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Acculturation and Body Image: a Cross-Cultural, Inter-Generational

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Acculturation and Body Image: a Cross-Cultural, Inter-Generational ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH Labovitz School of Business & Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 11 E. Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802 Acculturation and Body Image: a Cross-Cultural, Inter-Generational, Qualitative Study of Filipino- and Indian-Australians Anurag Hingorani, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Lynne Freeman, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Michelle Agudera, University of Technology Sydney (graduate), Australia Prior research investigating the relationship between acculturation and body image has largely been quantitative. This qualitative study investigates how and why the process of change in values, attitudes, and standards when moving cultures (i.e., acculturation) that is experienced by two under-researched immigrant communities in multicultural Australia, namely, Filipino-Australians and Indian-Australians, might influence their body image perceptions. Two generations of these immigrant groups were compared with Anglo-Australians. The immigrant groups were found to be more relaxed than the Anglo groups with respect to their body image, which was indirectly impacted by the factors that shaped their acculturation experience. [to cite]: Anurag Hingorani, Lynne Freeman, and Michelle Agudera (2011) ,"Acculturation and Body Image: a Cross-Cultural, Inter- Generational, Qualitative Study of Filipino- and Indian-Australians", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 207- 213. [url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1007030/eacr/vol9/E-09 [copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. Acculturation and Body Image: A Cross-Cultural, Inter-Generational, Qualitative Study of Filipino- and Indian-Australians Anurag Hingorani, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Lynne Freeman, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Michelle Agudera, University of Technology Sydney, Australia ABSTRACT body image; (2) investigate any generational differences in body Prior research investigating the relationship between accultura- image perceptions; (3) identify any ethnic variations in body image tion and body image has largely been quantitative. This qualitative perceptions across three cultures; and (4) investigate the factors that study investigates how and why the process of change in values, shape the acculturation experience and the impact they might have attitudes, and standards when moving cultures (i.e., acculturation) on an individual’s body image perceptions. that is experienced by two under-researched immigrant communi- ties in multicultural Australia, namely, Filipino-Australians and BACKGROUND Indian-Australians, might influence their body image perceptions. Two generations of these immigrant groups were compared with Body Image Anglo-Australians. The immigrant groups were found to be more Body image is an area of study that has evolved dramatically relaxed than the Anglo groups with respect to their body image, through time. It first originated from neurological roots in the early which was indirectly impacted by the factors that shaped their ac- 20th century, where body image was primarily investigated to evalu- culturation experience. ate the effects of brain damage on distorted body perceptions. Not until the research of Paul Schilder (1950) did the study of body INTRODUCTION image perceptions extend beyond the effects of brain damage. He Body image has become the biggest worry for young people was the first to acknowledge the “fluidity” of body image and its in Australia (Lunn 2007). Australia is a country that has become application to not only the effects of neurological damage but also increasingly culturally diverse as evidenced by the increase in the experiences of everyday life. Since Schilder’s time, the field of number of countries from which people migrated in 1949 compared body image has experienced tremendous growth, particularly in with 2009, namely, 35 compared with 185 countries (http://www. the last two decades (Thompson 2004), where body image research citizenship.gov.au/learn/facts-and-stats/). The number of overseas- has proliferated in divergent areas of research, ranging from the born Australians is continually increasing and figures released by the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and the social sciences Australian Bureau of Statistics on 30 June 2009 indicate that nearly whilst still expanding its roots within the area of neurology and one in four Australians was born overseas. This research on body the medical sciences. image investigates how and why the acculturation experience of As the understanding of the construct of body image has two under-researched immigrant communities in Australia, namely, evolved so too has the definition. Schilder (1950, p.11) first de- Filipino-Australians and Indian-Australians, might impact or influ- fined body image as “the picture of our own body which we form ence their body image perceptions. Acculturation is defined as the in our mind, that is to say, the way in which the body appears to process of change an individual experiences when they move from ourselves.” Since that time, body image scholars have realised one culture to another. Values, attitudes, and societal standards can that it is far more complex than a static “image” which individu- be adopted throughout this process (Berry 1990). Body image is als form in their mind. Rather it is a “multidimensional construct viewed as being characterised by perceptions of, attitudes toward, characterised by perceptions of, attitudes toward, and values about and values about the body (Cash and Brown 1989). the body” (Cash 2004, p.216) which is the definition that has been Many cross-cultural body image research studies (e.g., adopted for this research study. Abrams and Stormer 2002; Ogden and Elder 1998; Pompper and Koenig 2004; Sheffield, Tse, and Sofronoff 2005) have involved Ethnicity and Body Image ethnic participants who either reside in a Western country or have Extensive research has been conducted in the area of ethnicity had significant exposure to Western values and attitudes. Some and body image, ranging from the effects of exposure to Western researchers like Soh, Touyz, and Surgenor (2006) believe that the media (e.g., Pompper and Koenig 2004) to the impact of sociocul- results of these studies are restricted because they do not consider tural influences (e.g., Abrams and Stormer 2002), to comparative the possible influence of acculturation to the Western society on their studies of general body dissatisfaction across cultures (e.g., Ogden participants’ body image perceptions. Consequently, this study aims and Elder 1998; Sheffield et al. 2005). Studies have found that many to further cross-cultural body image research by examining the pos- cultures value body image in quite distinct and contrasting ways. sible effect of acculturation on body image perceptions of Filipino- It has been found that many non-Western cultures value larger Australians and Indian-Australians; two immigrant communities body shapes and sizes in comparison to the Western slim ideal. For that are typically under-researched even though they have grown in example, a qualitative study conducted by Farrales and Chapman number in approximately the last two decades (Filipino-120,533; (1997) explored the understandings and cultural meanings of body Indian-147,101), and are larger than most other immigrant groups size, food and eating, and health amongst the Filipino women living listed in the top 50 except those from the UK (1,038,156), New in Canada. They found that Canadian beliefs promoted the desir- Zealand (389,464), China (206,590), Italy (199,132), and Vietnam ability to be thin which demonstrated “being and feeling healthy.” (159, 894) (ABS, 2006 Census). Further, in order to clearly assess Conversely, the Filipino informants valued “fatness,” which to them the role of acculturation and examine cross-cultural similarities demonstrated that the individual “ate properly and was healthy.” and/or differences, body image perceptions of Anglo-Australians were researched. Specifically, the objectives of this research were Acculturation to: (1) understand the impact that socio-cultural influences of me- Berry (1990) defines acculturation as the process of change dia, peers, and family, might have on an individual’s perception of an individual experiences when they are in continuous contact with 207 European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, © 2011 208 / Acculturation and Body Image: A Cross-Cultural, Inter-Generational, Qualitative Study of Filipino- and Indian-Australians another culture. Values, attitudes, and society standards are adopted METHODOLOGY within this process, impacting upon the individual’s development This research study investigates how and why the acculturation of ethnic identity. In past literature, acculturation was seen as a experience might impact or influence an individual’s perception of uni-dimensional (Spindler and Spindler 1967) and uni-directional body image. Given the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of the (Graves 1967) process, involving an individual to gain the host body image and acculturation constructs, a qualitative focus group culture’s values, attitudes, and behaviours, whilst concurrently study was conducted to allow for
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