Abstract
This study compared different forms of body talk, including “fat talk,” among 231 university men and women in central England (UK; n = 93) and the southeastern United States (US; n = 138). A 2 (gender) by 2 (country) repeated measures ANOVA across types of body talk (negative, self-accepting, positive) and additional Chi-square analyses revealed that there were differences across gender and between the UK and US cultures. Specifically, UK and US women were more likely to report frequently hearing or perceiving pressure to engage in fat talk than men. US women and men were also more likely to report pressure to join in self-accepting body talk than UK women and men.
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Acknowledgements
The first author received funding support from an International Student Research Grant within the Office of Student Research, the Graduate Student Association Senate, and the Wiley Smith Family, all administered through Appalachian State University. We thank these groups for their longstanding and generous support of student research. Aside from funding support, these groups had no involvement in any part of this publication.
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Appendix
Appendix
Fat Talk Scenario | ||||
Imagine you are in a group of friends/coworkers who were saying negative things about their bodies (For example, “My butt is fat”). | ||||
How likely would this scenario occur in your life? | ||||
Never | Sometimes | Usually | Frequently | Very Frequently |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
How much pressure would you feel to say negative things about your body in this group? | ||||
None | Maybe Some | Some | A Lot | Extreme |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Self-accepting Scenario | ||||
Imagine you are in a group of friends/coworkers who were saying self-accepting things about their bodies (For example, “I feel okay about my body”). | ||||
How likely would this scenario occur in your life? | ||||
Never | Sometimes | Usually | Frequently | Very Frequently |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
How much pressure would you feel to say self-accepting things about your body in this group? | ||||
None | Maybe Some | Some | A Lot | Extreme |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Positive Scenario | ||||
Imagine you are in a group of friends/coworkers who were saying positive things about their bodies (For example, “I really like my body”). | ||||
How likely would this scenario occur in your life? | ||||
Never | Sometimes | Usually | Frequently | Very Frequently |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
How much pressure would you feel to say positive things about your body in this group? | ||||
None | Maybe Some | Some | A Lot | Extreme |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
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Payne, L.O., Martz, D.M., Tompkins, K.B. et al. Gender Comparisons of Fat Talk in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sex Roles 65, 557–565 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9881-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9881-4