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ADOLESCENTS IN BODY IMAGE SATISFACTION:
BODY NEUTRALITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE
TO BODY POSITIVITY
A Research
Presented to
the Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation
Senior High School Department
City of San Carlos, Pangasinan
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the subject
Practical Research 1 (Qualitative Research)
Cano, Karyl Conie C.
Castro, Melinda F.
Daroy, Renzo A.
De Guzman, Carlos Miguel M.
De Guzman, Kyle Nicole A.
Manzon, Kristine Mae F.
Peralta, Shaenne Mae C.
Recto, Olieza Mheca R.
Sesor, Jasmin C.
MAY 2021
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APPROVAL SHEET
This study entitled “ADOLESCENTS IN BODY IMAGE SATISFACTION:
BODY NEUTRALITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BODY POSITIVITY” has been
prepared and submitted by Cano, Karyl Conie C., Castro, Melinda F., Daroy, Renzo A.,
De Guzman, Carlos Miguel M., De Guzman, Kyle Nicole A., Manzon, Kristine Mae F.,
Peralta, Shaenne Mae C., Recto, Olieza Mheca R., and Sesor, Jasmin C. in partial
fulfillment of the requirements in the subject Practical Research 1 is hereby
recommended for Oral Examination.
JUSTINE R. JARRA, LPT
Research Adviser
Approved by the Defense Panel on May 2021 with the grade of
.
Chairperson
Member
Member
Approved in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in the subject Practical Research 1.
DR. GERRY G. ABENILLA
Principal, VM Senior High School
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Over several years, society's ideal standard of beauty for both men and women and
all genders has changed due to socio-cultural factors, yet it still upholds the impossible
perfect image one must achieve. It further boosts anyone with insecurities to feel bad about
themselves because of how their body looks, giving birth to body image issues that can
turn into various psychological disorders such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and
eating disorders like Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia.
In efforts to encourage people, especially women, to love their bodies and accept
what they look like. A special kind of mindset emerged and took off in the mainstream
media known as the body positivity movement. It is intended initially to reject the
traditional beauty ideal and to make people stop hating on their bodies even the whole
world has told them otherwise.
Albeit the core of this message is still present up until these days, the whole body
positivity as a whole has shifted. It is now being commercialized, the companies selling
products, telling people they need to use it insinuating they are not good enough while
telling them that they are already beautiful for what they are at the same time as seen in the
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campaigns and advertisements. It attracts the general public into putting tons of money into
these companies, with the beauty and personal care market value worldwide being 438
Billion US dollars in 2020, according to (Roberts R., 2021). Meanwhile, the Philippines
scores over 2.5 Billion US dollars in revenue in the same year.
Besides, Body Positivity could be toxic, like how toxic positivity forces everyone
to feel happy all the time, in this case, on how they look even when people are not in their
best mood. This factor makes people feel inadequate and ashamed, for they can't be body
positive constantly.
Due to the reasons mentioned earlier, Body Positives and the people who suffer
from body image issues looked for a healthier mindset and found Body Neutrality. This
mindset's whole idea is to make people accept their body for what it is, encouraging
individuals to recognize the abilities and nonphysical characteristics it provides over how
it appears or looks. (Raypole C., 2021)
As an example of how Body Neutrality works, think of an arm, instead of deciding
whether to love or hate its figure. The philosophy instigates people to accept and appreciate
its ability to lift without the pressure of being happy about how it looks.
Although Body Neutrality is gaining much traction, it is still not quite famous yet
compared to Body Positivity which could be toxic and harmful to people suffering from
body image issues trying to cope with it as observed by the research enthusiasts in social
media platform, Instagram, where the hashtag Body Neutrality have 130, 000 related posts.
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In comparison, hashtag Body Positivity has approximately 7.3 Million related posts as of
the early weeks of April 2021. The said social media app is estimated to have roughly one
billion monthly active users, of which 7.3 percent of them are adolescents, age ranging
from 13-17. (Statista, 2021)
The researchers aim to inform and introduce Body Neutrality to adolescents as a
better alternative to Body Positive.
Statement of the Problem
This study aims to know if Body Neutrality, rather than Body Positivity, is the most
suitable mindset for adolescents who aspires to be body image satisfied. Specifically, it
seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are the reasons why Body positivity is destructive while Body neutrality is
