Experiment 1
Research & Survey
Proposal
I grew up in a home with two older sisters, one of which felt most comfortable in baggy sweatshirts and t-shirts that were a size too big while the other wore skinny jeans and tighter tops. Ironically, the latter was the one who struggled with an eating disorder. I suppose she felt she needed to fit into the smallest types of clothing. At the time, I was only in elementary school and so, the idea of body image was quite new, if not nonexistent. I could never wrap my head around why my oldest sister refused to eat pasta, bagels, or pizza: who could resist carbohydrates? It wasn’t until years later that not only had I started to understand her habits, but I also replicated them. It was then that my whole mentality had switched: how could someone eat carbohydrates?
It is apparent to me now that eating disorders are not necessarily based solely on genetics but very much result from the environment. I cannot say I blame my sister for the struggles I face, however, I do know that her way of living impacted mine. With that being said, I now live in a sorority house with over 40 other young girls… It is safe to say that it is an environment that can only exacerbate weight issues and body dysmorphia as I am constantly surrounded by other girls, making comparison that much easier. I have found that many of my friends feel the same and some even struggle more with the living situation. As it is a shared issue and one that is not quite discussed enough, I would like to potentially interview girls living in the house. This would be an audio-interview in which I ask girls various questions regarding their feelings about, opinions of, and struggles with body image and the added element of living in a sorority.
General Analysis and Research
Body image, especially how it is portrayed in modern day, is a popular topic of conversation and, therefore, is a large issue. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Eating disorders affect several million people at any given time, most often women between the ages of 12 and 35” (Parekh, 2017). Although the term eating disorder encompasses various illnesses, all of these illnesses include unhealthy eating behaviors and an extreme focus on food and body weight. Usually, these disorders manifest from other problems relating to anxiety, depression, OCD, drug problems, etc. Additionally, genetics can also play a role in deciding whether a person may develop an eating disorder, but this is not necessarily the case in all people (Parekha, 2017). Whereas some might be predisposed to these conditions, others develop them as a result of their environment. Due to this, I would like to further investigate how women around the ages of 19 and 20 years-old feel about their bodies, their relationship with food, and if the environment they live in affects these things.
As the American Psychiatric Association defines, there are three forms of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Each one of these disorders share a commonality of over emphasis on body weight and specific eating habits; however, there are many differences between the three in regards to eating practices and health effects. What goes unacknowledged, however, are conditions like body dysmorphic disease, which is when a person struggles with fixation on a specific body part rather than being discontent with his/her body shape and size. Negative or distorted body image, on the other hand, is when someone has an unrealistic view of their body. These conditions are not spoken about as widely, yet, they are much more common than disordered eating (Centers for Discovery). I believe that this should be assessed on a greater scale because BDD and negative body image often go unnoticed even though they affect most people.
For my first experiment, I plan to not only conduct a few audio-interviews of the girls I live with in the sorority house, but I would also like to administer an anonymous survey/questionnaire to all those living in the house. Both the interview and survey will include questions regarding body image, eating habits, etc. Yet, in the survey I would like to include a few pictures that one might find in a magazine or on social media and then follow up with questions: How does this picture make you feel? Do you think this is a realistic portrayal of an everyday woman? What makes it appealing or appalling?
Sketch
Interview Questions/Script:
How do you feel about your body? Is there anything you would change? Keep this in mind for a bit…
What is your home life like? Did you grow up with siblings? Are your parents overbearing? Does anyone in your family struggle with anxiety, depression, OCD, etc?
Has there ever been emphasis placed on eating and/or weight in your family or household? Were you expected to eat healthy and workout?
In college, are you still reminded to keep up any of these habits? What do you think of when you hear the phrase “the freshman fifteen?”
Would you say you have a healthy relationship with food? Do you find yourself over thinking about food? Do you calculate calories or weigh yourself frequently?
At the doctor, do you ever feel discomfort or dread about being weighed?
When you look in the mirror are you satisfied with what you see? Does your view often change depending on certain external factors? How often do you look in the mirror per day?
How has living in a sorority house been in regards to your body image? Has it had a positive impact on it or a negative one? Why?
Do you often find that you compare yourself to other girls in the house? How does this affect your well being? Have you changed your eating habits due to this?
