Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Influences Positive Body Image
All participants identified that their relationship satisfaction impacts their body image.
Participants reflected on commitment and emotional security, the reassurance and validation
that their partner provides, and the impact their partner’s perception has on the view of their
own body.
Vicky reflects on how her health and experiences with illness have affected her body
image and how her husband provided security and reassurance in those times. She expresses:
I've had so many physical things between cancer and kidneys and stuff that I'd say more,
my health has impacted my body image than my romantic relationship ... . He knows all
I've been through and what the scars mean ... . Maybe even though, yeah, underneath
this, I don't look so great. Being in a secure, romantic relationship, which in some ways is
different than a sexual relationship. Yeah, because I feel loved and accepted despite how
I looked underneath this. I think it does maybe affect my body image. And, you know,
knowing that I decided to have a double mastectomy, knowing that my husband would
still love and accept me because of the relationship we had.
The security and reassurance Vicky found in her husband’s commitment and support was
a protective factor for her body image in these moments of illness, disease, and throughout
surgeries. Because of the security she had in her marital relationship, she was able to
maintain a positive body image. Sue also reflects on her experience of her husband’s
commitment and validation. Sue states:
I think that because he has been so accepting of me, I think that has helped me get to
where I am now. It was a long time coming with my own personal view of myself, but
that he has shown such a constant love and acceptance I do think that has helped me
get where I am today. And I'm grateful for that.
Sue was able to utilize the relationship with her husband, his support and validation to inform
her body image. She attributes her positive body image to her husband’s support. Brandi reflects
on her husband’s reassurance and the effect it has on her body image and confidence in many
different areas through her life. She discusses:
That kind of reassurance [from my husband] and that quality raises… my confidence a
work, or my confidence [as] I strut into the gym or… caring for children…. Like if the
relationship's good, other things tend to be good …. tend to thrive.
The relationship that Brandi has with her husband affects her confidence. If the relationship with
her husband is reassuring, her other life areas “tend to thrive.” Her husband has a great impact on
her body image and confidence. Joan explores the impact of her husband’s reassurance and his
perception of her body. She asserts:
The fact that [my husband] was so positive, was so complimentary, pointed things out,
really helped me learn what is romance. I can't say that I was a very romantic person
previously and [my husband] really helped me grow in that area. You know, I don't know
that my viewpoint of myself changed so much as what I learned was [my husband]'s
image of my body. And I learned to respond to him romantically based on his words ….
He has built my confidence…. He has complimented me. I attribute it to the relationship
that my image of myself has been positively impacted over the marriage and that,
you know, I don't know that that would have happened had I not married.
Joan attributes some of her positive body image to her husband’s words of reassurance and his
perception. She let her husband’s perception of her body inform her own body image. She was
able to respond to his words and learned through the relationship how to think of herself and
how to engage.
