Instant Genius - Is body positivity the answer to body image issues? – Phillippa Diedrichs

Episode Date: May 29, 2019

We live in a society that values looks, but only if they fit into a restrictive set of ideals regarding size and shape, age, skin colour, as well as many other features of our bodies. The result is an immense pressure to look a certain way. According to a recent survey by the Mental Health Foundation, one in five adults in the UK had experienced shame over their body at some point in the last year. The rise of social media has provided a platform for a rebellion against these ideals in the form of body positivity, which advocates loving your body, even the parts that don’t fit the ideal standards of beauty. So, is loving your body the key to defeating body image issues? Or is it making the problem worse? In this podcast we speak to Professor Phillippa Diedrichs, a psychologist at the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England. She takes us through the importance of a healthy body image and the research into how body positivity could help or harm. Listen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast: What psychology can tell us about suicide – Jesse Bering The neuroscience of happiness – Dean Burnett Are video games good for us? – Pete Etchells Can we slow down the ageing process? – Sue Armstrong What does it mean to be happy? – Helen Russell There’s no such thing as Blue Monday – Sir David Spiegelhalter Follow Science Focus on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Flipboard Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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again, not just as something to be looked at and, you know, not just as this outward-facing appearance, but is something that has lots of different functions, something that gets you through life that, for example, allows you to hug your loved ones or using your hands to express yourself or to engage in creative pursuits. You're listening to the Science Focus podcast from the Beards, BBC Science Focus magazine team. With the UK's best-selling science and technology monthly, available in print and in several digital formats throughout the world.

Find out more at sciencefocus.com or look out for us in your app store. Hello and welcome to the Science Focus podcast. I'm Alexander McNamara, online editor at BBC Science Focus magazine. We live in a society that values looks, but only if they fit into a restrictive set of ideals regarding shape, size, age, skin colour, as well as many other society. the features of our bodies. The result is an immense pressure to look a certain way. According to a recent survey by the Mental Health Foundation, one in five adults in the UK has experienced shame

over their body at some point in the last year. The rise of social media has provided a platform for rebellion against these ideals in the form of body positivity, which advocates loving your body, even the parts that don't fit the ideal standards of beauty. So, is loving your body the key to defeating body image issues, or is it making the problem worse? In this podcast, we speak to Professor Philippa Diedrichs, a psychologist at the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England. She takes us through the importance of a healthy body image and the research into how body positivity could help or harm. Remember, if you like what you hear, then please rate and review the episode wherever you listen to your podcasts. It really helps

us get the show out there, which means we can bring you even more interviews with the people at the forefront of science. So here's Sarah Rigby, online assistant for BBC Science Focus magazine, talking to Professor Degyps. Psychologically speaking, why is body image so important? We know now from several decades of evidence that body image is associated with people's psychological well-being, in that people who experience body image concerns or what's sometimes called body dissatisfaction are more likely to experience stress and anxiety and depression. Equally, we know that people who have positive body image or body esteem, they're more likely

to be more resilient and experience positive emotions as well. So it's intrinsically linked to people's psychological health and well-being. I think a lot of what we think of as body image issues relate to specifically size and weight, but is it just related to that or is it broader than that? No, we typically see that it can be much broader than that, although size and weight are quite defining characteristics when we think about beauty ideals and appearance ideals, particularly for women, although we know that's the case for men as well. But body image concerns can expand to things such as people's skin tone and colour through to signs of ageing or whether or not you have a youthful

appearance as well as to body hair, as well as hair on the head. And if you think about today's beauty ideals, they are very prescriptive and cover a whole range of things in addition to size and weight. So it's much more holistic than that. So what are the main risks, would you say, of having a negative body image? Yeah, it's a really good question. So as I mentioned earlier, it's related to psychological health and well-being. But we also know that when people experience body dissatisfaction, it also can have negative consequences for their health. So people are less likely to have a balanced and healthy relationship with food and maybe more likely to engage in disorder eating behaviours or unhealthy weight control behaviours. We also know that it can be

associated with over-exercising or under-exercising. And among adolescents, in particular, it can also be associated with substance misuse, difficulties quitting smoking or smoking initiation. But importantly, we know that it extends beyond health, that it can also, particularly for girls and women, it can impact their educational and work aspirations and achievement, even through to how they express themselves and whether or not they will put themselves forward for leadership positions, for example, or put their hand up in the classroom or put forward an opinion, for example. Would you say that's a result of objectifying their own bodies?

