Young Danish Women's Experience of Inhabiting their Bodies
Author
úr Skúoy, Pernille Hammer
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Abstract
Dette kandidatspeciale undersøger, hvordan unge danske kvinder oplever at bebo deres kroppe. Udgangspunktet er Merleau-Pontys begreb om krops-subjektet og litteratur om selvobjektivering, kropsbillede, appearance-contingent self-worth samt samtidens diskurser om healthisme og body-isme. Studiet bygger på individuelle semistrukturerede interviews med fire kvinder (22–25 år), rekrutteret via Facebook i marts 2020; to interviews blev gennemført ansigt-til-ansigt og to som videomøder på grund af Covid-19. Materialet er analyseret med Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Resultaterne peger på tre hovedtemaer i kvindernes erfaringer: at leve op til normer og forventninger, at sanse kroppen, og temporalitet. Deltagerne forstår sig selv og deres kroppe i lys af sociale normer for udseende, kompetence og aktiviteter, sammenligner sig med andre og engagerer sig i selvobjektivering og appearance-management. De sanser kroppen gennem fysisk bevægelse såvel som fravær af bevægelse og skelner ofte mellem hoved og krop. Kroppens erfaringer beskrives som en proces, der ændrer sig over tid med ny viden og oplevelser; prioriteringerne forskydes, og deltagerne oplever generelt en mere positiv kropsoplevelse i begyndelsen af voksenlivet.
This master’s thesis explores how young Danish women experience inhabiting their bodies. It is grounded in Merleau-Ponty’s notion of the body-subject and draws on literature on self-objectification, body image, appearance-contingent self-worth, and contemporary discourses of healthism and body-ism. The qualitative study uses individual semi-structured interviews with four women aged 22–25 recruited via Facebook in March 2020; two were conducted face-to-face and two via online video due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The material was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings point to three main themes in the participants’ experiences: living up to norms and expectations, sensing the body, and temporality. The women understand themselves and their bodies in relation to social norms for appearance, competence, and activities, compare themselves to others, and engage in self-objectification and appearance management. They sense their bodies through movement as well as lack of movement and often distinguish between head and body. Their bodily experience is described as a process that changes over time with new knowledge and experiences; priorities shift, and participants generally perceived a more positive experience of inhabiting their bodies at the beginning of adulthood.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
Documents