described through the use of ‘body image constructions’ in which they are associated with processes in, or states of, specific body parts. The emotions and the body parts that are thought to be their locus and the kind of activity associated with these body parts vary cross-culturally. This study focuses on the meaning of three ‘body image constructions’ used to describe feelings similar to, but also different from, English ‘jealousy’, ‘envy’, and ‘covetousness’ in the West African language Ewe. It is demonstrated that a ‘moving body’, a pychologised eye, and red eyes are scripted for these feelings. It is argued that the expressions are not figurative and that their semantics provide good clues to understanding the cultural construction of emotions both emotions and the body.

Estimation of Distances on the Body

1967 ◽  
Vol 24 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1131-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franklin C. Shontz
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Stimulus Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Women College Students ◽  
Human Figure ◽  
Response Modes

24 men and 24 women college students estimated the sizes of 13 body stimuli and 13 nonbody objects by adjusting markers on a horizontal rod and by drawing 1:4 scale pictures of their own bodies. Data were scores expressing response size as a percentage of stimulus size. In both response modes, percentage scores for body stimuli assumed a pattern that was not evident in estimates of nonbody-object sizes. Combinations of body parts, judged as a unit, were underestimated relative to estimates of component body parts judged separately. Ss' free drawings of the human figure, rated for disturbance in body image, were not significantly related to size-estimations of body or nonbody stimuli.

scholarly journals Comparisons of Body Image Perceptions of a Sample of Black and White Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia in the US

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine E.A Boyington ◽  
Britta Schoster ◽  
Leigh F Callahan
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Body Image ◽  
White Women ◽  
The Body ◽  
Activity Limitations ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Mental Function

Objective : To explore the disease-related, body image (BI) perceptions of women diagnosed with, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia (FM). Methods : A purposive sample of twenty-seven females participated in individual semi-structured phone interviews to elicit BI perceptions relative to pain, activity limitations and coping measures. Sessions were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and content analyzed. Results : Body image perceptions relative to 5 major themes emerged in the analysis. They focused on Pain, Disease Impact on Physical and Mental Function, Weight, Diseased-Induced Fears and, Coping measures. Pain was a common experience of all participants. Other troubling factors verbalized by participants included dislike and shame of visibly affected body parts, and disease-induced social, psychological and physical limitations. RA participants thought that manifested joint changes, such as swelling and redness, undergirded their prompt diagnosis and receipt of health care. Contrarily, women with fibromyalgia perceived that the lack of visible, disease-related, physical signs led to a discounting of their disease, which led to delayed health care and subsequent frustrations and anger. All but one participant used prayer and meditation as a coping measure. Conclusion : The body image perceptions evidenced by the majority of participants were generally negative and included specific focus on their disease-affected body parts (e.g. joints), mental function, self-identity, health care experiences, activity limitations and overall quality of life. Given the global effect of RA and FM, assessment and integration of findings about the BI perceptions of individuals with FM and RA may help define suitable interdisciplinary strategies for managing these conditions and improving participants’ quality of life.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document