#bodypositivity: A content analysis of body positive accounts on Instagram

Rachel Cohen,Lauren Irwin,Toby Newton-John,Amy Slater

doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.02.007

Abstract

In the last decade, the body image literature has begun to extend beyond a primary focus on body image disturbances and examine the construct of positive body image. Similarly, “Body positivity” is a growing social media trend that seeks to challenge dominant societal appearance ideals and promote acceptance and appreciation of all bodies and appearances. The present study provides a content analysis of body positive posts on Instagram. A set of 640 Instagram posts sampled from popular body positive accounts were coded for physical appearance-related attributes and central themes featured. Results showed that body positive imagery typically depicted a broad range of body sizes and appearances. Additionally, while a proportion of posts were appearance-focused, the majority of posts conveyed messages aligned with theoretical definitions of positive body image. This study clarifies body positive content on Instagram, as well as highlights points of overlap and distinction from academic principles of positive body image and other appearance-focused social media content. Accordingly, the results offer theoretical and practical implications for future research and prevention efforts.

Highlights

It is well established that exposure to culturally-based beauty ideals in the media is associated with body dissatisfaction, weight concern, thin-ideal internalisation, and disordered eating behaviours in women (Frederick, Daniels, Bates, & Tylka, 2017; Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002)
The present study aimed to investigate the content depicted in prominent body positive Instagram accounts, and to examine how closely this content aligns with the theoretical core components of positive body image, as outlined by Tylka (2012, 2018) and expanded by Tylka and Wood-Barcalow (2015b)
The present study uniquely contributes to the body image and social media literature by providing a systematic analysis of physical appearance-related characteristics and key themes from body positive content on Instagram

Summary

Introduction

It is well established that exposure to culturally-based beauty ideals in the media is associated with body dissatisfaction, weight concern, thin-ideal internalisation, and disordered eating behaviours in women (Frederick, Daniels, Bates, & Tylka, 2017; Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002). As with traditional media, appearance-focused social media use is positively associated with thin-ideal internalisation, self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behaviours in women (Cohen, Newton-John, & Slater, 2017, 2018). Two predominant appearance ideals presented on social media are thinspiration (visual or textual images intended to inspire weight loss), and fitspiration (motivational images and text designed to inspire people to attain fitness goals). Content analyses of online media depicting thinspiration and fitspiration have found that these images typically portray scantily-clad women with ultra-thin or thin-athletic bodies in sexually objectifying poses (Carrotte, Prichard, & Lim, 2017; Ghaznavi & Taylor, 2015; Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2018)

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion