The effect of ‘Body Positive’ images on body appreciation and appearance comparison in men and women

Abstract

Since the advent of social media, the problem of body dissatisfaction has undoubtedly worsened. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of body positive content to improve body appreciation for gender and sexuality groups. Additionally, the relationship between trait appearance comparison and body appreciation in male and female sexuality groups was examined. 195 participants were recruited online and divided into groups as follows: 76 females in the experimental and 61 in the control group; 24 males in the experimental and 34 in the control group. A quantitative, factorial, repeated-measures, experimental design was used to measure scores on The Physical Appearance Comparison Scale - Revised by Schaefer & Thompson (2014) and Body Appreciation Scale-2 by Tylka & Wood-Barcalow (2015). The findings show that women and sexual minority men are especially vulnerable to making appearance-based social comparison which is associated with lower levels of body appreciation. Finally, body positive images are able to promote body appreciation across gender and sexuality.