Fat talk and body self-acceptance talk: An Experimental Test of the Possible Consequences for Women

This study integrated experimental methods with features of open-ended, qualitative research to explore psychological and relational consequences of body talk, including both fat talk and body self-acceptance talk, among a sample of young adult women. We videotaped conversations between a research confederate and a female participant to investigate (1) the psychological consequences for female participants being exposed to fat talk or body self-acceptance talk in terms of participants own affect and body satisfaction, (2) female participants' in-vivo responses to fat talk versus body self-acceptance talk, (3) relational consequences of body talk as measured by likeability ratings of confederates who engaged in fat talk or body self-acceptance talk, and (4) the interaction of psychological (self-esteem) and situational (exposure to fat talk vs. body self-acceptance) variables to impact participants' body presentational style. Ninety-one female students were recruited to participate in a study on a videotaped two-minute interaction with a research confederate who either initiated fat talk or body self-acceptance talk. Results reveal that exposure to fat talk is associated with more negative affect and body dissatisfaction than exposure to body self-acceptance talk. Our findings also suggest that participants are likely to mirror the body presentational style of the confederate. There was no effect found for condition on the likeability ratings of the confederate, suggesting that there may not be a relational consequence for resisting fat talk through body self-acceptance talk. Self-esteem moderated the effect for condition on satisfaction with body parts and participants' own fat talk, suggesting that women with low self-esteem are more likely to be influenced by their peers' body presentational style compared to women with high self-esteem. Emergent themes regarding fat talk including clothing, empathy with confederate and specific body parts are also discussed. Our findings are consistent with feminist and sociocultural theories suggesting that fat talk among women reinforces body dissatisfaction and negative emotions.