constructive?
2. Why is it better for adolescents to practice Body Neutrality than Body Positivity?
Assumptions
The following assumptions were made in conducting this study. It was assumed that:
1. Participants will be asked different questions tackling the "Adolescents on Body
Image Satisfaction: Body Neutrality as an Alternative to Body Positivity."
2. The researchers will provide an understandable questionnaire about the study for
their respondents to answer correctly with complete honesty.
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3. The information that the researchers will gather from their respondents will be
confidential.
4. Researchers make sure that the gathered data will not bias to any participants.
5. Researchers are open to any criticisms and questions the participants will give about
the study.
Scope and Delimitation
The study's primary purpose is to know if Body Neutrality, rather than Body
Positivity, is the most suitable mindset for adolescents who aspires to be body image
satisfied. The study will also evaluate the student's personal information aspect such as
name (optional), age, and gender.
The researchers limited the study to 100 males and females within the adolescent
age of 10-19 years with body image issues in San Carlos City's Pangasinan area. Each
respondent was given a questionnaire to answer. The respondents will be randomly selected
to prevent bias and get objective perceptions.
Significance of the Study
This study is significant to the following group of people:
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Students. This study will introduce and help students assess their current knowledge about
the complexity of how body positivity can be destructive while body neutrality is
constructive.
Parents. This study can provide information to help parents improve their way of living
and change their way of raising children. It will help them better comprehend and
understand how their children think and live, which is the most probable scenario that can
strengthen their relationship.
Teachers. It will aid the faculty in forming a better curriculum and system within the
administration and classroom. The sufficient information can be used to encourage teachers
to educate the academic community; in the most probable scenario, this will improve the
student’s quality of life.
Researchers. For future researchers, this study can be used to provide more information
with their knowledge and current level of comprehension and understanding in the field of
body positivity and body neutrality.
Related Studies
Foreign Studies
According to Pilar Aparicio-Martinez, Alberto-Jesus Perea-Moreno, María Pilar
Martinez-Jimenez, María Dolores Redel-Macías, Claudia Pagliari, and Manuel Vaquero-
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Abellan (2019), Disordered eating attitudes are rapidly increasing, especially among young
women in their twenties. These disordered behaviors result from the interaction of several
factors, including beauty ideals. A significant factor is social media, by which unrealistic
beauty ideals are popularized and may lead to these behaviors. The objectives of this study
were, first, to determine the relationship between disordered eating behaviors among
female university students and sociocultural factors, such as the use of social network sites,
beauty ideals, body satisfaction, body image and the body image desired to achieve and,
second, to determine whether there is a sensitive relationship between disordered eating
attitudes, addiction to social networks, and testosterone levels as a biological factor. The
results showed that disordered eating attitudes were linked to self-esteem, body image,
body desired to achieve, the use of social media and prenatal testosterone. The findings
presented in this study suggest a relationship between body image, body concerns, body
dissatisfaction, and disordered eating attitudes among college women.
In relation to that, according to a study by EllieAniulis, GemmaSharp, and Nicole
A. Thomas (2021), the body positivity movement—celebrating bodies beyond the thin
ideal—has gained traction on social media. In an online study of North American women,
we aimed to determine how ideal body perceptions shift based on the presentation of more
diverse body types. In Study 1, women responded to arrays of bodies ranging from
primarily small to primarily large bodies, selecting the body closest to their ideal body.
Results showed that the BMI of the ideal body increased as the body sizes in the array
increased. Participants were also less likely to select an underweight ideal when viewing
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larger bodies. In Study 2, women responded to arrays with either primarily small or
primarily large bodies. Results suggested that ideal body perceptions only shifted around
current societal standards, and not to extremes. Results suggest ideal body size is malleable,
and shifting toward a more diverse perception of the ideal body is achievable with
increased exposure beyond the thin ideal.
In addition, research by Rebecca F. Lazuka, Madeline R. Wick, Pamela K. Keel,
