Description
Individuals of Asian descent are a demographic often overlooked in mainstream body image scholarship. Historically, body image concerns were thought to only affect white, upper-to-middle-class women in North America and Western Europe. However, empirical data accumulated in recent decades have subverted this myth. Contrary to popular belief and stereotypes that Asian Americans are a Model Minority in the United States, they experience significant body image concerns, as well as related disordered eating and mental health challenges. Asian diasporas in Western countries also face challenges similar to those faced by Asian Americans (e.g., racialized and objectified views of Asians). Asian nationals in Asia, on the other hand, are juggling between their collective and national standards of beauty/fitness and the body-image ideals propagated through commercialism and capitalization amidst the historical context of colonization and the contemporary atmosphere of globalization. Body Image and the Asian Experience: Asians, Asian Americans, and Asian Diasporas Across the Globe discusses the dearth of knowledge—and sometimes misinformation—about body image among people of Asian descent, including Asian nationals dwelling in Asia and those in the diaspora (Asian Americans, Asian immigrants in the United Kingdom, Australia, etc.).The first section of the book reviews the applicability of existing theories in understanding the body image experiences of individuals of Asian descent and proposes a new theoretical framework that emphasizes both decolonizing and intersectional perspectives in conceptualizing Asian body image. The next section examines the current state of research on body image among Asians, Asian Americans, and Asian diasporas around the globe, including attending to some seriously neglected specific demographic and social identity groups. The last section explores mental health and psychosocial implications of body image in the aspects of mental disorders, interpersonal and social relationships, and identity development.- Explores the body image of Asians, offering new theoretical insights to address their unique experiences globally- Focuses on underrepresented groups, including Asian sexual and gender minority men, advancing understanding in body image research- Examines how body image influences mental health, relationships, identity, and societal aspects
Table of Contents
Foreword 1. Body image: Past, current, and a need to focus on the Asian experience 1 - Historical and new theoretical perspectives 2. Conceptual perspectives of body image: Existing frameworks and application to the Asian experience 3. Decolonizing the Asian body: Toward a Time-and-Culture-Centered Ecological Systems Model of Asian Body Image 2 - Current state of body image research with Asians, Asian Americans, and the diasporas 4. Body image assessment 5. Asian female body image research in the United States and Canada, Part I 6. Asian female body image research in the United States and Canada, Part II 7. Asian female body image research globally, Part I: Asian countries 8. Asian female body image research globally, Part II—Outside of United States and Asia 9. Asian male body image in the United States and across the world 10. LGBTQ+ Asian body image: U.S. and globally 3 – Implications of body image on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing 11. Mental health implications: Impact of body image on disordered eating 12. Mental health implications: Impact of body image on mood and other disorders13. Social implications: Impact of body image on parenting, family, relationships, school, and the use of social media 14. Social implications: Impact of body image on personal and social identities 15. Future directions for research and practice
