body shaming research paper pdf

Body Shaming: an Exploratory Study on its Definition and Classification

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Body shaming in social media involves unsolicited negative comments on appearance, potentially evolving into cyberbullying. In day-to-day life, it ranges from advice to insults, impacting individuals negatively.

Body shaming can have negative impacts on individuals, especially young women, affecting body image and mental health. It is a form of social aggression with detrimental consequences.

The provided paper does not specifically address the question of who is to blame when body shaming on social media harms one's mental health. The paper focuses on providing a definition and classification of body shaming and its relation to other concepts in social aggression research.

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Body Shaming: an Exploratory Study on its Definition and Classification

• Original Article
• Published: 09 November 2021
• Volume 5 , pages 26–37, ( 2023 )

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• Constanze Schlüter 1 ,
• Gerda Kraag 1 &
• Jennifer Schmidt 2  

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Body shaming (BS) is a popular term for a type of negative social interaction, which frequently occurs in social media. However, there is a lack of a clear scientific definition of BS and data on its relation to other concepts in social aggression research. The present study therefore aimed at providing a definition and classification of BS. In an exploratory online-study, 25 participants (60%) provided personal definitions of BS and rated the fit of a suggested definition. In addition, they reported similarities with and differences to related concepts (appearance teasing, cyberbullying, trolling). We conducted qualitative analyses of the verbal definitions guided by the Grounded Theory approach and quantified the fit to existing concepts in the field of social aggression. The results show that BS is perceived as an unrepeated act in which a person expresses unsolicited, mostly negative opinions/comments about a target’s body, without necessarily intending to harm him/her. Still, the target perceives the comments as negative. BS can range from well-meant advice to malevolent insults and it can occur online and offline. Participants saw similarities between BS and appearance teasing. BS can be a tool for trolling and can evolve to cyberbullying with repetition over time. Altogether, BS is a form of social aggression that has a negative impact on individuals. The definition and classification help to investigate BS and its effects on body image and mental health in future research.

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Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229, Maastricht, ER, Netherlands

Constanze Schlüter & Gerda Kraag

Muenster School of Health, FH Münster University of Applied Sciences, Leonardo-Campus 8, 48149, Münster, Germany

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Appendix 1. Open-ended questions to gain insights in people’s understanding of body shaming

• Q2-Q4 (bold print) were presented in randomized order to avoid effects caused by sequence and/or order. To prevent later editing of statements, participants could not return to previous questions

Appendix 2. Overview on exemplary statements regarding similarities and differences of the targeted concepts (body shaming, appearance teasing, cyberbullying, trolling)

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Schlüter, C., Kraag, G. & Schmidt, J. Body Shaming: an Exploratory Study on its Definition and Classification. Int Journal of Bullying Prevention 5 , 26–37 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-021-00109-3

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Accepted : 18 October 2021

Published : 09 November 2021

Issue Date : March 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-021-00109-3

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Adolescent's Experiences on Body Shaming

The present study is conducted on Body Shaming. Body Shaming is the act of saying something bad about a person's body or appearance. Body shaming can wreck a person mentally and physically. It is from adolescence people become more conscious about their physical appearance and constant body shaming can have negative consequences on them. Aim of the present study is exploring the experiences of Adolescence on body shaming. Qualitative research design is used for the study. 10 samples are selected by means of purposive sampling. Through conducting semi structured interview by using self developed questionnaire, data is collected from the participants between the ages of 16-19. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. The main themes of the study are, concept of body shaming, consequences of body shaming, Responses towards negative comments, view on cyberbullying, consequences of cyberbullying and coping strategies. The result shows that majority of the participants have experienced discrimination because of their body appearance. And 10 out 10 participants have faced Body shaming at least once in their life time. The results of this study helps to understand the consequences of body shaming and how it affects a person.

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