Is the Plus Size Revolution Hurting Women's Health?
The use of plus-sized models in fashion campaigns is generally a cause for celebration. Meghan Trainor’s #OwnYourCurves ads, Rebel Wilson’s line for Torrid, Candice Huffine fronting Sophie Theallet, and Myla Dalbesio for Calvin Klein, to name a few instances all incited widespread approval from the fashion industry, bloggers, and consumers alike. But while most might jump for joy — or, more accurately, Tweet their excitement — over seeing more realistic depictions of women in the media, new research suggests that the inclusion of diverse shapes might not have the desired outcome.
According to new research from Simon Fraser University in Canada, data from five experiments with 168 participants suggest that “the acceptance of larger body types resulted in greater intended or actual consumption of food and a reduced motivation to engage in a healthier lifestyle.”
This phenomenon, dubbed the “ironic Dove Effect” — referencing the body positive commercials and studies promoted by the cosmetics company — seems to indicate that efforts to increase acceptance are actually backfiring, with the target audience’s anxiety regarding their appearance and body image increasing, instead of having the opposite desired effect.
“Although this study demonstrates that accepting larger bodies results is associated with negative consequences, research also shows that ‘fat-shaming’ — or stigmatizing such bodies — fails to improve motivation to lose weight,” study co-author Brent McFerran said. In other words, being larger-bodied could be considered “contagious” because it is seen as socially permissible on a large scale. “Since neither accepting nor stigmatizing larger bodies achieves the desired results, it would be beneficial for marketers and policy makers to instead find a middle ground — using images of people with a healthy weight, and more importantly, refraining from drawing attention to the body size issue entirely.”
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