Well, we know that body image is related to self-objectification, which is where people are more likely to see themselves as objects to be looked at, rather than their bodies to be multidimensional things that are more kind of, you know, help them move through life and have different bodily functions. So we know that body dissatisfaction is related to self-objectification. We also know that when people experience body dissatisfaction, they're more likely to experience social anxiety, so concerns about how they appear in front of other people. It can also affect concentration because you're really focusing on, you know, how you're appearing to the world and whether or not people are, you know, comparing themselves and, you know, thinking negatively

about your appearance. So the mechanisms by which it happens, there are multiple ones. It's not really a simple explanation. Is having a positive body image the same as feeling beautiful? It depends on what you mean by feeling beautiful. When we talk about positive body image in the academic literature and the research that's looked at it, what we mean by positive body image is not just this idea of, you know, that you have to love yourself and love everything about the way that you look. Positive body image is really characterized by having respect for the body, as well as appreciation of the body, and seeing your body as a positive influence on your life. We also know that people who have positive body image are more likely to have a broader conceptualization of beauty rather than,

you know, these really narrowly defined appearance ideals. And they're also more likely to have better body connection. And by that, I mean they're more attuned to what their body needs and is telling them they want, and that could be in relation to hunger or rest or sexual desire, for example, and they're able to meet those needs and have that overall positive disposition to their bodies. Okay. So I saw a study actually performed by your colleague, Dr. Amy Slater, that studied the movement of body positivity.

So in particular, the belief that you should love your body and love everything about yourself regardless of what it looks like or because of what it looks like. And in that, she found that viewing Instagram posts related to this body positivity did make young women feel happier, but it also made them feel more like they would objectify themselves immediately after looking at these images. So how can we reconcile these two things? Can you be happier whilst objectifying yourself? Yeah, I think that's a really good question. And the study that you mentioned by Amy Slater, Rachel Cohen, Jasmine Fardulli and colleagues is an interesting one because it's one of the first ones to simultaneously look at what is the impact of exposure to these body positive images on body image but also on self-objectification. One of the difficulties with teasing apart the results of that study is how they measured self-objectification.

So what they did in that study was they asked women to complete a sentence of I am and then fill that in with 20 different statements. So they could have said things like, I am beautiful, I am strong, I am smart, I am capable, for example. And anything that related to physical appearance was coded as being something that might indicate greater self-objectification rather than focus, say, on body functionality or body capabilities. But as we kind of discussed already, one of the aspects of body positivity is this broader conceptualisation of beauty.

So that might be what that's indicating there. And so really what we need to do is more research to tease that apart. But certainly I think if you look at some of the content on social media that is, you know, kind of phrased as BOPO or body positive content, there's a lot of mixed content on there. And not all of it necessarily represents that broad idea of body positivity, as I was alluding to before. And I think sometimes we can see posts where people are talking about body positivity, but actually there's still a lot of discussion about appearance, there's still a lot of discussion about controlling your body through weight and through exercise.