How do you feel about the food served and supplied within the house? What about the portions? Have you found yourself to be more focused on what you are eating and how much you are eating?
What would you say are the main topics of conversation between girls in the house? Would food consumption and body image fall within the top categories?
Do you work out often? How many times a week? What effect does this have on your mental health and daily schedule?
Overall, how has college affected your relationship with food and your body? How has living in a sorority house and being a part of Greek Life influenced these things?
Sample
Survey:
https://forms.gle/Xq78bukVmApMuw3U6
Body image: a simple concept to describe and, yet, a very complex one to understand. Based on common knowledge, body image is how one perceives his or her physique, which is seemingly straightforward. Interestingly, it is not until we are placed in front of a mirror or are attempting to squeeze into a pair of skinny jeans that this idea becomes a bit more complicated. It is looking at our reflection at six o’clock in the afternoon and seeing someone completely different than the person we encountered at 10 o’clock that very morning. It is putting on the same pair of jeans you wore the day before and being convinced that they no longer fit the same. It is looking at two different pictures from the same night and seeing very unrelated versions of yourself-- one with small arms, a slim waist, and a skinny face and the other looking ten pounds overweight. This is body image in its truest form.
According to the Body Image Therapy Center, 50% of women follow unhealthy eating habits in order to lose or maintain low weights; meanwhile, 70% of women between the ages of 18 and 30 report being dissatisfied with their bodies. Unfortunately, most often these issues result from one’s environment, especially today with the prevalence of social media. With the simple click of a button, we are bombarded with unrealistic images that have been deemed as ideal and, therefore, desirable. A seemingly harmless five minutes spent scrolling through instagram can cause self-esteem to be brutally damaged. It is disheartening to be exposed to pictures of beautiful actresses or Victoria Secret models who have been gifted with every beautiful and virtually unattainable feature-- they are called “angels” for a reason.
After looking at a picture of the Victoria Secret Angels, girls responded stating that it made them feel “fat,” “annoyed,” “uncomfortable,” “not great,” “envious.” By simply looking at this picture, each respondent felt more insecure than they had previously. Now multiply this by hundreds: that comes close to the amount of similar content a young girl comes across on a daily basis and the amount of times they lose a little bit of self-confidence. How many hits can we afford until our confidence no longer exists?
How does the comparison stop? How does one escape from unrealistic images and the ultimately shitty feelings they cause? How does one just be body positive? Well, after much online research, I still cannot answer any of those questions or at least not in the way I would like to be able to answer them. I found that after reading and watching numerous interviews, I felt frustrated by what I came across: malnourished models speaking about the difficulties of body shaming in their industry; plus-size actresses’ journey to body acceptance; body positive influencers who preach striving for happiness; famous musicians’ coming to terms with the fact that eating more means performing better. Body acceptance and positivity is idealistic, but as someone who personally struggles with an eating disorder, I can vouch that it is not that simple.
Another one of the survey questions included an excerpt from a body positivity activist, Marciel Hopkins. She was a top 12 Miss South Africa finalist in 2015 who, after struggling with eating and her body, decided to take on a role to campaign for body positivity. Some tips she shared to combat low self-esteem and negative body image include unfollowing instagram accounts that “make you feel unworthy,” to disregard diet culture, look at exercise as a celebration and not a punishment, and to “strive to be the healthiest and happiest version of yourself” (Relojo, 2017). As great as this advice is and as happy as I am for Hopkins on her body acceptance, I could not help but feel a bit irritated-- how exactly does one celebrate exercise and strive towards happiness. If it was that easy, body negativity would not be an issue. This is why I decided to include this in my survey, I wanted to know if anyone felt the same. 75% of the respondents checked off that they found the tips to be helpful, however, 100% checked that they do not believe achieving body positivity is as simple as Hopkins describes.
30 million people suffer from eating disorders during their lifetime. In other words, 30 million people are not receiving the help they need. Based on my survey, most respondents stated that they struggle with body image and often feel dissatisfied with their body. Additionally, most felt living in an environment like a sorority house only exacerbates these issues. This is as I expected considering culture today prizes being the skinniest, the most in shape, etc. It has created a competitive nature in which women feel they must conform to a certain ideal, which leads to an extreme amount of comparison, anxiety, depression, and pressure. With the world we live in today, there needs to be more awareness on HOW to fight these issues because body positivity does not happen overnight, especially with the “norms” of society pitted against us.
