Using Body-Positive Imagery on Social Media

Men reacted particularly strongly to a drive for muscularity.

Much has been made of the negative effects of social media sites, particularly those that promote the “thin ideal.” In a recent study, exposure to body-positive imagery on social media was beneficial to young adult men and women alike. Body-positive images, or those that depict “normal” individuals of varying weights, improved overall body satisfaction and reduced concerns about weight among young adult men and women (Acta Psychologica. 2024. 243:104126; published online before publication).

Drs. Fabio Fasoli, of the University of Surrey, UK, and Despoina Constantinou, of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, reported these results after their online survey used social media to sample a group of 207 participants. Most participants reported using social media for more than 2 hours a day, and no gender differences emerged in the use of Instagram. A control group was shown 10 images of landscapes and animals, without any human beings in the images.

Study design

Psychology students at the University of Surrey were recruited via social networks. The final sample consisted of 113 women and 94 men under 35 years of age, who were young and who mostly self-identified as being heterosexual, and white. The most popular social media network, used by nearly 97%, was Instagram. More than half of the respondents had been exposed to body-positive images similar to those they viewed during the study. More women than men had seen such images before on the social media sites. A control group was exposed to 10 images involving landscapes and animals without the presence of any human beings.

The researchers were particularly interested in exploring three areas: body satisfaction, drive for thinness, and drive for muscularity.

Body satisfaction. Gender played a role in body satisfaction, for women were less satisfied with their bodies than were men. Time made a difference, too: the researchers found that while body satisfaction decreased when participants were exposed to idealized body images, it increased when they were exposed to body-positive imagery. Importantly, the type of imagery participants were exposed to played a key role in their body image. Exposure to idealized body imagery decreased positive mood and body satisfaction in both men and women. In contrast, body-positive imagery increased body satisfaction and decreased the drive for thinness in both men and women.

The authors found that exposure to body-positive imagery increased body satisfaction in women, but also had an effect upon men. Adding to their earlier studies work, the authors confirmed that body-positive imagery decreased concerns about weight. Earlier studies had shown that both men and women had more positive feelings about their weight when exposed to body-positive images rather than idealized body imagery.

In an unexpected result, participants in the control condition, those exposed to images portraying landscapes and animals but not humans, reported a decreased drive for thinness. This effect is difficult to explain. It is possible that seeing positive images (pleasant landscapes and animals but no humans) may have distracted participants from thinking about their weight, and this reduced their weight concerns. Another possibility was decreased negative mood after seeing images of nature.

Drive for thinness

The internalization of body ideals and the influence of social media have an impact on both men’s and women’s drive for thinness (Eat Behav.2012. 13:321) and being exposed to imagery promoting body diversity, and potentially criticizing unrealistic body ideals (Fasoli et al., 2023), can reduce not only women’s but also men’s concerns about their weight.

The authors reported a significant main effect of gender, indicating that women participants reported a stronger drive for thinness than did men. However, when participants were exposed to body-positive imagery, there were no differences in drive for thinness among men and women.Unexpectedly, men and women controls, who were only exposed to images of landscape and animals, but no humans, showed a decreased drive for thinness, too.

Drive for muscularity

As the authors had expected, gender played a significant effect in drive for muscularity, and men reported having a higher drive for muscularity than women. Time also played an effect, indicating a significant decrease in drive for muscularity after exposure to positive images. No other significant main effects or interactions emerged.

A lean and muscular body is particularly important for men because it is currently considered an indicator of masculinity. Unfortunately, a drive for muscularity can also lead to the use of anabolic steroids and can enhance symptoms of disordered eating. Internalization of body ideals in young men is also associated with unhealthy levels of food and supplement intake, and with compulsive exercise.

Also, men reported a general decrease in the drive for muscularity after being exposed to any type of imagery, not just body-positive imagery. Being exposed to body-positive imagery alone did not play a positive role in how men felt about their muscularity. One possible explanation for this is that body positivity may be perceived as being more about plus-size bodies than any other body characteristics, making individuals critically select their weight more than other body characteristics. This would explain the effects of body-positive imagery on the drive for thinness but not the drive for muscularity. The drive for muscularity did not increase when men were exposed to idealized body imagery.

Men and body imagery

According to the authors, the impact of body-positive imagery on men has rarely been studied and not all men are similarly affected by idealized male imagery. The amount of attention to certain body parts (for example, “abs”) that men give to idealized bodies influences their body image, and body satisfaction moderates the attention men give to others’ muscular bodies. The authors noted that it was possible that they overlooked some effects on men’s drive for muscularity because they did not take into account individual differences that explained their reactions toward idealized muscular bodies.

Some programs are being designed to address body imagery among men. Manual, a men’s health and well-being platform based in London, has developed a campaign called “Men of Manual” to challenge stereotypes of the male body and to promote body acceptance among men (help@manual.com). A correlational study found that participants who were frequently exposed to body-positive posts on Instagram reported higher levels of body satisfaction and positive mood; this was true for both men and women (Body Image. 2020. 35:181).

The study findings showed that, overall, women were more dissatisfied with their bodies, and reported a stronger negative mood and a higher drive for thinness than men. However, men reported a higher drive for muscularity.

These findings confirm earlier findings suggesting that women experience stronger body dissatisfaction than men but also suggest that the type of body concern they experience depends on their gender. Importantly, the type of imagery participants was exposed to played a key role in their body image. Exposure to idealized body imagery decreased the positive mood and body satisfaction in both men and women. In contrast, body-positive imagery increased body satisfaction and decreased the drive for thinness in both men and women.

George Pallis, CEO and co-founder of the Manual website for men, has written, “In a world where opening up about mental and physical wellbeing is arguably more crucial than ever before, it’s vital that we all work together to de-stigmatise men’s wellness and improve the health and happiness of men everywhere.”