Jeannine Gailey, Texas Christian University - Rewriting the Body Story

On Texas Christian University Week: What you think about your body’s appearance can have many effects on your well-being.Jeannine Gailey, professor of sociology, discusses how to change harmful beliefs.Faculty Bio:Jeannine A. Gailey is professor and director of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Texas Christian University. Her research focuses on sociology of the body, fat studies, gender, sexualities, and deviance. She is the author of the monograph, The Hyper(in)visible Fat Woman and co-editor of Fat Oppression Around the World. Her publications have appeared in journals such as, Feminist Psychology, Journal of Gender Studies, Fat Studies, Qualitative Research, Social Psychology Quarterly, Deviant Behavior and Cultural Criminology, to name a few.Transcript:Negative body image is so common in women that it is often considered normal, but it’s impact can be devastating. Body image refers to one’s perceptions, thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs about their own body. Poor body image can harm mental health, strain relationships, and lower overall well-being. My collaborator, Dr. Jamie English, a licensed clinical social worker and eating disorder specialist, and I are interested in whether narrative therapy can improve women’s body image and sexual wellbeing by helping participants rewrite their body story. Narrative therapy has the potential to help with negative body image because it separates the individual from the problem, helping women see themselves beyond negative body image. Our participants are adult women whose struggles with body image are negatively impacting their sexual relationships. While we are still in the early stages of the study and continuing to recruit participants, the results so far are promising.Of the 10 women who have completed each phase of the study, which includes a pre and post-test, entrance and exit in-depth interviews and three narrative therapy sessions, all have shown at least some improvement. Most have experienced significant positive changes in how they feel about their bodies and appearance.Participants report that they are no longer fixated on their bodies, weight, or food, and shared that they now have the tools to think differently about their bodies. A few shared that the sessions helped them identify a trauma that had kept them stuck in patterns of negative self-thought.Rewriting their body story, they tell us, is giving them the freedom to think beyond their appearance. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.academicminute.org