“Your Body Is Not Representative of Who You Are”: Exploring the Relations Between Feminist Attitudes, Feminist Identity, and Responses to Negative Body Talk Among Women

Abstract

Negative body talk is a normative behavior among United States women and is an important area of intervention for women's health and well-being. Identifying as a feminist and/or endorsing feminist beliefs, which can promote a resistant stance toward cultural appearance standards, may protect against negative body talk. We conducted a mixed-methods study with an online sample of 447 predominantly White (81.1%) United States women between the ages of 18–73 years ( M = 41.25, SD = 12.54). We used Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified to systematically code open-ended survey data comprising responses to negative body talk and assessed whether liberal feminist attitudes or feminist identity relate to response categories. We categorized women's responses to negative body talk along with a feminist spectrum which ranged from explicit reinforcement of the thin ideal to a resistant stance toward beauty standards. Liberal feminism was negatively correlated with explicit reinforcement of the thin ideal, and both liberal feminism and feminist identity were positively correlated with a resistant stance. Therapists and practitioners who work with women on issues related to body image disturbance might consider supporting their clients in developing a feminist identity that can critically filter cultural messages that further objectify women.

The impact of body talk on body dissatisfaction, fat phobia, and negative affect.

“…In keeping with the previous findings about the negative impact of exposure to or participation in fat talk, we found that women exposed to fat talk increased in fat phobia and negative affect. Implicit within the concept of commiserating about fat as something viewed negatively is the idea that fat itself is “bad” and to be feared (Nolen et al, 2023; Strings, 2019). Therefore, it follows that exposure to fat talk leads to increased fear of fatness, which also aligns with previous research (Rogers et al, 2019).…”

“…Subsequently, each group read three separate vignettes, depending on their group assignment. The content of the vignettes was drawn from the previous studies (Ambwani et al, 2017; Mills et al, 2019; Nolen et al, 2023). The names chosen for the vignettes also came from previous research (Ambwani et al, 2017; Britton et al, 2006; Compeau & Ambwani, 2013; Lin & Stutts, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, fat talk has been associated with negative affect (Ambwani et al, 2017; Arroyo & Harwood, 2012; Shannon & Mills, 2015), which is defined as the subjective experience of emotions such as anger, anxiety, depression, and unhappiness (Leung & Lee, 2014). These negative consequences may be occurring because engaging in fat talk pathologizes fatness with its underlying assumption reflecting societal messages that thin is “good” and fat is “bad” (Nolen et al, 2023; Strings, 2019). The consequence of this messaging is a culture-wide fear or stigma of fatness, also known as “fat phobia” (Robinson et al, 1993).…”