Reflection
After completing the sketch draft and sample excerpt I feel a bit more confident in this experiment. As this is the first one, I came into it a bit daunted and unsure of where to begin. Yet, after sampling out this method, I actually enjoyed it. I have only performed one interview so far and was surprised to find that it was not too difficult. If anything, I struggled the most with knowing which questions to ask and which to leave out. As I progressed, however, it was easier to not necessarily follow a script, but rather, just allow the conversation to flow from question to question. I think by doing this, each interview will be a little bit different since the questions will all revolve around a similar topic but there won’t be an identical format for each conversation.
Initially, I was going to interview people and record their responses by hand rather than over voice memo. After conducting this first interview, though, I feel like being able to hear the interviewee is much more personal and allows for the portrayal of more emotion. Since the topic I am discussing is one that many people struggle with more internally, I think it is nice to be able to express it out loud. With that being said, I believe I will continue to work with this experiment and plan to interview a few more people to have a well rounded discussion.
______________________________________
Due to Covid, my sorority house locked down and I had to leave; therefore, I was unable to conduct the amount of experiments I had planned for. After discussing it over, I decided to take a little bit of a different approach: I did not completely abandon the interviews, but I did research (as instructed) into other forms/approaches that focused on a similar topic to mine. This included articles and interviews of celebrities or influencers on the subject of body issues in today’s world. By doing so, I saw what I did not want to do and what I did not like. I quickly realized that there is a common trend with how this topic is reported and talked about, which frustrated me. So, I wrote about this and created an online survey that I sent to girls who have been living in the sorority house. Although I did not receive the amount of responses I hoped for, I still got a good idea from the responses I did receive. This survey included a picture of models, an interview of young girls on body image, and an excerpt from an article. I asked questions regarding how these pieces of media made the respondent feel followed by more personal questions about how the respondent feels about her body. I was then able to take these results and incorporate them into my writing as it applied to people’s opinions of online content revolving around body positivity. It was apparent that these girls are affected by what they see online/on social media platforms in a negative way and that they also feel that the approaches that have been taken to change poor body image prove useless and disappointing.
I hope that in the next experiment I can actually conduct the experiments I had intended to conduct for this experiment. I feel that after looking into body image content on the internet I can better formulate how I want to approach the interviews: what I want to include, what I want to target specifically, and what I want to avoid. Although this is not a definite plan, I am considering it since I was not able to fully execute the interview format in Experiment 1.
Experiment 2
Podcast
Proposal
In my previous experiment, I spoke about eating disorders and body image through a research-like lens. This included reading and watching interviews of young girls struggling with their bodies as well as activists trying to change the stigma around weight. Additionally, I included results from an online survey I administered and some personal opinions within my writing. Originally, however, my intention was to actually conduct my own interviews of the young girls I live with in my sorority house: an environment where body dissatisfaction, comparison, and unhealthy eating habits thrive. I was not able to follow through with this format, though, since my house was put on lockdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic. I was forced to leave and, therefore, could not formally conduct in person interviews, leaving me to the online format of a survey. Yet, in doing this, I was also able to do more research on body image as a global issue, which includes how it is perceived, reinforced, exacerbated, and what actions are being taken to raise awareness of these concepts. I came to the conclusion that whatever actions are being taken may not be enough.
Body positivity (and negativity) is a more modern phenomenon because of mass media and pop culture. Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, etc. These platforms make it impossible to avoid body dissatisfaction and in fact, have only worsened the problem. When asking girls how they felt after seeing a picture of five Victoria Secret models dressed in lingerie during a fashion show, all responded negatively: they felt fat, jealous, upset, and hatred towards their own body. Yet, after all my research, these images were what I was most exposed to; meanwhile, the advice I found for achieving body positivity from those who had successfully done so themselves only angered me more. Simply put, there seems to be a lack of sources that are easy to relate to because they are either models, actresses, nutritionists, or people who diminish the difficulty of fighting this battle. What about everyday girls and women who remain unable to kill the beast that we’ve labelled body image? This is not an issue that can be solved by swallowing a pill and it most definitely is not cured overnight. This is what needs to be addressed.
