APA Journals Article Spotlight®Summaries of recent APA Journals articles Show  November 5, 2020 Fortunately, body positivity is becoming more common on social media (with the hashtag #bopo), and women tend to feel better about their bodies after viewing positive posts regarding healthy body image. This body positivity is more than acceptance of one’s current physical state; it involves appreciation for the body, including a focus on how the body feels and functions and what it can do. This trend led Sarah M. Coyne, Emilie J. Davis, Wayne Warburton, Laura Stockdale, Imogen Abba, and Dean M. Busby to ask the question: Does listening to body-positive music influence body positivity? The authors published results of three studies that examined this question in the journal Psychology of Popular Media. First, one group of women watched Colbie Caillat’s music video, Try, which has a body-positive message; others viewed Selena Gomez’s video, Good for You, which is about looking good for a man. Not surprisingly, women felt better about their own bodies after listening to Colbie Caillat. Then, to take a deeper look and control for rhythm, melody, tone, and singer, the study authors wrote two versions of a song, only changing the lyrics. As an example, part of the body-positive song lyrics read: Mirror mirror on the wall, I don’t want to change at all Alternatively, the body-objectifying lyrics read: Mirror mirror on the wall, I just want to change it all. Again, women listened to one of the two songs. Generally, women felt better about their own bodies when listening to the body-positive lyrics. These studies suggest that listening to body-positive music can promote better body image in women in just 2–3 minutes (at least compared to listening to body-objectifying music). Building on that finding, the final study included a neutral song that did not talk about body at all. The lyrics included these words: Mirror mirror on the wall, of the yellow entry hall. The entire song is all about appearance, but it describes a house. When these neutral lyrics were used, results revealed few differences between listening to the neutral song and the body-positive song. However, when the authors controlled for women with preexisting body image concerns, they found that those with body image concerns actually reported worse body image after listening to either appearance-related song, as compared to the neutral song. Perhaps the effect of listening to body positivity in music is more nuanced than previously suspected, especially for those with body image concerns. Such concerns might have particular implications for teens who are in a highly susceptible stage of life where the development of their identities, including body image, may be strongly affected by their music choices. For these individuals, the best choice of music may be one that isn’t related to appearance at all, as even body-positive music appears to be triggering—at least in the short term. It may be that a longer history with body-positive music may have a more positive impact, especially if combined with a media literacy program. Even with the mixed findings, we applaud those artists and media producers who are actively involved in creating body-positive music and other media and those who support a body positivity movement. Body-objectifying media can have effects on the larger society when many consume this media and develop negative thoughts concerning body image. Parents can teach their children to make intentional choices about the music they listen to and the messages popular media portrays. We can also be discerning listeners ourselves and purposefully choose music that lifts us to higher places. Note: This article is in the Social Psychology and Social Processes topic area. View more articles in the Social Psychology and Social Processes topic area.
CitationCoyne, S. M., Davis, E. J., Warburton, W., Stockdale, L., Abba, I., & Busby, D. M. (2020). Mirror, mirror on the wall: The effect of listening to body positive music on implicit and explicit body esteem. Psychology of Popular Media. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000273 About the authorDr. Sarah M. Coyne is a professor of human development in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. She received her BSc degree in psychology from Utah State University, and her PhD in psychology from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England. Her research interests involve media, body image, aggression, gender, and child development. Date created: November 2020 Contact APA PublicationsWhat is Body Positive Music?Body positivity in music: Can listening to a single song help you feel better about your body? The body positivity movement appears to be growing in strength and is a direct response to the stereotypical ways that media represents women.
What is the body positivity movement on social media?Body-positive content on social media typically portrays non-sexualized and “enhancement-free” images of people with diverse bodies, in terms of characteristics such as body shape and size, physical ability, skin color, and gender identity.
Do Body Positive media campaigns actually work?In a 2019 study, the effectiveness of this campaign was assessed by 35 women. The consensus was clear in that the women felt more positively both about Aerie and their bodies compared to other companies' campaigns that haven't adopted the body positive mentality (Rodgers et al., 2019).
What is the body positivity trend?August 2021) Body positivity is a social movement focused on the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities, while challenging present-day beauty standards as an undesirable social construct.
|
Experimental electronic music about body positivity
Related Posts
Copyright © 2024 SignalDuo Inc.
