Participant Profiles to understanding the lived experiences through a phenomenological
approach
To provide context and depth to the overall findings, participant profiles have been
included. Pseudonyms have been assigned to maintain confidentiality and anonymity. The
participant profiles assist in understanding the lived experiences through a phenomenological
approach. All participants self-identified positive body image and romantic relationship
satisfaction. Additionally, all women are in heterosexual relationships and reside in the
United States.
Carissa
Carissa is a 35-year-old Caucasian woman. She has been partnered and living together with
her boyfriend for 3 years. Carissa works in the mental health field.
Joan
Joan is a 65-year-old Caucasian woman. She has been married for 35 years. Joan identifies as
a Christian. She retired from the mental health field. Joan has suffered from chronic illness
throughout her life.
Brandi
Brandi is a 40-year-old Caucasian woman. She has been married for 15 years. Brandi
identifies as a Spiritual Humanist. Brandi works in the medical field.
Alison
Alison is a 39-year-old Caucasian woman. She has been married for 19 years. Alison identifies
as a Christian. Alison works in the medical field. Alison is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
27
Vicky
Vicky is a 59-year-old Caucasian woman. She has been married for 37 years. Vicky identifies as
a Christian. Vicky is a retired teacher. Vicky has been diagnosed with multiple chronic illnesses.
Sue
Sue is a 62-year-old Caucasian-Hispanic woman. She has been married for 38 years. Sue
identifies as a Christian. Sue worked in the home and homeschooled her children. Sue has
suffered from chronic illness.
Findings
Based on the interviews conducted with each participant, the interviewer identified
themes within the 3 foci, positive body image, relationship satisfaction, and direction of
influence. The themes identified by the interview for body image include critical thinking,
spiritual beliefs, positive relationships, function-focused, and acceptance. The themes identified
within relationship satisfaction are commitment, supportive communication, enjoyment, and
shared beliefs. The interviewer will discuss both themes within the category of influence: body
image as an influence on relationship satisfaction and relationship satisfaction as an influence
on body image.
Body Image Themes
Each participant was asked two questions regarding positive body image. They were asked
to reflect on their life experience to answer the following questions:
•What does positive body image mean to you?
•What would you attribute to your positive body image?
28
The themes found for positive body image were collected from these answers. While each
woman has a different life experience, five themes were found across transcripts from
these questions. The five themes will be discussed in this section.
Theme 1: Critical Thinking
All six participants reflected on their experiences and ways of engaging in the world that
involve critical thinking; counter-cultural thoughts, perspectives, and actions; independence;
confidence; and agency. As the participants reflected on their life experiences, stories throughout
their lifetimes came up and a theme emerged. These women engage in critical thinking in all
areas of their life and that process appears to influence the way they view their body.
Joan reflects on her ability to think critically from a young age. Throughout her
lifetime, Joan reports suffering from illness that required her to think critically about self-care.
She asserts:
I had been rather sickly all my life, had tons of colds, lots of pneumonia and whatever.
Fourth grade health class. I learned hair is the first line of defense against disease getting
into your body. That stuck with me. I thought why would I shave hair on my legs? I'm
not doing that. I didn’t.
While Joan lived in a culture and in a family that expected her to shave her legs, Joan was able to
focus on function and independent thought. She was not susceptible to the world’s messaging.
She states:
I think I dealt with the world's telling me what I'm supposed to look like, what I'm
supposed to be because I'm a female, and I have fought it my whole life. Not in a not in
a bad way, but in what I see as you know I don't have to do that. You get to choose.
29
She never took the world’s messaging about female expectations as fact. She always engaged
in critical thinking and decided for herself. Joan discussed many stories where she was able to
observe actions and outcomes, and then decide based on observation. She describes:
I seem to have been good at seeing what’s going on around me in the world and
in making choices based on the evidence of what happens if I make that choice.
Even post-birth, she engaged in this type of thinking. Joan details:
I remember seeing some articles on, you know, how do you get your pre-baby body
back? You go through this and that and do these exercises and go to this fitness class and
out of that. Nah, you know what? This is real life. You have a baby. This happens to
your body. Okay. No, I'm not going to live the half of the rest of my life trying to fight
that I’ve got some baby fat on my belly. It'll go away.
