Better body image for moms and daughters may be encouraged by feminism.

 

Better body image for moms and daughters may be encouraged by feminism.

                                                                  

According to University of Georgia studies, having a positive body image may result from being a feminist. According to research, feminist mothers and daughters tend to describe their bodies in more flattering terms.

Feminist mother-daughter pairings felt less embarrassed about their appearances and better with their bodies than women who did not subscribe to feminist ideas. In related news, experts say their findings indicate mothers have a significant impact on their daughters. How a mother perceives and discusses her own body has a significant impact on how her daughter(s) perceive their own. Furthermore, the converse of this effect was also true; a daughter's body talk can affect the mother.

Women who reject cultural standards and expectations about how they should look while yet feeling empowered and accepting their own bodies for their strengths and individuality are said to be practising feminist embodiment, according to the study authors.

The UG team polled 169 mother-daughter pairs in order to study this complex subject. However, it's significant to note that the researchers did not inquire about the participants' feminism. The group's feelings regarding their own power as women, how connected they felt to their bodies, how in control of their lives they felt, as well as other "measures of feminist principles," were instead examined by researchers to determine their level of feminism.

Negative remarks regarding one's physique or appearance have been linked to depression, eating disorders, and body dissatisfaction, according to earlier research. According to the most recent research, girls' self-esteem may suffer if they hear their mothers criticising their bodies. Daughters who were confident in their appearance and often spoke highly of themselves tended to have a "good influence" on their mothers. According to the study's authors, mothers who raise girls who are more accepting of their bodies are more likely to have favourable self-images.

Analisa Arroyo, an associate professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the study's principal author, says in a university statement that one of the study's primary conclusions is the significance of emphasising mothers as change agents. The empowerment of women to accept and love their bodies is one method to end the intergenerational cycle of poor body image, and this is something we can pass along to our daughters.

A new generation adopts body positivity

Naturally, as Prof. Arroyo notes, it's far easier said than done.

She says, there’s a whole set of folks who have never learned to think positively about their bodies. In actuality, they're ashamed of their bodies for a variety of reasons, including physical size, gender identity, race, and ethnicity. Additionally, their harsh comments regarding their bodies.

According to the authors of the study, negative "body talk" is rather typical among women. According to Prof. Arroyo, these dialogues have the potential to become a feedback loop. Suppose a woman confides in her friend that she believes she should lose weight, to which the friend reassures her, "No, you look great!"

When people compliment us, that only serves to perpetuate that conduct, but you can't just stay silent, can you? You can't say, Yeah, you could probably start a diet. Comment from Professor Arroyo

It's also important to keep in mind that the mothers who participated in this study were children in the 1970s and 1980s, a period in which the term "body positivity" didn't even exist.

According to Prof. Arroyo, They grew up in an era when being skinny was ideal and there was no embracement of the body.

The study's authors write, "It is possible that the moms in our sample were taught that their bodies, which naturally could never achieve those beauty ideals, are inadequate and should be subjected to continuous improvement."

Honesty is the best policy (Body)

Therefore, should moms simply try to speak more highly of themselves around their daughters? Researchers acknowledge there are no simple solutions, despite the fact that it is a start in the right direction.

We can say this when your daughter says this. Act in this way for her to see, adds Prof. Arroyo. But that's just acting, right? If they don't actually feel this embodiment and embrace their bodies. That is acting. We don't want that, though. We desire for them to genuinely accept the vessel through which they are living.

The research team's conclusion is that mothers may and should be open and honest with their daughters about any issues they might have with body image. Moms should urge their daughters to emulate them while at the same time working to accept themselves more.

We believe that the mother-daughter relationship is one of the few occasions where this type of body language is acceptable because they have a history of caring for one another, which may be different from two strangers who normally use body language to fit in, says Prof. Arroyo. Daughters and mothers play a crucial role in one another's lives.

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