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Several studies have been done to examine the effects of fitspiration on body image satisfaction using social comparison theory but there has yet to be a study done using framing theory to find out what exactly these images are focusing on. This research will use framing theory to examine what characteristics and body types are being seen on Instagram under the hashtag “fitspiration”. Using a mixed method approach, this study uses a textual analysis to first get a larger sample set of fitspiration images on Instagram. It then uses in-depth interviews to get a deeper understanding of what the general public thinks the main frames of fitspiration are. Results for this research found that the social media trend emphasizes a stronger and more health-focused ideal and a strong sense of health and/or fitness behind the frames of each image. With the increased use of social media starting at such a young age it is important to understand the culture of popular trends in order to evaluate how we are interacting with them. Previous research focused on the outcome as opposed to the origin of the issue. This research gives a sample of the fitspiration culture in order to help us start to understand the trends of health and fitness online.

Sociala medier har blivit en stor del av många människors liv, vilket innebär att vi dagligen exponeras för en mängd olika information och budskap. En stor del av denna information innehåller bilder med normativa utseendeideal. Idag dominerar ett atletiskt utseendeideal, vilket delvis beror på den globala sociala medierörelsen fitspiration. Begreppet fitspiration innebär träningsrelaterade webbplatser, profiler, samt olika typer av text- och bildmaterial som karaktäriseras av vältränade kroppar, med låg andel kroppsfett och väldefinierade muskler. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för denna studie var teorin om social jämförelse som innebär att det ingår i människans natur att vilja skapa en social identitet genom jämförelse med andra. Forskning om hur mäns kroppsuppfattning och träningsbeteende påverkas av sociala medier och fitspiration är begränsad. Studiens syfte var därför att undersöka hur påverkan av fitspiration på sociala medier relaterar till den egna kroppsuppfattningen och träningsbeteendet, bland fysiskt aktiva män mellan 18-65 år. Denna studie använde ett kvantitativt angreppssätt med en tvärsnittsdesign. För att samla in data genomfördes en digital enkät med hjälp av mätinstrumenten BAS-2 och EAI-skalan. Totalt ingick 56 respondenter i studien. Med hjälp av SPSS analyserades data genom Fishers exakta test och enkel linjär regression. Resultatet visade inga skillnader i kroppsuppfattning, eller i risken för ett ohälsosamt träningsbeteende hos respondenter som följer respektive inte följer fitspiration-innehåll på sociala medier. Det fanns inte heller något samband mellan exponering för fitspiration på sociala medier och kroppsuppfattning. Däremot fann studien ett samband mellan graden av exponering av fitspirations-innehåll på sociala medier och risk för ohälsosamt träningsbeteende. Studiens slutsats är att mäns kroppsuppfattning varken är kopplad till mängden exponering för fitspiration-innehåll, eller att aktivt följa respektive inte följa fitspiration-innehåll på sociala medier. Däremot tyder studien på att män som i högre grad exponeras för fitspiration löper en ökad risk att utveckla ett ohälsosamt träningsbeteende.

This study is designed to observe what 21st century women‟s body ideal is, to give an insight to the women‟s body image representation on Instagram and to find out if social media influencer Michelle Lewin complies with this sociocultural image. Although there is an extensive amount of research on the mass media‟s effect on defining and imposing the ideals on women‟s body image, few studies have explored and focused on the image-based social media platform, Instagram. Instagram is an important space for body image research, as its content is mainly visual and everybody has the ability to be both a consumer and an active producer of the content. Mass media have been frequently accused of imposing limited and unachievable representations of femininity and consequently causing perceived women dissatisfaction with their bodies. As Instagram is becoming increasingly popular, it is important to explore potential ramifications of this social paradigm for current and future generations. In this study, I conduct a qualitative content analysis of images of the top fitspo influencer Michelle Lewin specifically focused on women‟s body image. By analyzing latest content (posts of the year 2018) from her Instagram account, I seek to understand what is the relation between the most common types of posts and the ones that receive most engagement from her followers. Finally the research reveals: the most common theme of the images coded are those where Michelle Lewin appears posing in a sexually suggestive manner, unrelated to any fitness activity – those are the images that receive highest engagement from her followers. My hypothesis where I state that Michelle Lewin depicts 21st century woman‟s body ideal ultimately proves right by the results of this study. At the end of the day, her body is the image of body ideal that she represents and commercializes though Instagram.

<p>Fitspiration (also known as fitspo) is a popular online trend particularly on Instagram and is often credited for the rapid growth of contemporary fitness culture and the fitness industry in general. This dissertation evaluates the central thesis that fitspiration messages may have utility in health promotion by influencing muscle-strengthening exercise behavior among viewers and that this influence can be explained, in part, through the application of social cognitive theory’s (SCT) framework for health behaviors. These potential effects were examined among a population of emerging adults (i.e., 18 – 25 years of age) in the context of (1) encouraging the adoption of muscle-strengthening exercise behavior among individuals who have never performed such exercises before and (2) increasing and/or sustaining adherence among those who have but may not be doing so regularly.</p><p>Using a 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment involving 315 undergraduate students at Purdue University, this study was guided by two research aims. Research Aim 1 was to further understand the mechanisms through which fitspiration messages could influence exercise behavior by examining the structural paths of influence between core constructs within the SCT framework. Research Aim 2 sought to examine the effects of specific fitspiration message features on the SCT determinants of exercise behavior.</p><p>This study extends SCT in several ways. First, this study provides support for conceptualizing self-efficacy as a multidimensional construct and that different types of self-efficacy influence exercise behavior differently. Second, the findings in this study assessed the mediational pathways within the SCT framework when conceptualizing self-efficacy and outcome expectations multidimensionally.</p><p>Although the manipulations in this study did not produce significant findings in terms of the effects of fitspiration message features, the findings do suggest that these effects occur in subtle ways that warrant further examination in future studies.</p>