(In English): This master's thesis examines the type and frequency of activities on social networks and video games with an emphasis on activities that support the objectification of one's own body or are in direct connection with it. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of these activities on the Czech national-wide sample, focusing on respondents who show signs of eating disorders. The evaluation was based on a questionnaire survey of more than 1000 respondents and the results were analyzed mainly by using contingency tables. Based on the results of this research, it is not possible to confirm a direct relationship between self-objectification and ways of new media usage, but some activities correlate directly with people who show an unhealthy relationship with their own bodies. In conclusion, specific steps are proposed for a more suitable survey of self-objectification and recommendations for further research.

Although previous studies have suggested a certain degree of right hemisphere dominance for the response of extrastriate body area (EBA) during body perception, recent evidence suggests that this functional lateralization may differ between men and women. It is unknown, however, whether and how gender differences in body perception affect appreciating the beauty of the body of conspecifics. Here, we applied five 10-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) pulses over left and right EBA and over the vertex to investigate the contribution of visual body representations in the two hemispheres on esthetic body perception. Female and male healthy volunteers were requested to judge how much they liked opposite- and same-gender virtual model bodies or to judge their weight, thus allowing us to compare the effects of right- and left-EBA rTMS on esthetic (liking) and perceptual (weight) judgments of human bodies. The analysis of the esthetic judgments provided by women revealed that right-EBA rTMS increased the liking judgments of opposite- but not same-gender models, as compared to both vertex and left EBA stimulation. Conversely, in men the liking judgments of opposite-gender models decreased after virtual disruption of both right and left EBA as compared to vertex stimulation. Crucially, no significant effect was found for the perceptual task, showing that left- and right-EBA rTMS did not affect weight perception. Our results provide evidence of gender difference in the hemispheric asymmetry of EBA in the esthetic processing of human bodies, with women showing stronger right hemisphere dominance in comparison with men.

L’objectif de cette recherche qualitative était de porter un regard sur la problématique du poids chez l’homme à partir des déterminants de la santé masculine définis par Courtenay (2003). En donnant la parole à 17 hommes québécois en surpoids lors d’entrevues individuelles, différentes variables associées à leur préoccupation à l’égard du poids, sont examinées. Selon ces hommes, il existe un comportement alimentaire typiquement masculin autant dans le choix des aliments que dans la façon de manger. La présence féminine joue pour eux un rôle prépondérant dans ce domaine. La vision masculine de la santé suit souvent la fonctionnalité de leur corps tandis que leur description du surpoids semble davantage partir du « vécu » et être moins stricte que la définition purement médicale. Néanmoins, beaucoup d’hommes sentent la pression de l’image du corps idéal masculin et sont souvent insatisfaits de leur corps selon la masculinité valorisée et selon la stigmatisation subie. La préoccupation des hommes à l’égard de leur santé est très présente parmi les hommes de 30-45 ans et perdre du poids dans ce contexte devient alors légitime mais les raisons évoquées varient : la santé, l’apparence, le bien-être. L’expression des douleurs émotionnelles autour du poids est difficile pour les hommes et trop souvent la masculinité traditionnelle constitue une barrière de taille à la consultation pour ces problèmes. Pour le futur, il sera donc important pour les professionnels de la santé d’intégrer les différentes caractéristiques de cette masculinité traditionnelle dans leur approche et leur communication avec les hommes en surpoids. / The purpose of this study was to explore different weight issues of men by using the « key determinants of the health and the well-being of men » established by Courtenay (2003). By interviewing 17 overweight men of Québec, different variables were examined that could possibly explain the preoccupation with their weight. According to these men, a typical masculine behaviour in the food choice and in the way of eating can be acknowledged and by traditional masculine standards, women often play an important role in this area. The health beliefs of men is often limited to the functionality of their body while the description of overweight is more based on their lived experience and less restrictive than the pure medical definition of health. Nevertheless, the social pressure of the ideal masculine body is felt by many men and makes them often dissatisfied with their body depending on the masculinity that is valued and the stigmatisation that they encounter. Men’s health concerns are predominant in the 30-45 age group and legitimize their desire for weight loss although given reasons may vary: health, appearance or well-being. Expression of emotional pain in weight issues is difficult for a lot of men and very often the traditional masculine values constitute a serious barrier to consulting for these kinds of problems. Health professionals in the future will therefore need to recognize the different characteristics of this masculinity and integrate them in their approach and communication with overweight men.

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