So I don't necessarily think that all of the content that is supposedly body positive is necessarily that way. But importantly, we also know that when people experience body positivity, it can protect them against some of the negative impacts of other types of media imagery. So in answer to your question, I don't think we have enough research yet. to tease that apart. But what's important there is really thinking about the types of body positive content as well, rather than just lumping all of that together in one bucket. How would you distinguish between the different types? So would you say that the body positivity posts which is encouraging people to love their own bodies because of what they look like

as opposed to regardless of what they look like? Would you say that was a distinction? No, I think it's more, so there may be, what could be body positive content, could be really explicit posts along the lines of what you're talking, where there are captions and messages that accompany those that really talk about, you know, whether it's a person's own story about how they came to be more accepting of their body, through to, you know, the fact that they're really proud of their body and they're kind of reclaiming, you know, the space around their bodies where previously, for example, if we think, you think about plus-sized bloggers and plus-sized fashion bloggers and influences in particular, they were often in a space where they were excluded from, you know, particular industries and having that presence. And so there can be this notion of reclaiming that space and really saying, you know, I love my body exactly how it is. And certainly that can be a very positive thing. There's also, though, body positive content, which may be that it's just, you know, seeing more diverse depictions of people and seeing greater diversity and appearance in general without

the, you know, the kind of explicit attention to that. And certainly we also have a significant body of research which shows that when people look at more diverse images of other people's bodies. So, for example, if they see more plus-sized models or images that represent more diverse appearances, that that has a positive impact on body image as well. So I think it's to do with the subtlety of the messages. We also have what researchers and other people call Fitspiration content or Fitspo. And you'll see sometimes a slogan,

Strong is the new Skinny. And that's where I think it becomes a little bit more murky because sometimes we have these accounts which are kind of very much framed in this idea that they're trying to promote a positive message, but still have a lot of messages in there about controlling body weight and about discipline in through, for example, clean eating and other sorts of trends such as that.

And that's where I think it gets a little bit more difficult for people who are consuming these accounts to make sense of the messages. Okay, so would you say that in the case of this fit inspiration, would you say that it's just basically the same underlying message, but changing the ideal beauty to a different ideal? Yeah, I think a lot of this fitzpiration content, which typically, you know, what it tends to show is people in workout clothes or in gym settings. Often there are a lot of objectifying poses in those imagery as well.

So it's not necessarily people engaging in the exercise so much as, you know, posing in their active wear. But a lot of the messages are in that are very prescriptive in terms of eating and in terms of exercise. And there are a number of studies now which have looked at the impact of exposure to those that type of content, for example, on Instagram and other social media accounts and has shown that it has a detrimental impact on body image. So that's where I think it's really important to distinguish between the type of content that we're talking about. And I think, you know, we've seen with the body positive trend becoming, you know, really popular, we've seen different

people and sometimes different brands and media try to co-opt that movement without necessarily genuinely following through with content that really is authentically body confident and promoting positive body image in terms of that broader focus on body functionality and movement, not just passive poses and objectifying bodies, really focusing on a broader conceptualisation of beauty where lots of different appearances are considered attractive, and that idea of really listening to your body's internal needs, rather than imposing regimes of exercise and restricted eating on your body. Okay, so that is actually something I'd like to pick up on these companies, getting involved with body positivity, such as cosmetics companies and underwear companies and things like that.

So do you think that these companies who continue to show the same sorts of images, you know, for example, women in their underwear, but simply showing it with a range of body types and skin colors and ages, and. do you think that's really embracing the ideals of body positivity or is it simply extending the problem? I think in some respects, it very much depends on how it's done. And I think now we sometimes see campaigns which will use body positive language but then still don't represent much diversity in terms of the imagery that they're showing. And sometimes they'll have, you know, love your body hashtags or slow. but actually across the board look at, say, you know, a particular brand's advertisements that might be limited to a one-off campaign, for example, or might not be necessarily carried through in terms of those messages to the types of products that they offer. In saying that, like I said,

we do know that there's research suggesting that when people see greater diversity in advertisements, that it is better for their body image. And certainly, I think greater diversity in terms of the appearances that are represented in advertising and brand communications as a positive step in the right direction. But when we see terms like body positivity and, you know, what also can sometimes be called fembitizing or advertising that really, you know, frames itself in terms of women's empowerment and women's liberation. But if that's, you know, used to sell products that are also telling women that, you know,

