The subject of media effects on women’s body image has long been a passion of mine, both on a personal level and on a professional level as a journalist focusing on women’s health. Despite the popularity of body positivity and, more recently, body neutrality, the rate of eating disorders has not decreased.This Course Map serves as the theoretical blueprint of my journey as a graduate student at the University of Alabama, as I complete my second master’s degree in Communication Studies. Join me as I show you how I have navigated the vast landscape of a topic that is more complex than we realize.

To find my “True North,” the dual lenses of Social Comparison Theory and Intersectionality drove much of my learning across five of my courses: COM 563, COM 500, COM 513, COM 550, and COM 536. By examining these theories in each class, I was able to move beyond surface-level observations to understand more about not just why we compare ourselves to media ideals, but the interplay between our own experiences/identities and how we interpret media messages.

Below, you will find the “coordinates” of my work–the research papers I authored, articles I read, videos I watched, and class discussions that all deepened my perspective. This is more than a list of coursework; it is the foundational path that continues to guide my work as a journalist and scholar.

Social Comparison Theory

Leon Festinger first coined the term “social comparison” in 1954. This theory basically states that we all have an “inborn tendency” to compare ourselves to other people. This involves a social cognition approach where we automatically compare and then rationalize by “decomparing.” See more in my research proposal for COM 563 (Relational Communication) with Dr. Caroline Parsons: “The Body Positivity Movement: A New Social Comparison Tool in Mother-Daughter Communication.”

While this first course gave me a basic understanding of social comparison, in COM 500 (my introductory course, also with Dr.Parsons), I completed an in-depth literature review on social comparison theory as it relates to body image and media. See more in my literature review, “Media Effects on Women’s Body Image: A Review of the Literature and Future Implications.”

COM 550 (Qualitative Research Methods) with Dr. Jaclyn Shetterly gave me the chance to understand the nuances of social comparison through personal interviews with three female college students. Specifically, we explored how social comparison manifests in social media, particularly through the body positivity movement and parasocial interaction, and how they are curating their own social media to build a more positive body image.

As part of an independent study with Dr. Shetterly (COM 536), I took my research a step further and did a “deep dive” into the biological and sociocultural systems that drive social comparison and their implications for the study of body image and  body neutrality. See this small excerpts from my paper titled, “From Rhetoric to Reality: What Comes Next for Body Neutrality?”

Intersectionality

I first learned about Intersectionality in COM 563. Intersectionality was popularized by Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989. This model posits that social problems become exacerbated when ethnicity, gender, sexuality and other social categories interplay. This concept is often discussed in the context of social justice and cultural oppression. This is definitely applicable to my research, as poor body image and eating disorders, contrary to popular belief, are not a “first world problem” that only affects wealthy White women, and diverse populations have traditionally been obscured in health and wellness publications. See the following video by Dr. Crenshaw that explains intersectionality, as well as a snippet from my class discussion about a reading on intersectionality by Dr. Robin Boylorn.

I revisited intersectionality again in COM 513, Communication and Diversity with Dr. Jeonghyun Oh. One of the class readings was Roxane Gay’s “Hunger: A Memoir of My Body,” which addressed the barriers and prejudice Gay has experienced as an obese, Black, bisexual woman and how that has complicated her relationship with her own body. This theory made me realize the importance of diverse representation in body image research. See this summary of my final project in this class, which was a podcast on the need for more diverse bodies in media.

In COM 550, the three women I interviewed represented a diverse spectrum of women–a 26-year-old White student, a 23-year-old woman of Spanish heritage, and a 48-year-old Black woman—and how they exercise agency over their body image. This course taught me that reliable research must look beyond convenience samples to account for ‘extrinsic factors’ like generational differences, regional cultures, and unique family dynamics. See the following excerpt from my final paper, “The Good is There: How Today’s Women Are Using Social Media to Build and Promote a Positive Body Image.”

In COM 536, I addressed concepts of intersectionality by examining how body image is influenced by diverse identities, including race, gender, and physical ability. The following excerpts highlight my focus on the need for inclusive representation and marginalized identities.

To read all of my work in full, click on the following links:

Essential Readings: Media Effects and Body Image

The following readings from my graduate program have informed my understanding of how traditional and digital media shape our relationships with our bodies, while also examining emerging concepts like body neutrality as potential responses to these influences. 

Cohen, R., & Blaszczynski, A. (2015). Comparative effects of Facebook and conventional media on body image dissatisfaction. Journal of Eating Disorders, 3, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-015-0061-3  

Dingemans, A. E., Veldhuis, J., & Lähde, I. (2023). Motives for using social networking sites: a uses & gratifications perspective amongst people with eating disorder symptoms. Journal of eating disorders, 11(1), 231.

Engeln–Maddox, R. (2005). Cognitive responses to idealized media images of women: The relationship of social comparison and critical processing to body image disturbance in college women. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(8), 1114-1138.  

Frederick, D. A., & Reynolds, T. A. (2021). The value of integrating evolutionary and sociocultural perspectives on body image. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-01947-4  

Goslin, A., & Koons-Beauchamp, D. (2023). The mother-daughter relationship and daughter’s positive body image: a systematic review. The Family Journal, 31(1), 128-139. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807221104109 

Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: a meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), 460. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460     

Huang, Q., Peng, W., & Ahn, S. (2021). When media become the mirror: A meta-analysis on  media and body image. Media Psychology, 24(4), 437–489.  https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2020.1737545  

Jackson, K. L., Janssen, I., Appelhans, B. M., Kazlauskaite, R., Karavolos, K., Dugan, S. A., …  & Kravitz, H. M. (2014). Body image satisfaction and depression in midlife women: the  Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Archives of women’s mental  health, 17, 177-187. 

Jones, C. C., & Young, S. L. (2021). The mother-daughter body image connection: The perceived role of mothers’ thoughts, words, and actions. Journal of Family Communication, 21(2), 118 126. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2021.1908294 

Ladwig, G., Tanck, J. A., Quittkat, H. L., & Vocks, S. (2024). Risks and benefits of social media trends: The influence of “fitspiration”, “body positivity”, and text-based “body neutrality” on body dissatisfaction and affect in women with and without eating disorders. Body Image, 50, 101749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101749  

Meier, A., & Schäfer, S. (2018). The positive side of social comparison on social network sites: How envy can drive inspiration on Instagram. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(7), 411–417. https://www.doi.org.libdata.lib.ua.edu/10.1089/cyber.2017.0708  

Mulgrew, K. E., & Hinz, A. (2024). What is body neutrality and how is it different to existing body image concepts? An analysis of experts and general community responses. Body Image, 51, 101780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101780  

Pellizzer, M. L., & Wade, T. D. (2023). Developing a definition of body neutrality and strategies for an intervention. Body Image, 46, 434-442. 

Perry, M., Watson, L., Hayden, L., & Inwards-Breland, D. (2019). Using body neutrality to inform eating disorder management in a gender diverse world. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 3(9), 597-598.  

Tylka, T. L., & Wood-Barcalow, N. L. (2015). What is and what is not positive body image?

Wood-Barcalow, N. L., Alleva, J. M., & Tylka, T. L. (2024). Revisiting positive body image to demonstrate how body neutrality is not new. Body Image, 50, 101741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101741