African-American Women’s Perceptions of Social Media Influence on Body Image

African-American Women’s Perceptions of Social Media Influence on Body Image

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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Limitations

5.0 Introduction

This chapter concludes the study in three sections that present a summary of the research. The first section is a detailed discussion of the outcomes of the interpretative phenomenological analysis in the previous chapter. The interpretation of results and discussion of findings in this section tie to some concepts addressed in the literature review chapter. This allows for the examination of the study’s significance in the immediate context of social media impact on African American women’s views about their body image. The second section addresses the strengths and limitations that were relevant to this study to justify why additional research is deemed important. The chapter’s last section constitutes an account of the inferences made from the discussion of results, providing recommendations for further research. The scope of the conclusions is limited to the study context and the characteristics of the specific study population examined. This means that if applied to other populations and situations, the deductions might culminate in erroneous assumptions.

5.1 Discussion

The current study sort to explore African American women’s perception of social media influence on their body image. The study’s outcomes reveal that social media utilization among these women, irrespective of their age differences, has strong linkages with their perceptions of their body images. In principle, all women experiences their bodies within social contexts, which is particularly true for African American women within social networking contexts. Socially constructed ideas about their race, gender, preferences, and other diversity attributes are important considerations in the specific ways in which their bodies are perceived in these contexts. This discussion of the outcomes is indispensable in comprehending the experiences they have within social media contexts and the impact of these experiences and associated perceptions on their body image.

Based on the results from the six participants involved in the interviews and the interpretative phenomenological analysis, African American women’s perceptions of the effect of social media utilization on their body image emerged to revolve around seven themes. These include body shape, beauty, body modifications, self-worth, self-esteem, insecurity, and societal expectations.

5.1.1 Body Shape Perceptions

Several participants in this study emphasized that their body shape drives their feelings of how they are perceived on social media. These African American women reiterated the inescapable importance of an appealing body shape as a persuasive factor in visualizing their feelings about how others view them on social networking sites. Some of them expressed intentions to obtain an ideal body shape through body modifications (discussed later) and they are fully aware of some attributes that make up such a body shape, including being curvy or curvaceous and think. The awareness of these attributes aligns with observation by Awad et al. (2015) and Kelch-Oliver and Ancis (2011) that some subthemes that describe women’s feelings of what they perceive as determinants of their body shape and the related hypersexualization include thick, curvy, thin, and toned.

Further, these findings are consistent with previous research by Toselli et al. (2016) that body shape preferences are a culturally determined factor that influence body image perceptions among women. The outcomes further substantiate Sanderson et al. (2013) that body shape has direct correlations with other factors established to influence their perceptions of body image. These factors include slimness as a quality of life, African American women’s interpersonal messages concerning slimness, and their perceptions regarding societal value of thinness. From a critical stance, this means that African American women’s awareness of preferences for specific body shapes influence the level of peer validation, acceptance, and belongingness in their social media circles based on the racial contexts within which their body image is conceptualized. Kelch-Oliver and Ancis (2011) add that body shape influences their perceptions of the beauty ideal and their interpersonal influences, which affect their body image perceptions and the self-acceptance of their body image identity. The issue of body shape might complicate these women’s perceptions of body image depending on how they are critiqued or appraised by their in- and out-group social media clique members.

5.1.2 Beauty Perceptions

The study participants identified beauty as one essential consideration when determining their body image. Basically, the findings established that their perceptions of the beauty ideal influence how these African American women compare themselves to others on social media or influential societal mainstream images. According to Kelch-Oliver and Ancis (2011), African American women’s perceptions of beauty entail being curvaceous and having shapely figures, which are elements of the body shape theme addressed earlier. Conversely, the White standard of beauty involves being light-skinned and slim (Ashley, 2015). Essentially, the beauty ideal is one of the instrument that can gauge these women’s levels of satisfaction with their body image. Consistent with this assertion, Kelch-Oliver and Ancis (2011) established that the beauty ideal, coupled with women’s interpersonal influences on their body image (judged from their views of men’s validation of their desirability and attractiveness) have a powerful effect on these women’s body image development and satisfaction.

About 67% of the study participants (4 out of 6) revealed that they compare themselves with the Western standards of beauty found online. This means that on social media, the White standard of beauty (thinness) has permeated messages shared about body image, leading to a greater notion that societal acceptance is acknowledged by thinness (Beadle, 2020). Such influences have affected African American women’s body shape dissatisfaction as they compare themselves with others. The study by Awad et al. (2015) corroborates this observation, suggesting that many African American women synonymously borrow from the White norms that associate lighter skin and being slim with beauty. Consequently, this influences their feelings of self-worth and attractiveness, thereby decreasing their overall body image satisfaction. From another perspective, Sanderson et al. (2013) argue that skin color is a crucial factor in augmenting African American women’s vulnerability to White norms of beauty when determining their body image satisfaction.