you need to look younger or you're not okay the way that you want. then those messages become very conflicted, and I think that that can become problematic. Would you personally encourage people to try to love their bodies when engaging in body positivity? Or do you think it could be better for them to try and feel neutrally towards their body's appearance? I think it depends on each individual, really. I wouldn't encourage necessarily a blanket statement saying everybody needs to love their bodies to experience the benefits of having positive body image. Positive body image is much more, as I said, about having respect for your body and appreciating

your body, which I think is very different from this idea that you have to be confident, love every aspect of it. And so about being in tune with your body's needs and being aware of your body, again, not just as something to be looked at and, you know, not just as this outward-facing appearance, but is something that has lots of different functions, something that gets, gets you through life that, for example, allows you to hug your loved ones or using your hands to express yourself or to engage in creative pursuits. Just this idea of being neutral about your body or loving your body, it's much more complex than that. And it's about seeing your body as

multidimensional, listening to your body's needs and taking good care of it. Okay, so we need to appreciate our body for what it does, but not necessarily it's outer shell? Yes, I think certainly more focus on body functionality. This is not to say, though, that appearance is something that, you know, we should completely ignore. In fact, you know, playing with your appearance can be a form of self-expression. It can also be really fun to express yourself, for example, through the clothes that you wear or if you choose to wear makeup or, for example, other types of body adornments like tattoos or piercings or however, you know, whatever way you choose to represent your body, you can do that in a way that can be fun and a form of self-expression.

What makes that difficult is that when we have very prescriptive norms and ideals about, for example, what a girl should look like or what a man should look like and what you should look like if you want to be considered attractive. So it's not to say that appearance is should be irrelevant, but it's just thinking about the role that appearance plays so that all of your self-worth is not tied up into this outer shell. And also that the ways in which you feel like you can play with your appearance or change it, ideally we want that to be something that individuals can choose to do for themselves and they can express themselves in all different ways rather than having to kind of follow these narrow appearance ideals. Where do you think the biggest pressures on body image come from? We know that the pressures on body image come from all different sources. So there are the very obvious ones, such as the media and advertising landscape.

And we know really rigorous research has analysed the content of different formats of media and advertising and has shown that there's an overrepresentation of these narrowly defined appearance ideals. So, for example, that it's an overrepresentation of thin women in ideas. idealised portrayals in the media and lean and muscular men, for example. We also know there's an overrepresentation of very young-looking women in the media, for example, and that exposure to media in general, but also very appearance, potent media, can be damaging for body image. We also know that family and friends have a role to play in how people feel about their

bodies. So, for example, appearance-based teasing and bullying is very, very common. and in fact is one of the number one aspects, number one types of teasing that children experience. We also know that the modelling of body image concerns, so for example, if parents experience body image concerns and a vocal about them or behave in a certain way that their children can pick up on those through to everyday conversations that we have about how people look. So comments like, you look great, have you lost weight? Or she's too fat to be wearing that dress.

or you'd be so much prettier if you lost a little bit of weight, really signal this focus on appearance and that appearance is important. Then, of course, we have these much broader pressures in society and gender norms, for example, in terms of women and girls in particular, where women and girls are very much socialised to focus on their appearance as a form of currency and self-worth. So it's really multidimensional in terms of what influences people's body image. Okay.

So do you think that it's realistic to expect that we as a society can ever get to the point where we choose to value people for their character over their appearance? Yes, I think it is very realistic. Of course, there's lots of social forces at play and there's also billion dollar industries that really thrive off body dissatisfaction. So thinking about that critically and addressing that would be, you know, something that really needs to be overcome if we are to get to that place. We also need to challenge other stereotypes and prejudices that exist in terms of skin color, in terms of age, in terms of body weight, if we're to get to, you know, having an environment in which people can thrive and experience positive body image as we've discussed. I definitely think it's possible.

