Fat Stigmatization on YouTube: A Content Analysis

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Keywords

Internet, YouTube, Fat stigmatization, Weight bias, Media exposure, Gender, Ethnicity

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2010.10.003

Abstract

YouTube.com is an internet website that is viewed by two billion individuals daily, and thus may serve as the source of images and messages regarding weight acceptance or weight bias. In the current study, a targeted sample of YouTube videos that displayed fat stigmatization were content rated on a variety of video characteristics. The findings revealed that men were the target of fat stigmatization (62.1%) almost twice as often as women (36.4%). When there was an antagonist present in the video, the great majority of the time, the aggressor was male (88.5%) rather than female (7.7%). These findings indicate that men were the antagonist 11.5 times the rate of women, but they were only 1.7 times more often stigmatized. Future research avenues, including an experimental analysis of viewing stigmatizing videos on body image, are recommended.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

Yes

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Body Image, v. 8, issue 1, p. 90-92

Share

COinS