Can big business foster positive body image? Qualitative insights from industry leaders walking the talk

Nadia Craddock; Meaghan Ramsey; Fiona Spotswood; Emma Halliwell; Phillippa C. Diedrichs

doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.06.004

Can big business foster positive body image? Qualitative insights from industry leaders walking the talk

Nadia Craddock^*, Meaghan Ramsey, Fiona Spotswood, Emma Halliwell, Phillippa C. Diedrichs

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

282 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The fashion, beauty, and advertising industries have been positioned as key contributors to body dissatisfaction through the promotion of unrealistic and homogenous appearance ideals. Recently, some businesses within these industries have started to disrupt the status quo by taking actions that can be seen to be fostering positive body image (e.g., through representative and diverse imagery, body acceptance messages, and inclusive product ranges). The aim of this study was to explore the opportunities and challenges to foster positive body image from a business perspective. Participants were purposively selected based on their experience of leading business actions to foster positive body image in fashion, beauty, and/or advertising. In total, 45 individuals (82% women) took part in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and then analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (1) Personal motivations for championing change, (2) Industry ingrained appearance standards, (3) Business barriers to fostering positive body image, and (4) Fostering positive body image as an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. This study provides future directions for research aimed at creating healthier body image environments in addition to considerations for businesses seeking to foster positive body image.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	93-106
Number of pages	14
Journal	Body Image
Volume	30
Early online date	20 Jun 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.06.004
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2019

Structured keywords

MGMT Marketing and Consumption

Keywords

business
body image
Intervention
corporate social responsibility
qualitative research
Social Change

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.06.004

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This is the accepted author manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Elsevier at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.06.004 . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.
Accepted author manuscript, 446 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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title = "Can big business foster positive body image? Qualitative insights from industry leaders walking the talk",

abstract = "The fashion, beauty, and advertising industries have been positioned as key contributors to body dissatisfaction through the promotion of unrealistic and homogenous appearance ideals. Recently, some businesses within these industries have started to disrupt the status quo by taking actions that can be seen to be fostering positive body image (e.g., through representative and diverse imagery, body acceptance messages, and inclusive product ranges). The aim of this study was to explore the opportunities and challenges to foster positive body image from a business perspective. Participants were purposively selected based on their experience of leading business actions to foster positive body image in fashion, beauty, and/or advertising. In total, 45 individuals (82% women) took part in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and then analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (1) Personal motivations for championing change, (2) Industry ingrained appearance standards, (3) Business barriers to fostering positive body image, and (4) Fostering positive body image as an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. This study provides future directions for research aimed at creating healthier body image environments in addition to considerations for businesses seeking to foster positive body image.",

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AU - Halliwell, Emma

AU - Diedrichs, Phillippa C.

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AB - The fashion, beauty, and advertising industries have been positioned as key contributors to body dissatisfaction through the promotion of unrealistic and homogenous appearance ideals. Recently, some businesses within these industries have started to disrupt the status quo by taking actions that can be seen to be fostering positive body image (e.g., through representative and diverse imagery, body acceptance messages, and inclusive product ranges). The aim of this study was to explore the opportunities and challenges to foster positive body image from a business perspective. Participants were purposively selected based on their experience of leading business actions to foster positive body image in fashion, beauty, and/or advertising. In total, 45 individuals (82% women) took part in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and then analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: (1) Personal motivations for championing change, (2) Industry ingrained appearance standards, (3) Business barriers to fostering positive body image, and (4) Fostering positive body image as an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. This study provides future directions for research aimed at creating healthier body image environments in addition to considerations for businesses seeking to foster positive body image.

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KW - Intervention

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KW - qualitative research

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Can big business foster positive body image? Qualitative insights from industry leaders walking the talk

Abstract

Structured keywords

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Can big business foster positive body image? Qualitative insights from industry leaders walking the talk

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