General Analysis
For this experiment, I want to focus on interview podcasts as well as solo podcasts. In doing so, I can attempt to conduct the interviews as I had previously intended but on a smaller scale while also inputting my personal experiences. I have listened to a few podcasts, some of which included interviewees, others that consisted solely of the host, and a couple that included both interviews and personal anecdotes. The topic I am focusing on is one that has been researched and addressed countless times; however, I believe that by including my own experiences, as someone who struggles with the issue and is still trying to overcome it, may be useful. Additionally, incorporating others’ perspectives and opinions can also be eye opening.
Podcast format is a useful way to create structure and consistency. It is usually advised that when doing so you stick to one format. One of the podcast forms I am interested in pursuing is the interview podcast, which is when there is a host who asks a guest speaker a series of questions in order to get a variety of experiences. In this format, it is mostly up to the guest to share and the host to just guide the conversation; however, it can be a bit challenging to find the best guest for each podcast so that the interview is entertaining, informative, etc. Another podcast form I would experiment with is the solo podcast. This is used when the host has experience or background in the topic being discussed. It is a useful format for those who struggle to find guest speakers and is also a very intimate way to address an audience. Yet, the pressure then remains all on the host since there is no one else sharing ideas, which may become boring or overwhelming (Castos, 2020).
In order to make a podcast, I have created a SoundCloud account. It is advised that a name is given to the podcast. I decided to call mine “Food for Thought.” Additionally, according to NPR, when conducting a successful podcast there are a few imperative techniques to use: have a strong, engaging introduction; re-engage the audience every few minutes and save the best points for the end; appeal to an intended audience but can also be relatable on a larger scale; make sure the data is accurate (Charney, 2017). I listened to a TED Talk podcast titled “Amazon’s climate pledge to be net-zero by 2040” with Dave Clark and Kara Hurst. Although brief, the podcast included the host posing a question to one of the interviewees and giving him or her an ample amount of time to respond. The questions began broad, specifically revolving around Amazon’s Climate Pledge, and then narrowed down to who was included, how it will be executed, and why it is important. The host finished off by thanking the two guest speakers for their time (TED Talk Daily, 2020)
Sketch Draft
Interview Podcast Script:
Introduction-
When did the mirror become your arch nemesis and the scale, your worst nightmare? Welcome to Food for Thought, a podcast where the difficulties of being a woman in the 21st century are actually addressed and body positivity is unmasked.
This is Food for Thought I’m your host, Molly, and today we have ____ with us to speak about her own struggles and experiences with body image.
*_____ says hello/introduces herself
(Some personal background)
Questions-
Q: Let’s get right to the point, how do you feel about your body?
A: ________
Q: What was your environment like growing up?
A: ________
Q: Has that changed during college?
A: ________
Q: Does the media have any effect on your own body perception?
A: ________
Q: Do you have any unhealthy habits revolving around your body whether it be in regards to eating, exercising, or even just to your emotional state?
A: ________
Q: What have you found worsens these habits and what have you found helps them?
A: ________
Q: To leave off, what do you think needs to be changed? Should the media be held responsible for an increase in body dissatisfaction?
A: _______
Conclude-
Thanks so much for your time!
Sample
Link below
Reflection
My original intention for this experiment was to conduct interviews (after I was unable to last experiment) but after receiving feedback from Experiment 1, I decided to use a podcast format. It was extremely helpful to be able to look at past Gateway students’ portfolios and view the ones that experimented with some form of podcast. Between this and my research on how to formally conduct a podcast, I felt a lot more confident going into Experiment 2. As advised on my prior experiment, I used a more conversational tone when conducting the podcast rather than the more formal, scripted approach of an interview. I did create a script prior but realized as I was going along that I strayed away from it, which allowed the conversation to flow on its own. Although I only created one episode of my podcast “Food for Thought,” I could see myself potentially using this mode in my final site. Obviously, this would mean creating more episodes and having additional conversations with more people.