Amid a body transition time, Joan is still able to access critical thinking and decide for herself
what decisions she is going to make. The world does not decide for her. Similar to Joan,
Brandi discusses her experience post-birth:
I had a birth that I wanted. I had children on my terms with my partner …. I kept like my
body and mind intact having children. And I think that can really set a lot of women
off course where it’s hard to reconnect with your identity, with your sexual identity,
with your physicality, with your career goals, and dreams of who you are outside of
these things.
Brandi had agency with her birthing decisions and was able to critically engage with different
facets of her identity without being consumed by the world’s expectations. She, too, was an
30
independent thinker. Alison more simply is able to differentiate herself from other peers. She
asserts:
I think the average woman in my age demographics is more concerned with her wrinkles
and her gray hair, and I’m more concerned with can I do what I need to do today?
While Alison’s MS may contribute to the focus on function, she is able to critically think about
how she relates to society and other women.
Theme 2: Spiritual Beliefs
Five of the six participants identified spiritual beliefs as contributors to positive body
image. Four of the five that identified this as a critical contributor, identified with the Christian
faith. They explored ideas of being made in God’s image, a sense of purpose and belonging, and
a trust in God. Brandi, who identifies as a Spiritual Humanist noted "a trust in the body, but also
like a trust in the universe.”
For the participants that identified with Christianity, the focus was largely on identity.
Sue reflected on the foundation of her faith in her identity. She expressed:
… knowing what and in whom your identity lies can make a big difference, and for me
that means, of course, my relationship with the Lord, my Christianity that undergirds
everything that I am, everything I believe, and … in whom I find my identity.
Similarly, Vicky discussed the contentment that accompanies her faith in knowing
there was a reason she was created this way. She details:
I think as a believer, knowing that you were created a specific way because that's how God
made you and wanted you to be …. Just knowing that God created you for a certain
31
reason the way you are, and when you see things from that perspective, there's
no mystique in who you are and how you are made …
For Vicky, her faith influences her body image by increasing acceptance and contentment.
Joan has also found her identity and purpose in her faith. She asserts:
I want to continue to see my body image based on who … God made me to be. And am
I fulfilling the plans that he has had for me ...?
Joan also emphasizes a counter-cultural message from her faith that confirms her identity
and appearance. She expresses:
Jesus said …. I made you what you are. You don't have to listen to the world …. I love
you. I love you if you're wearing makeup, or not wearing makeup. I love that you're very
blonde …. I need you …. What I learned about myself over the years is I love variety
along with choices. And so, Jesus gave me all that long before the world ever hit me.
That is what has sustained me.
Joan is able to engage in her faith and her critical thinking to resist messages from the world.
Her faith has “sustained” her because she is able to accept herself as an intentional creation.
Theme 3: Positive Relationships
Five of the six participants identified positive relationships (parental, familial, peer, and
romantic) as contributing to positive body image. Many of the participants reflected on early
life experiences when identity formation was beginning. The parental messaging and modeling
were instrumental for many of these participants. Additionally, peer relationships contributed to
an increased confidence and a greater positive sense of self and belonging. The influence of
32
romantic relationships will be discussed in depth in the following section, Influence, Romantic
Relationship Satisfaction as a protective factor for Body Image.
Vicky reflected on positive messaging from adults throughout her childhood as well
as peer relationships that contributed to building positive body image. She states:
I think as a little girl, I was always told how cute I was. You know, so I think early on, I
developed that positive self-image. And it wasn't like in high school, I got asked out a lot. In
college, I got asked a lot more. And I always felt like I was attractive, but I didn't think I was
the prettiest person. So, I think just appearance and people telling me at a young age that I
was attractive and pretty. And I was semi-popular in high school and college.
Being able to hear positive messages was instrumental to Vicky’s sense of self. Additionally,
Vicky reflected throughout her interview how peer relationships throughout her lifetime
have contributed to her confidence. It is evident through this reflection that peer relationships
contributed to her sense of self.