I think that there's a lot of norms and biases and other external forces that need to be overcome, though before we get there. It's not as simple as just telling people, oh, make a decision or make the individual choice to love your body. We need to create environments that support people to really have that body respect and body appreciation and to value diversity and appearance as well. What can we as individuals do to try and help nurture that environment where everyone can have a healthy body image? Yeah. So I think being aware of the language that we use, particularly among young people and among our friends when we talk about appearance. And so trying not to reinforce appearance ideals by, you know, for example, always saying to young girls, you look so pretty,

or, you know, to commenting on your friend's appearance all the time. Of course, you can do that sometimes, but when it's a constant thing, it really keeps that pressure up. But in terms of those broader forces as well that are out there, I think we can hold businesses and brands more accountable with what they do and how they portray people's bodies and messages around body positivity and appearance. And with social media, we have a tool to be able to, a tool for activism really in our back pockets by being able to use our mobile phones and engage on social media in direct discussions with brands and businesses to say when we don't like what they're showing, but also to applaud positive steps in the right direction as well. So I think that that's a

really important means of trying to shift those broader forces too. Okay. So as you said, young women in particular feel the pressure to focus on their image. Do you think that the pressures on young men and women are different at all? And do you think young men feel the same sort of external pressures towards their body image? Yes, without a doubt. There's a lot of research showing that boys and young men also experience body image. concerns as do individuals who don't identify as male or female. So gender non-conforming individuals,

and we also know that transgender people are particularly at risk for body image concerns. So this is not just an issue for girls and women. However, what we do see is that girls and women, as well as gender non-conforming individuals, tend to be more at risk for those body image concerns. And that could be because of these broader societal pressures, which are very gendered and suggests that, you know, to be attractive as a woman or a girl is something that's very important to your success in life, for example. And we also have norms that if you want to look feminine, you must look a certain way, for example. So the research is very clear that boys and men are affected by these concerns, and it can have quite serious consequences for their health and well-being and how confident they are in their

everyday lives. However, we do see higher rates of these concerns among girls and women. So what would you say to someone of any gender who wanted to try and work on their body image and how would you advise them to try to work towards a healthier body image? Yeah. So some of the research shows that focusing on body functionality is a really great way to foster positive body image. So there are some programs and body image. tools, which encourage people to think about what aspects of their bodies that they appreciate in terms of their functions. So that could be all of their different bodily senses through to thinking about, you know,

their bodies have, we have these amazing systems that help us to digest food or to recover from illness, for example. So taking time to appreciate what your body allows you to do in your life is a way to foster positive body image. Being more critical of the media that we consume, so cultivating social media feeds that make us feel good about ourselves, rather than that trigger comparisons or comparing ourselves to other people or that might be really saturated with narrow appearance ideals is another way to

focus on fostering positive body image. And then also thinking about how we can model positive body image to other people and speak out against, you know, these kind of very prescriptive appearance ideals and pressures in our society. Because the more that we speak out against those ideals and resist them, the more likely that is to have a positive benefit on our own body image, but also to change things for the people around us. And that's a strategy that actually gets used in the most effective body image programs, for

example, in schools and university settings. It's really about encouraging young people to speak out against these ideals. And that is a really potent way to promote, positive body image as well. That was Professor Philippa Diedrichs talking about how to cultivate a healthy body image. If you're itching for more science, the latest issue of BBC Science Focus

is packed full of features, news and interviews to help you make sense of the world around you. In the June 2019 issue, we go on the hunt for pains on-off switch, discover the clever creatures using tools to eat food, and ask, is there really life on Mars? Thank you for listening to the Science Focus podcast from the BBC Science Focus magazine team.

We're the UK's best-selling science and technology monthly, available in print and in several digital formats throughout the world. Find out more at sciencefocus.com or look out for us in your app store. This podcast is sponsored by Name, Audio and Focal. The texture and emotional depth of music can be lost through digital sources or poor signal. Name audio believes you can have digital precision with analogue warmth. Alongside French acoustic specialist focal, Name creates high-end audio systems combining innovation with craftsmanship so you can listen to music, just as the artist intended. Discover more at name audio.com.

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