I enjoyed listening to someone else respond to my guided questions and being able to decide the route of the conversation based on the way they replied. It was definitely a bit tricky, however, to just dive into the podcast and casually speak without stumbling over my words or struggling to come up with the best way to continue the conversation. Yet, it is because of this experiment that I now know these are things to improve upon if a podcast is the format I choose to use for the end project. Additionally, if I decide to continue the topic of body image and body positivity, I think a podcast will be the best way to do so.
After much investigating, I learned how to make my own SoundCloud page for my podcasts. Now, for future episodes, I can just upload them to this page so they are easily accessible and all together in one place. I was also able to title the podcast on SoundCloud and give a brief overview of what would be discussed on the homepage as well as under the episode itself. It is a beneficial way to do this because it feels more official and definitely keeps everything well organized.
As for my next experiment, I am not quite sure what mode I will explore; however, I do want to take a more specific approach on the topic I cover. I intend to be consistent and stay in the realm of body image, but I think narrowing in on something within this topic could be a nice change of pace.
Experiment 3
Open Letter
Proposal
For the past two experiments, I have focused on body image and body positivity in young women. I chose this topic, even though it is commonly addressed, because I personally can relate to the issues that revolve around. After researching I was not surprised by home much content I found on body image, positivity, weight, etc. However, I felt dissatisfied with how this content approached the topics: they did not do them justice. These problems are so widespread for a reason, and I do not believe that is being acknowledged thoroughly or sensitively. Therefore, my past two experiments focused on this by surveying and conversing young women around me on how they truly feel about their bodies.
For this last experiment, I want to shift the subjects of my project and conduct something from my personal perspective. As I have struggled with body dysmorphia and accepting my body, I think that speaking from my own experiences could be an interesting way to get my ideas across.
This is why for Experiment 3 I plan to use an open letter format in which I will personally address body image. This concept has changed the way I think about food, exercise, and weight in ways that I could not have imagined a few years ago. I will share my experiences and struggles through this letter knowing that so many other people face the same obstacles. Most women conform to societal views of the ideal body and weight, it is something that has become more and more of an issue, one that I do not see a solution for in the near future.
General Analysis
After researching how to write an open letter, I found that there are two different types: one that is unaddressed to be read by a large audience and one that is addressed to someone/something specific intended to still be read by a larger audience. For my experiment, I will be using the latter.
Open letters are supposed to be impactful and relatable for many individuals; therefore, the letter must be direct, planned, and applicable. So, although my topic is not necessarily formal, the letter must be relatively structured in that it must engage the audience, address a specific argument/subject, and achieve a purpose. Understandably so, the letter should also be written in one go, rather than over time, so that the thoughts flow. I believe that this is important because the writing is coming from and expressing a lot of emotion, which means it should not be broken up or disrupted.
I read an example of an open letter titled “A Love Letter to Italy.” An initially obvious factor of this letter is that it is addressed to Italy, an inanimate object that is personified. The letter starts off describing the writer’s initial feelings towards the country it addresses, stating they got off to a bit of a rough start (as many relationships do) and then describes the love that began to grow as Italy showed some of its “charm.” She continues to speak about how the relationship progressed and she felt that she was in a place where she “fit.” Throughout the entire open letter, the writer addresses Italy and speaks of it as if it were the other person in a long-distance love affair. The letter is descriptive, consistent, and direct. Granted, her topic differs from the one I have chosen to write my letter to, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this “love” letter.
Sketch Draft
(Address) Dear Body Image,
(Intro) This part of the open letter will focus on my childhood and the little impact weight had on me at the time-- or at least that is what I believed to be true. I will discuss growing up in a household where one of my sisters struggled with an eating disorder and how this influenced my own body perceptions.
I will then talk about how I started to develop some of the same habits my sister exhibited and began to struggle with my body image internally as well as externally. As thoughts about weight began to consume my mind, it also took a toll on my body. I gradually began to turn into my sister after years of not being able to understand why she is the way she is. Rather, I started to not understand everyone else: the people who were not like my sister and myself. How did they indulge the way they did?
Then, I will go into how my issues progressed and manifested in different ways. My inability to see the truth of my size and always perceive myself as “large,” when in fact I was much smaller than most of my friends. In a way, this might have been inevitable as I was one of the first girls to hit puberty in my grade. I was taller, fuller, and heavier than the rest at one point. I think that has stayed with me.
