Mission Statement

This blog is my contribution to the ongoing body image conversation—a space to explore, question, and ultimately reshape how we understand and talk about body image experiences.

Body image is a vast, intricate, and deeply personal experience shaped by the world around us. Although a significant body of rich research exists, it’s often siloed across disciplines, with narrow, appearance-focused perspectives dominating much of the field.

My aim is to bring these fragmented pieces together and offer a more holistic, integrated exploration of how people experience body image in their everyday lives.

Core Belief

Central to my mission is the belief that body image is far from a ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ binary. Instead, it’s a complex, multifaceted, and fluid phenomenon.

This belief stems from my PhD research, which found that body image experiences are shaped simultaneously by a web of external influences—such as media, family, friends, and social expectations—while also being filtered through internal influences, like personality, personal histories, and beliefs.

This combination makes each person’s body image experiences unique as a fingerprint.

Objectives

My aim is to support individuals in reflecting on their body image experiences and to offer tools that may help them understand the factors that influence them. Through this blog, I aim to:

Raise Awareness
Challenge the often simplistic and binary views of body image by raising awareness that body image is inherently complex, multifaceted, and fluid.

Build Understanding
Help people better understand the range of influences that can shape body image experiences in different ways across time and place.

Foster Empowerment
Provide strategies to help people work toward more flexible and positive relationships with their bodies, however that looks to them.

Looking Forward

By embracing body image’s full complexity, we can move toward a richer understanding of what it means to live in and experience our bodies. In turn, we’ll be better positioned to design meaningful interventions that move beyond half-baked conceptions and help people experience body image in the best possible way for them.

This article does not constitute personalised advice or professional consultation. For personalised assistance, please consult with a relevant professional. The opinions expressed are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect any organisation’s or individual’s views.