Brandi explored how her parents’ messaging was helpful in forming identity from a
young age. She reports:
I will always be grateful to my parents [for] being like, there aren’t rules. There aren’t rules
about what size dancers have to be; there isn’t. There aren’t rules about people who are in
track and field …. That representation was good not only for myself, but I would
say even my teammates.
Brandi was able to be embodied and involved with her peers because her parents instilled in her
a message of acceptance and ability. She continues to discuss how her mother in particular
shaped her body image. Brandi states:
33
I would say with my mother … I think I did probably get a lot of that freewheeling
attribute from about body itself … from my mother. Here's how I think it translates. I'm
not afraid to go on a solo camping trip, hiking trip, pee in the woods … any of those
things that make people a little weirded out like about their body or public spaces or
whatever. None of that has ever really bothered me. And so, I definitely attribute that
… to my childhood.
The messaging and modeling from her mother contributed to her positive body image and
translates into independent thoughts and actions in adulthood. Joan discussed how her
parents’ affirmation of her personality and interests from a young age contribute to her
independence, critical thinking, and positive sense of self. She reports:
… there wasn’t sexism. Like okay, because you’re the girl you have to do housework. It
was because I was the girl that was interested in doing the outside work and being
around the animals, I got to do that.
This affirmation from her parents was instrumental in her acceptance of herself and her desired
roles. Carissa summed it up nicely when she said: “I think family is a huge, huge factor.”
Theme 4: Function-Focused
Five of the six participants identified a focus on body function, rather than appearance as
contributing to positive body image. Many of the women discussed heath, disease, or illness
that contributed to the necessity of this focus. Yet, others explored topics of exercise,
relationships, and giving birth as ways they have focused on function. Many referred to their
body as a “tool” to accomplish tasks, purpose, and to engage in relationships.
34
Alison understands body image through function. She reflects that MS has contributed
to that view, but she also states a maintaining of that perspective throughout her lifetime. She
states:
Positive body image to me means understanding what your body's for. So, for me I see
it as a gift and a tool, and I use it accordingly. So, I try to take decent care of it…. I have
multiple sclerosis. So, I view my body when it's working as the gift that it is…. But to
backtrack that though, I’ve always been a bit of a unicorn, and I’ve always been pretty
self-confident.
Alison refers to her body as a tool. Exercise is one way that she is able to use her body as
she expresses here:
I see my body more as a tool. Exercise makes me more steady on my feet. It makes
me feel a little bit better.
Exercise contributes to her positive body image because she is able to engage in her body.
She expands on this further in other life areas. She declares:
I don't see it [my body] as a trapping for the world to attract people or whatever. I see it
as a tool to get my marriage healthy and bring mutual satisfaction and closeness.
Because when sex is used right, it's a beautiful thing. And I see it [my body] as a tool to
go to work and help provide for my family and make sure my daughter has cracks at
higher education.
Alison’s view of her body is much more than appearance. It is a functioning tool that she can
use to exercise, be in relationships, and work to provide for her family.
35
As Joan reflects on her life experience, she remembers illness plaguing her childhood.
Her illness in many ways contributed to learning function and accommodation. She states:
I was a sickly kid. Okay. Lots of colds, lots of pneumonia …. But in order to you know,
to do what I wanted to … I would push myself. So, I've had to I think accommodate
my body over the years to make it do what I want to do.
This experience of limitations due to illness has led to an increased focus on function and
accommodation. Additionally, Joan reflects on how she focuses on function as she shows up
in relationships. She expresses:
There is a point at which dressing attractively loses the ability for me to be focusing on
others …. I just like clothes that I feel good in so that I can forget me and focus on …
[you] …. I don't want to be wearing something tight that. I don't care if I got a nice
figure. I'm not trying to show that off. I'm trying to work with [you] to fulfill [your]
needs because I might have something [you] need. Okay. Put on something you're
comfortable with and in. Yes, it's acceptable in the setting. But get out of yourself, lady.
Give what you have.
Joan desires relationships and comfort. She is able to focus on function because that assists her
in showing up for others. She is not concerned with appearance because it can distract from her
purpose to be in relationships.