To conclude, I will speak to how I am today. That even though I am healthy, I struggle greatly. I still fight body dysmorphia, eating problems, and a fear of gaining weight. Yet, regardless of my problems, I am okay and this is what I would like to tell Body Image.
Sample
Dear Body Image,
I feel as if you are my main topic of conversation and the one that consumes all my thoughts. Some might even consider it obsessive, but I fear I am not the only one you share this relationship with. I have talked to and seen others very much infatuated with the idea of you, Body Image. Although I would like to say this is new for me, I cannot truthfully say that it is; rather, I think that this relationship has been present for quite some time, just growing deeper and deeper with age.
You have been around since I can remember. When I was younger and my time was filled with ice cream outings and an abundance of carbs, you were there-- I just did not immediately recognize you. I suppose I did a good job of playing hard to get, except for the fact that your accomplice Puberty caught me a bit off guard. You see, in middle school I was one of the first girls to be visited by the great “Aunt Flow,” and boy did she come bearing gifts! I was taller than most of the girls (and the boys, too), curvier than the average, and I even had these mysterious things called boobs. Looking back on it now, I am sure that was something I probably should have admired, but instead, I felt unattractive in my own skin. Little did I know my little growth spurt would be beat by many of my friends in the years to come.
In fact, Body Image, it is quite funny: I am now the shortest of the bunch. Unfortunately, my growth might have slowed, but our relationship only grew stronger. You and I, we became the best of friends, in what is quite a toxic friendship. I do recall being advised to “keep friends close and enemies closer.” I guess I have done a pretty good job at that.
Anyway, like I said, I always knew who you were. I watched you torture those around me with your acts of betrayal and words of disgust. If I am recalling correctly, I believe my very first exposure to you was when you befriended my oldest sister. With this relationship, I watched her grow skinnier, more anxious, and less confident. I saw her plate growing smaller, the bread and pasta replaced with lettuce and other greens. I quite honestly did not understand: how could she not eat pizza and bagels and bacon and cake? It was fascinating to my eight-year-old self. Only if she could see me now…
I cannot accurately tell you when we officially met, but I know it happened gradually. Years of built up self-consciousness and body dissatisfaction began to take a toll while you assisted them in their acts. The habits I witnessed my sister form and follow began to form within me until our diets and regimes looked almost identical. Of course your impact came and went in waves, but it never disappeared as our friendship was too strong to be broken. You told me my legs were big, my arms were fat, my stomach was bloated. You made me think I was larger than other girls and made me want to strive to be smaller, skinnier, and frankly, unhealthier. Your words and your manipulation followed me everywhere: when I looked in the mirror, when I put on a pair of jeans, and when I ate a full meal. This was our relationship and in most ways, this still is our relationship.
I would like to say you were just a fling; a thing of the past. Instead, Body Image, it appears we are still in quite an unfortunate relationship, one in which you “wear the pants.” I have known you for so long, though, and I know you very well: how you act, when you appear, and the damage you cause. I am still continuing to get to know you, but I think soon enough I will learn how to beat you. Soon enough I will learn how to overcome you, Body Image. When I do, I hope that we can part amicably.
Yours Truly,
Molly
Reflection
After writing my open letter, I was reminded of how much I love to write personally and creatively. It was like journaling in that I could just express my emotions, opinions, and experiences. It was almost cathartic and refreshing to address the topic head on. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the style and form of writing, which is causing me to rethink how I want to approach my final site. I originally planned to continue the podcast format, however, I preferred writing the open letter than creating the podcast. I felt this experiment allowed me to just write and to do it in a way that I had never done before.
I originally thought the idea of writing a letter to an inanimate object or idea would just be an interesting experiment to explore; however, once I wrote my letter to body image, I realized it is actually very fun. Although open letters can be addressed to people, I enjoyed personifying this idea of body image and using this letter to speak about it from my perspective rather than from the perspective of others. I also discovered that I had a lot of pent up feelings about my topic and it was quite honestly very easy to express them; my thoughts flowed effortlessly onto the page.
With that being said, I would definitely be interested in developing this experiment further for the final site. I do not know in what form this will take: I could expand on this open letter, potentially include other people’s open letters to body image, or write more open letters to other ideas/things that fall under my topic.