and Jennifer A. Harriger (2020), body positivity challenges the unrealistic standards of
beauty present in the media by the promotion and acceptance of diverse body sizes and
appearances. In an effort to further understand the messages of body positivity in social
media, this study examined the content of 246 body positive posts from the broad Instagram
community. Results demonstrated an inclusion and appreciation of diverse physical
appearances, as well as themes consistent with messages promoting body positivity. In
contrast to content on popular body positivity accounts, several of the posts from the
broader Instagram community did, however, contain contradictory messages, such as the
promotion of weight loss or the praise of extreme thinness.
Local Studies
Haneen S. Batua, Mari Frances F. Borilla, and Areej A. Mohammad
(2019) conducted a study in four schools in Riyadh with a total of seven hundred sixtyeight respondents. The descriptive-correlation method was used in this study. The
researchers used a table-scale questionnaire method to reveal the relationship of body
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dissatisfaction and Pearson product-moment correlation was used to examine the
relationships between variables hypothesized to be associated. The study was conducted to
determine the relationship between body dissatisfaction with eating disorders. And results
showed that the highest levels of body dissatisfaction were seen in the 20-year-old age
group, female group, and Grade 9 group; females tend to have a higher level of body
dissatisfaction compared to males which conclude that the Level of Body Dissatisfaction
and the development of Symptoms of Eating Disorders has a statistically significant linear
relationship.
Aside from Haneen S. Batua, Mari Frances F. Borilla, and Areej A. Mohammad’s
study, Genesis M. Javellana (2014) researched media’s influence on body image
satisfaction among adolescents. The study aimed to determine which media influence
adolescents most, the level of body image satisfaction of the adolescents, the relationship
between media and body image satisfaction, and propose measures to enhance the
adolescents’ body image satisfaction. Results revealed and were concluded that the internet
is the most frequently used media with the respondents using it often; the level of body
area satisfaction of the respondents is mostly satisfied; magazines have the strongest
negative relationship with the weight of the respondents; and, measures such as media
awareness seminars and screening and balancing of commercials and advertisements on
television and magazines are needed to balance the effects of media on adolescents.
In addition, Shannen Tadena, So Ra Kang, and Shin-Jeong Kim (2020), examined
the influence of social media affinity on eating attitudes and body dissatisfaction among
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adolescents in the Philippines. The participants were 114 junior high school students
enrolled in 7th to 10th grade in Cavite Province, Philippines. The collected data were
analyzed in SPSS, using descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, one-way analysis of
variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple linear regression. And
results suggest that the factors affecting eating attitudes were body dissatisfaction, social
media affinity, and grade; and the factors influencing body dissatisfaction were eating
attitudes and social media affinity.
Definition of Terms

Adolescents - a young person aged 10-19 years

Anorexia Nervosa - an eating disorder and psychological condition marked by
extreme self-starvation due to a distorted body image

Body dissatisfaction - negative attitude towards one's own physical appearance

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) - a mental health condition where a person
spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance

Body image - how an individual sees their own body and how attractive they feel
themselves to be

Body neutrality - a philosophy that you should focus on what your body can do
for you rather than what it looks like
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
Body positivity - the idea that people should feel happy with and proud of their
body, whatever shape or size it is

Bulimia Nervosa - when a person eats large amounts of food then will force
themselves to vomit it up or purge

Disordered eating - used to describe a range of irregular eating behaviors that
may or may not warrant a diagnosis of a specific eating disorder.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Aparicio-Martinez, P., Perea-Moreno, A.-J., Martinez-Jimenez, M. P., Redel-Macías, M.
D., Pagliari, C., & Vaquero-Abellan, M. (2019). Social Media, Thin-Ideal, Body
Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Attitudes: An Exploratory Analysis.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(21),
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4177. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214177
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2021, from https://www.eringrumley.com/blog/2020/9/6/what-is-body-positivityand-why-is-it-bs