Brandi discussed function with a focus on birth. She explored how that experience shaped
her positive body image. She discusses:
Through the experience of births, because that was incredibly transformative for me to
love somebody. Have sex. We have a baby. I like, you know, like all of the biological
36
things are unfolding and then this turns into yeah, I mean, I know it's like kind of like
duh, but it was fascinating to me, and I actually took that into part of my career. And it
really was, I think even my body image and my romantic relationship. I mean, the love
that gets baby in is the same love that gets baby out. It's very tied to the oxytocin. The
oxytocin is released during orgasm, is the same mechanism that is released when
you're contracting, having contractions, and breastfeeding your baby like, oh my gosh.
And I think so many times women will get disconnected from, from those things.
Where just, they're not, they're so intertwined. So yeah, I think my lovely births with
my beautiful babies also informed positive body image.
This focus on function around pregnancy and birth was also reflected in Joan’s experience
where she asserted:
I’m not so sure that my image my body image was in question that I was concerned
about how I looked or how big I was getting, whatever. I was way more focused on not
knowing how the labor delivery would go.
Both of these women, in different ways, were able to focus on function-related concerns or
joys, rather than appearance during pregnancy and labor.
Vicky shared her experience of breast cancer and the decision of reconstruction
surgery. While she focuses on function, there are additional themes of acceptance, aging, and
romantic relationship validation. Vicky details:
I opted not to get reconstruction just because I had been through so much with surgery,
chemo, and radiation. And, you know, at that point I was getting close to 50 and felt like
the vanity wasn't there that I felt I needed to have reconstruction. I was secure enough in
37
my relationship with [my husband] that I knew that wasn't an issue for him. And I just
had heard of women that they have to have things put into stretch out their skin and
there's several surgeries involved, and it can be painful, and you can get infections. And
I just thought, do I want to put myself through all that more? And I know that, you
know, they can do great reconstruction. You can have the nipples tattooed on it can look
very real, but. At age 50, I just didn't feel the need for that. So, if you ask me how having
both breasts removed affects my self image, I would say absolutely, zero. Because to me
my life and doing as much as I can to alleviate cancer returning was worth it to me.
To Vicky, a focus on function over appearance was necessary for her health and life. Vicky
is able to maintain a positive body image through cancer treatment because of her focus on
function, health, and life, rather than appearance.
Theme 5: Acceptance
Five of the six participants identified acceptance as vital to positive body image.
This includes acceptance of function, limitations, and appearance. Some women discussed
health, illness, and disease as well as faith in relation to acceptance. Some women expressed
this through a level of comfortability with themselves.
As Sue reflected on her experience with illness and age-related changes, she defined
positive body image through a lens of acceptance. She asserts:
Positive body image means that you are completely comfortable in your skin. That you
feel confident in the way you look, what you've been given, your achievements and
limitations with your body, and being able to accept changes as you get older. And or if
38
illness comes and there are changes having the grace to be able to accept those challenges
and changes.
Reflecting on her many years of living with an eating disorder, Sue explains how
acceptance presents itself practically in her life:
You get to a point where you say it's good enough. I'm good enough. I'm comfortable.
My clothes feel okay. I'm not interested in obesity, but I'm also not going to tyrannize
and brutalize my body into submission, like I tried to all those years ago. It's exhausting
thinking about it and what a waste of time, and I can't get it back.
Similarly, Carissa reflects on a care about her body that is set in the bounds of acceptance.
Neither woman is interested in unhealthiness but are able to be comfortable in their own skin.
Carissa declares:
Really, it’s just I feel like liking yourself, and you know being okay with the person and the
skin that you’re in …. And it's just like you, just you get to a point that I will say I
don't care because obviously I do care. I just have to be okay with what I do have.
Carissa has found a place where she can still care about her body, but also accept it. Alison
has reached a level of comfortability with her imperfections. She discusses:
I just think I know who and what I am, and I realized that I'm far from perfect. Like
I could give you a laundry list of things that I realized are not great, but I've just
kinda settled at this point in my life and being okay with them and it is what it is.
Alison’s acceptance is summed up when she says, “it is what it is.” She is comfortable with who
she is despite her “laundry list.”