Eventually, the Black culture influenced by White norms generate levels of body image satisfaction based on a set of beauty ideals that largely correspond to their racial identity, as Hesse-Biber et al. (2010) contend. Accordingly, the White standard of beauty eventually influence their dissatisfaction with their body image. Sanderson et al. (2013) further emphasize that due to women upholding alternative images of beauty, African American women are prone to developing body image issues that drive them into maladaptive behaviors such as exposing themselves to the risks of eating disorders without proper physical exercise routines.

5.1.3 Body Modifications

The first two themes discussed above (perceptions of body shape and the beauty ideals) were found to be strongly associated with this theme. Specifically, several participants demonstrated intentions and willingness to undergo body modifications through techniques such as gastric bypass surgery just to enhance their body shape and natural beauty. These African American women feel that these modifications will help them attain some degree of desirability and attractiveness towards men. Alternatively, they feel that they will obtain curvy bodies that will make them get attention from men on social media (as two participants mentioned). So, their perception is that body modifications improve beauty and body shape, eventually helping them attain an appealing and satisfying body image.

Consistent with these observations, Ashley (2015) and Ashley and Jung (2017) acknowledge that these women’s perceptions of and attitudes towards body image drive their willingness and motivation to engage in body modifications to attain ideal body images. In other words, they believe that body modifications such as saline butt injections, cosmetic surgery, gastric bypass surgery, and bariatric surgery (Beadle, 2020; Thomas, 2012) would enable their bodies to conform to the prevailing beauty ideals and standards, thus attaining ideal body images. Critically speaking, other African American women are compelled to undergo such body modifications by the desire to overcome the problems of low self-esteem and self-worth triggered by body shaming on social media. Unfortunately, such body modifications, especially those from the black market, bring about serious cost and financial ramifications, besides physical and mental health risks (Ashley, 2015).

5.1.4 Self-Worth and Self-Esteem

The findings of this study underscored the themes of self-esteem and self-worth as critical to determining African American women’s perceptions of the portrayal of their body image on social media. Collectively, all the study participants allude to the role of self-esteem (how they feel and think about themselves) and self-worth (their recognition of themselves as valuable individuals worth of being liked) in shaping their self-love and self-assurance associated with how they perceive their body image on social media. According to Sanderson et al. (2013), African American’s women’s self-worth is measured using two components of body image: slimness as a quality of life, which is an element of body shape, and self-consciousness about their appearance (beauty perceptions) as assessed by others.

For most of the study participants, self-esteem and self-worth are entrenched in perceived self-consciousness about beauty, attractibility, body shaming susceptibility, and confidence. This aligns with Awad et al. (2015) that attractiveness and beauty influence Black women’s self-worth, eventually decreasing or increasing their overall body image satisfaction. In essence, participants with high feelings of perceived beauty, desirability, and self-confidence declared that they are not ashamed of their body image on social media. So, they are confident about social networking about their personal self-images. Conversely, those who have been victims of body shaming, teasing, and mockery felt embarrassed about their body image, leading to low self-esteem and self-worth. These findings are consistent with observations by Beadle (2020) that chronic body shaming has been associated with reduced self-esteem, which can breed other issues associated with body image dissatisfaction such as eating disorders and depression. Hesse-Biber et al. (2010) suggest that low self-esteem, weak racial identity, and reduced self-worth make African American women easily vulnerable to internalizing White ideals about beauty to boost their body image satisfaction.

5.1.5 Insecurity

Participants who highlighted the theme of insecurity associated it with beauty perceptions (feelings about their appearance) and low self-worth (fear of body shaming and reduced self-confidence). So, the study findings established a correlation between perceptions about beauty ideals, self-worth, and perceived insecurity about African American women’s body image on social media. For some participants, insecurities about their body image is what determines their physical exercise choices, predispositions to engage in body modification activities, and eating routines to acquire desired body shapes, therefore attractive body images. This assertion corroborates Beadle (2020), who contends that perceived poor body image and insecurity about appearance are principal predictors of African American women’s greater physical activity participation. From another outlook, Hesse-Biber et al. (2010) argue that body image insecurities and concerns lead to negative self-image and loss of self-confidence in one’s body image, which can culminate in severely disordered eating habits.

