A new University of Brighton project is bringing together international researchers to challenge structural bias in body image science.
The project will examine how research into body confidence, eating disorders and beauty standards can better reflect the diversity of people’s lives, cultures and identities.
Researchers say much of the evidence used in the field has historically been based on a narrow group, predominantly white, middle-class people.
They warn this has left many experiences misunderstood, overlooked or missing from evidence used to shape healthcare, education and public health campaigns.
The new seminar series is funded by the British Psychological Society and will involve international researchers, community partners and academics.
Dr Jamie Chan, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Brighton, said: “From the very beginning, the development of body image as a field of research has centred the experiences of white people. Theories have been built on samples of white, middle-class university students and those samples have shaped everything: how we define body image, how we measure it, and what conclusions we draw.
“There's a kind of circularity to it. The field was built within Western institutions, it's largely still maintained by Western institutions, and so anything that challenges that looks, to some gatekeepers, like it doesn't belong. That has to change.”
Researchers say the issue goes beyond academia, because body image studies can influence clinical guidelines, school programmes, public health campaigns and messages around what a “healthy” or “ideal” body looks like.
Dr Chan added: “The problem wasn't the women. The problem was how experiences are interpreted. For example, in the past, we tried to understand body dissatisfaction through the thin ideal, but within Black culture for instance, the ideal is often about being curvy and shapely. When you apply a white measure to a different experience, you're not measuring their culturally unique body image. You're measuring how much they share or don't share white women's body image.”
The seminars will also highlight methods less commonly used in body image research, including story completion, co-production, creative approaches and decolonial frameworks.
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