EXPLORING THE CULTIVATION OF BODY APPRECIATION AND ACCEPTANCE IN FAT, GENDER DIVERSE PEOPLE OF COLOR: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

Positive body image is a construct that extends above and beyond the absence of negative body image or body dissatisfaction. However, most of the research operationalizing and exploring positive body image have predominantly centered White, thin, cisgender individuals. This dissertation explores the experiences of fat, gender-diverse people of color and their experiences of cultivating intersectional positive body image across the lifespan and how it impacts their intimate relationships and relationships with healthcare providers. The purpose of this dissertation is to help medical family therapists and other healthcare professionals facilitate the process of cultivating intersectional positive body image for fat, gender diverse people of color to further health and wellness for patients at these intersections. The following dissertation is divided into six manuscripts: (a) an introduction to the dissertation and the previous research on positive body image, (b) a literature review detailing how “normative bodies” are socially constructed through intersections of anti-Blackness, fatphobia, and transphobia and implications for family theory researchers and practitioners, (c) a systematic review on how positive body image is cultivated in U.S. LGBTQ+ adults, (d) a methods chapter regarding the original exploratory case study through interpretative phenomenological analysis, (e) the original research study examining fat gender diverse people of color’s experiences cultivating positive body image, and (f) a piece for the Family Therapy Magazine on understanding the negative impacts of intersectional fatphobia, racism, transphobia, and both Marriage and Family Therapists and Medical Family Therapists’ roles in advocating within and outside the therapy room. Findings from the exploratory case study delve into four components of positive body image for fat gender diverse people of color encompassing a) positive body image shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, and culture; (b) positive body image as self-process; (c) positive body image as relational; and (d) positive body image and healthcare. For fat, trans and nonbinary people of color, the experience of cultivating positive body image is more nuanced due to their intersectional identities, their relationships, and their body’s physical realities; they experience positive body image on a spectrum rather than as a binary. The larger dissertation expands on this notion and explores how history has shaped the larger thin ideal and how medical family therapists and other healthcare practitioners can challenge this ideal to provide quality care to patients who identify as fat and gender diverse people of color.