5.1.6 Societal Expectations

According the study participants, social media greatly influence societal expectations of ideal body images for African American women. When they see other women (social media models) with curvaceous and shapely figures on social media, they desire to emulate them to attain what constitutes the societal expectation of an impeccable body image. So, society piles lots of pressure on African American women as they strive to meet societal expectation of a perfect body as per the white culture, causing them physical and mental health harm (Ashley, 2015).

Beadle (2020) echoes the same sentiments, suggesting that the desire to attain body shape perfectionism causes African American women to engage in maladaptive behaviors, eating disorders, and negative self-evaluations of societal expectations on their personal self-worth. In short, societal expectations of what is deemed the perfect body image as portrayed on social media adversely affect African American women’s perceptions of their body image. Indeed, those striving to meet these expectations are more likely to seek and accept body modification choices such as cosmetic surgery, Ashley (2015) avers.

5.3 Strengths and Limitations

This study as two strengths, the first of which is its cost effectiveness. The tools used to execute this study’s data collection (Zoom platform for the interviews, Apple’s Notepad, and the voice recorder) were inexpensive, making the study cost effective. The second strength is the simultaneous exploration of diverse body image constructs in a broader academic domain. However, the study was characteristic of three limitations. The first is its reliance on a very small sample of participants, making it challenging to establish its generalizability, versatility, and reliability. Another limitation is participants’ self-identification. All information, including demographics and variables, were self-reported by the study participants. This means that slight misinterpretations of the data would greatly affect the analysis and outcomes. The third limitation is that the difficulties in establishing the most effective sampling technique owing to the small number of participants.

5.3 Conclusions

The current study has shown that engagement in social media activities has significant implications for body image for African American women. It has also identified and discussed various themes that define the domains where social media impacts these women’s body image perceptions. The major themes identified in the analysis include beauty, body shape, the concepts of elf-esteem and self-worth, insecurity, body modifications, and societal expectations. The study’s overall finding is that African American exhibit diverse perceptions of their body image depending on the degree of influence that each of these thematic constructs has on their visualization of body image.

This research furthers the knowledge that while idealized images of women on social media are not a reflection of what a perfect body constitutes, the perceived effect of these images on African America women’s perceptions of body image is profound. Indeed, the research supports that the social media idealization of body image based on the White notion of beauty is progressively swaying African American women, causing them to struggle with reconciling their body image with what mainstream standards of a perfect body image embody. However, it is worth recalling that these inferences are based on a small sample of participants. Therefore, further research that includes bigger community samples is required to establish if similar themes would emerge. This would ensure better generalization of results to the greater population of African American women. Also, further studies will be essential in better comprehending the distinctive social media experience shared among these women in impacting their perceptions of their body image satisfaction.

References

Ashley, R. R. (2015). Cross cultural comparison of black women’s body image highlighting Saartjie Baartman and motivations to engage in body modification. University of Delaware.

Ashley, R. R., & Jung, J. (2017). # BlackBodiesMatter: Cross-cultural examination of black women’s motivation to engage in body modification. Journal of Black Studies, 48(3), 235-255. Doi: 10.1177/0021934716686022.

Awad, G. H., Norwood, C., Taylor, D. S., Martinez, M., McClain, S., Jones, B., … & Chapman-Hilliard, C. (2015). Beauty and body image concerns among African American college women. Journal of Black Psychology, 41(6), 540-564.

Beadle, E. S. (2020). Body shame, body compassion and physical activity (Doctoral Thesis, University of Hertfordshire).

Hesse-Biber, S., Livingstone, S., Ramirez, D., Barko, E. B., & Johnson, A. L. (2010). Racial identity and body image among Black female college students attending predominately White colleges. Sex roles, 63(9-10), 697-711.

Kelch-Oliver, K., & Ancis, J. R. (2011). Black women’s body image: An analysis of culture-specific influences. Women & Therapy, 34(4), 345-358. Doi: 10.1080/02703149.2011.592065.

Sanderson, S., Lupinski, K., & Moch, P. (2013). Is big really beautiful? Understanding body image perceptions of African American females. Journal of Black Studies, 44(5), 496-507.

Thomas, M. L. (2012). Sick/beautiful/freak: nonmainstream body modification and the social construction of deviance. Sage Open, 2(4), 1-12. Doi: 10.1177/2158244012467787.

Toselli, S., Rinaldo, N., & Gualdi-Russo, E. (2016). Body image perception of African immigrants in Europe. Globalization and Health, 12(48), 1-15. Doi: 10.1186/s12992-016-0184-6.