The purpose of this study is to examine how, and in what ways, young men aged 20-25 are affected by the body ideals that prevail on social media and this has been explored by interviewing eight young men. The results have been analyzed using Raewyn Connells theory of hegemonic masculinity and Erving Goffmans concepts of front and back stage and self-stigma. The results show that social media can be understood as a front stage where certain norms and ideals are constructed mainly by influencers. In the front stage images of an idealized body characterized by muscles and low body fat are published. Influencers embody the hegemonic body ideal on social media and this study identified two different practices after exposure to such pictures, namely striving for the body ideal or experiencing body dissatisfaction. Men who feel that they do not live up to the norm risk internalizing the negative body image that he believes society has about his body type, which can be understood as self-stigmatization. Previous research has mainly been conducted on girls and women. This study contributes valuable knowledge that men are aware of what characterizes a desirable body and how this is presented in social media as well as the ways in which they are influenced by body ideals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-130762 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Sten, Amanda |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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