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(De)constructing body image.

Kate Gleeson1, Hannah Frith

  • 1University of Bristol, UK. kate.gleeson@bristol.ac.uk

Journal of Health Psychology
|November 30, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Rethinking body image as a dynamic process, not a static product, reveals underlying assumptions. This shift offers a more useful framework for understanding body image construction and perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Body Image Research

Background:

  • The concept of body image is often reified, treating it as a fixed entity.
  • This reification obscures its dynamic and socially mediated nature.
  • Existing assumptions about body image limit our understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critique the reification of body image.
  • To challenge the notion of body image as a static, internal product.
  • To propose an alternative conceptualization of body image as a process.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of the construct of body image.
  • Critique of common assumptions in body image research.
  • Theoretical re-framing of body image as an activity.

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Main Results:

  • Identified five key assumptions underlying the reification of body image.
  • Demonstrated how these assumptions obscure the construct's dynamic features.
  • Proposed that viewing body image as a process is more analytically useful.

Conclusions:

  • The reification of body image leads to problematic assumptions.
  • Conceptualizing body image as a process, rather than a product, offers a more productive framework.
  • This process-oriented view better captures the dynamic and socially mediated aspects of body image.