Men's Body Dissatisfaction: a Critical Analysis of Neoliberal and Representational Approaches Glen Jankowski
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MEN’S BODY DISSATISFACTION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF NEOLIBERAL AND REPRESENTATIONAL APPROACHES GLEN JANKOWSKI A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Leeds Beckett University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. March, 2016. ABSTRACT Body dissatisfaction is now normative among men. Whilst the impact of this is recognized clinically (e.g., via depression and eating disorders), it also has more intimate, seemingly-mundane impacts and is therefore never benign. Body dissatisfaction research and advocacy then seeks to undo body dissatisfaction, recognizing it as a consequence of an injustice. Studies 1 and 2 of this thesis consisted of the implementation and mixed-methods evaluation of an intervention to reduce men’s body dissatisfaction. Results showed promise but also that the intervention was limited by its focus on individuals. This follows a general trend in body dissatisfaction research where people are pathologised as responsible for causing their own body dissatisfaction (e.g., gay men) and the role of culture is ignored or reduce to an epiphenomenon (i.e., mass media). Studies 3 and 4 attempted to redress this by comparing the ‘appearance potency’ not of gay and straight men themselves but of media that markets towards both groups (thereby also shifting the focus off the individual and onto culture). The results of these studies found a high level of appearance potency in both types of media, though media was not homogenous and had many positive aspects (e.g., LGBT political advocacy). This appearance potency was particularly prominent in the adverts reflecting how media content is dictated by their advertising revenue and their own profit imperative. This thesis concludes that neither individuals nor media per se drive body dissatisfaction. Instead it is the system that allows corporations to make profits when body dissatisfaction is engendered that does (i.e., capitalism). Advocacy must acknowledge this system; the intersectional harms it does including both misrecognition and maldistribution (e.g., through sweatshops; Fraser, 1995) if body dissatisfaction, among other forms of suffering, are to be undone. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Helen Fawkner, my director of studies brought me to Leeds and has always advocated for my professional, emotional and alcohol needs. I can’t value that enough. Thanks to Brendan Gough too, it’s been a privilege to be your supervisee. Thanks for bearing with my bluntness and shameless bill avoidance. Tiffany Brown, Carolyn Becker, Eric Stice and Zali Yager thanks for your generous advice with the intervention. You’re wonderful examples of applied researchers. Jess, Liam and Jay, thanks for being my psychology PhD gang. Huge thanks to the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR). Nicky R. and Di, what a brilliant start you gave me! CAR’s astounding commitment to getting out of the ivory tower and making the world a better place is really humbling. Thank you also to the wonderful other CAR people: Heidi, Liz, Nicky S. Katie, Nicole, Melissa, Nikki H., Daisy, Bex, Amy S. and Catrin. Emma Halliwell and Phillippa Diedrichs- all the thanks. I’m so pleased to work with you and to now call you friends. I hope this continues for a long time. To the brilliant feminists at Leeds Beckett: Jess, Bridgette, Katy, Maxine, Lucy, Bev, Sabrina, Lydia, Gemma, how lucky our department is to have you! It’s been great to work with you. Thank you also to the feminists outside of Leeds Beckett: Andrea Lamarre, Angela Meadows, Psychology of Women Section members, ISCHP members and others. Special thanks to Nova Deighton Smith and Paula Singleton for being great sounding boards. Thanks to Jim Cranshaw, Caitlin Hayward Tapp, Siobahn McMahon, Majestic Marvina, Nicole Rowe, Tanya of ScienceOfEDs, Robin Pickett and Mark Reed. Your activism and charity work is such a good reminder that there is a big, rambling world outside of academia. Agnes Henson, Shona McCulloch, Jocelyn Murtell, Gabby Riches, and Rae Story thanks for lending me your brains and friendship. You’ve made such a mark on my theory. Thanks for helping me see through (neo)liberalism in all its fashionable, glittery, pastel guises. Last thanks go to my splintered siblings: Hayley, Tammy, Darren, Chloe, Cally and Dean. DEDICATION If a dedication in this thesis can have any value than it will be to credit the 90s social services department and in particular my social worker: Mike Rosser. Completing this thesis or any other success has never been because of my “resillience”. Nor was it because of any other individual (Mike-the exception). Rather it’s because systems that catch people when they fall, like social services, caught me. We need to protect these systems. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ 1 DECLARATION ...................................................................................................... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... 3 DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... 8 LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. 9 LIST OF IMAGES ................................................................................................. 10 LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION, APPROACH AND EPISTEMOLOGY ................. 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 BODY DISSATISFACTION: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ........................... 3 DEPOLARIZING BOTH APPROACHES TO BODY DISSATISFACTION RESEARCH .......................................................................................................... 11 AIMS AND APPROACH: CRITICAL REALISM ..................................................... 23 THEORETICAL INFLUENCES ............................................................................. 28 METHODOLOGY: HOW CAN WE GATHER KNOWLEDGE/UNDERSTAND REALITY? ............................................................................................................. 29 CHAPTER SUMMARY/ THESIS OVERVIEW ...................................................... 32 CHAPTER 2: MEN’S BODY DISSATISFACTION INTERVENTIONS ................. 33 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 34 AN ADAPTED INTERVENTION, BODY PROJECT M, TO REDUCE MEN’S BODY DISSATISFACTION: STUDIES 1 AND 2 .............................................................. 41 METHOD .............................................................................................................. 42 CHAPTER SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 3: STUDY 1: INTERVENTION QUANTITATIVE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 51 RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 51 PRELIMINARY ANALYSES .................................................................................. 55 FOCAL ANALYSES .............................................................................................. 56 INTERVENTION EVALUATION QUESTIONS...................................................... 62 RESULTS SUMMARY .......................................................................................... 63 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER 4: STUDY 2: QUALITATIVE EVALUATION OF INTERVENTION .... 70 METHOD .............................................................................................................. 70 THEMATIC ANALYSIS ......................................................................................... 72 RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 76 THEMES ............................................................................................................... 76 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 98 CHAPTER SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 70 CHAPTER 5: THE MEDIA’S EFFECT ON MEN’S BODY DISSATISFACTION 104 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 104 HOW DOES THE MEDIA AFFECT BODY DISSATISFACTION? ....................... 109 THE PATHOLOGISATION OF GAY MEN IN BODY DISSATISFACTION RESEARCH ........................................................................................................ 127 CHAPTER SUMMARY ....................................................................................... 132 CHAPTER 6: STUDY 3: METHOD AND RESULTS OF MAGAZINES CONTENT ANALYSIS .........................................................................................................