Women's Body Image and Health: A Feminist Intervention Approach

Abstract

Women's Body Image and Health: A Feminist Intervention Approach Prevention and intervention strategies for effectively addressing women's normative body image problems are critical for women's health promotion. This dissertation is an investigation of a feminist intervention approach to decreasing normative body image problems and related unhealthy behavioral beliefs and expectations among women. Participants viewed a brief presentation of posters involving body-specific feminist, general feminist or control messages. Analyses failed to indicate significant differences among feminist versus control message exposure groups in body image outcomes (i.e., body dissatisfaction and shame) or in beliefs and behavioral expectations regarding unhealthy weight control behaviors. Additionally, there was no evidence that exposure to feminist versus control posters led to greater agreement with feminist beliefs.