The purpose of this research is to explore how women evaluate photos of other women posted on social media sites. Specifically, the investigators are interested in providing more nuance regarding the effectiveness of body positive imagery (i.e., more diverse representations of physical attractiveness and empowerment of women underrepresented in the mainstream media). The literature on female objectification suggests women are oftentimes portrayed in unrealistic ways (e.g., ultra-thin and hyper-sexualized) via the mainstream media. Moreover, warranting theory provides predictions about the extent to which online content represents an offline reality. As such, there are two factors the investigators plan to explore in an online experiment: (a) the degree to which body positive images appear to be sexualized or not; and (b) whether or not there is evidence of photo modification on these images. The results of this work will provide greater understanding into the effects of the body positive movement and determine conditions under which these campaigns are most impactful.
