JasperBennett

First published at The Conversation here. As the dating app  Tinder turns five , new research shows  men who regularly use the app  have more body image concerns and lower self-esteem. The research  found Tinder users reported lower levels of satisfaction with their faces and higher levels of shame about their bodies. And users were also more likely to view their bodies as sexual objects. This is hardly surprising given that Tinder�s �evaluative factors� have the potential to intensify preexisting cultural beauty ideals. The app�s �swipe right to dismiss� facility, along with the limited number of words a user can write on their profile means appearance take centre stage. In other words, the  more conventionally attractive your photos are , the more likely you are to be clicked, swiped or hit upon by other users. But whether men use Tinder or not, most will  report  dissatisfaction with some aspect of their appearance. This could be anything from heigh...

Discussion surrounding body image in Western societies, both within academic literature and indeed wider social discourses has vastly increased over the last 20 years. From its foundational roots investigating the disordered eating practices of young females, �body image� is now widely understood as a multidimensional concept, incorporating attitudinal, perceptual, cognitive and affective elements (Roy & Payette, 2012). As a result, literature surrounding body image spans multiple disciplines, highlighting the complexity of gaining insight into this universal aspect of the embodied state � an image of the body you have. Even so, with evidence suggesting female body dissatisfaction has decreased over time (Karazsia, Murnen, & Tylka, 2017), it seems the multitude of research informing social understanding and interventions addressing alarming rates of body image dissatisfaction (BID), have been successful. Foundation or concealer?  Photo by Heidi Uusitorppa (Image modifi...

As I boarded a train last weekend I picked up a couple of discarded celebrity magazines left by previous passengers. As I don�t tend to buy these magazines, I was interested to see what the content could tell me. The first magazine I picked up was Closer. Closer describes itself as �Combining the news, gossip and glamour of the celebrity world with extraordinary and compelling real-life content, Closer connects with its reader by getting to the very heart of every story.�   The cover was a potpourri of images and headlines promising the reader insights into a brave 26 year old. � I look 50 but my saggy skin is beautiful�; a daughter describing her mother as �selfish and insane to have a child at 54� , Abi who loves her curves and Kristina who states �my shape�s changed forever� . Inside the magazine, images of Daniella Westbrook, under the heading �Celeb nip/tuck� , show images of pre-and post-7 hour face lift operation which she claims was necessary because �trolls forced me to ...

One of the questions I often get asked when I talk about my research is how much longer I think the trend for full pubic hair removal will last. I�m hesitant to give an exact expiry date if I�m honest. But I think this question opens up into broader discussions about what impact social, political and economic change has upon our bodily surfaces, and how embodied ideals of womanhood and femininity can both shift and remain constant over time. More revealing than any answer I might be able to give about the potential longevity of the Brazilian wax, is the asking of the question itself.  It demonstrates an understanding of pubic hairlessness as �current�, constructed, transitory, and it encourages conversation about where the norm has originated from, and why women in particular feel pressured to conform to it.  My Google Alerts notified me recently of an online survey examining men and women�s pubic hair grooming preferences, undertaken by Cosmopolitan.com , and suggesting that ...