Key publications
Stuart A, Stevenson C, Koschate M, Cohen J, Levine M (In Press). "Oh no, not a group!” the factors that lonely or isolated people report as barriers to joining groups for health and wellbeing.
British Journal of Health PsychologyAbstract:
"Oh no, not a group!” the factors that lonely or isolated people report as barriers to joining groups for health and wellbeing
Objectives: Belonging to groups can significantly affect people’s health and well-being for the better (‘the social cure’), or worse (‘the social curse’). Encouraging people to join groups is a central component of the Social Prescribing movement, however not everyone who might benefit from Social Prescribing aspires to participating in groups. This study aims to identify what barriers are preventing people from experiencing the associated health and wellbeing benefits of group belonging.
Method: Semi-structured interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants were 11 white British people (aged 48-86), 1 male and 10 female, recruited by a charity partner of a Social Prescribing project.
Results: the themes derived from the interviews are: 1) “The dread, the fear of being in a group”: When groups do not meet needs; 2) “I can remember as quite a young child backing out of things”: Accumulative barriers over the lifetime, and 3) “I’m singing away and feeling terribly miserable”: the challenges of fitting in with others in groups. The themes reflect how people can feel deterred from social interaction, which interferes with their ability to derive a sense of belonging or shared identity associated with the ‘social cure’.
Conclusions: a key challenge for Social Prescribing is to meet the social needs of people disinclined to join groups; groups can be detrimental to health and wellbeing if there are barriers to integration. Alternative ways of structuring groups or activities may be more effective and can still avail of the belonging and identity associated with ‘the social cure’.
Abstract.
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Stuart A, Smith LGE, Bourgeois L (2018). Reaching consensus promotes the internalization of commitment to social change.
Group Processes and Intergroup Relations,
22, 615-630.
Full text.
Stuart A, Thomas EF, Donaghue N (2018). “I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action.
Journal of Social and Political Psychology,
6Abstract:
“I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action
This paper considers collective action non-participation by people sympathetic but not committed to participating in actions for social change (‘sympathisers’). We conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action. Participants wrote about the potential for detrimental consequences resulting from association with ‘protesters’, concern that they may be undermined by ‘extreme’ fringes of a movement, ambivalence about the visible performance of group normative behaviours (specifically, protesting), and trepidation about ‘loss of self’ within a group. We discuss the findings in relation to theory on social (dis)identification, social (dis)incentives, and identity performances, arguing that inaction does not necessarily stem from apathy. Rather, people may engage in motivated inaction – that is, active avoidance of some types of actions, or from affiliations with particular groups, as a response to negative inferences about the legitimacy or efficacy of some forms of collective action. Practical strategies are suggested for groups and individuals, including the potential for people to take actions for social change independently of a formally organised movement.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Levine M (2017). Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance.
European Journal of Social Psychology,
47(6), 694-707.
Abstract:
Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance
Privacy is psychologically important, vital for democracy, and in the era of ubiquitous and mobile surveillance technology, facing increasingly complex threats and challenges. Yet surveillance is often justified under a trope that one has ‘nothing to hide’. We conducted focus groups (N = 42) on topics of surveillance and privacy and using discursive analysis, identify the ideological assumptions and the positions that people adopt to make sense of their participation in a surveillance society. We find a premise that surveillance is increasingly inescapable, but this was only objected to when people reported feeling misrepresented, or where they had an inability to withhold aspects of their identities. The (in)visibility of the surveillance technology also complicated how surveillance is constructed. Those interested in engaging the public in debates about surveillance may be better served by highlighting the identity consequences of surveillance, rather than constructing surveillance as a generalised privacy threat.
Abstract.
Full text.
Price BA, Stuart A, Calikli G, McCormick C, Mehta V, Hutton L, Bandara AK, Nuseibeh B (2017). Logging you, logging me: a replicable study of privacy and sharing
behaviour in groups of visual lifeloggers. Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol, 1
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Lala G, Stuart A, Hall LJ, Goddard A (2015). Whatever happened to Kony2012? Understanding a global internet phenomenon as an emergent social identity.
European Journal of Social Psychology,
45(3), 356-367.
Abstract:
Whatever happened to Kony2012? Understanding a global internet phenomenon as an emergent social identity
Kony2012 was a viral Internet video that attracted unprecedented online interest in promoting a campaign to arrest the leader of an African militant group. The current research considers the social psychological bases of social media-based collective action. In three cross sectional surveys (N = 304) collected before, on, and after the key action date of April 20, 2012, we consider the nature (opinion-based or global) and function (emergent or transforming) of social identity in modern forms of social action. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed that Kony2012 action was best captured by an emergent opinion-based social identity. Moreover, the same factors that predicted Kony2012 action generally also predicted engagement in new repertoires of protest (involving the use of social media) and an observable traditional socio-political action (signing a letter to a government minister). The results suggest that there is no sharp dividing line between traditional and new forms of collective action and that both may be understood as valid expressions of collective selfhood.
Abstract.
Publications by year
In Press
Stuart A, Stevenson C, Koschate M, Cohen J, Levine M (In Press). "Oh no, not a group!” the factors that lonely or isolated people report as barriers to joining groups for health and wellbeing.
British Journal of Health PsychologyAbstract:
"Oh no, not a group!” the factors that lonely or isolated people report as barriers to joining groups for health and wellbeing
Objectives: Belonging to groups can significantly affect people’s health and well-being for the better (‘the social cure’), or worse (‘the social curse’). Encouraging people to join groups is a central component of the Social Prescribing movement, however not everyone who might benefit from Social Prescribing aspires to participating in groups. This study aims to identify what barriers are preventing people from experiencing the associated health and wellbeing benefits of group belonging.
Method: Semi-structured interviews analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Participants were 11 white British people (aged 48-86), 1 male and 10 female, recruited by a charity partner of a Social Prescribing project.
Results: the themes derived from the interviews are: 1) “The dread, the fear of being in a group”: When groups do not meet needs; 2) “I can remember as quite a young child backing out of things”: Accumulative barriers over the lifetime, and 3) “I’m singing away and feeling terribly miserable”: the challenges of fitting in with others in groups. The themes reflect how people can feel deterred from social interaction, which interferes with their ability to derive a sense of belonging or shared identity associated with the ‘social cure’.
Conclusions: a key challenge for Social Prescribing is to meet the social needs of people disinclined to join groups; groups can be detrimental to health and wellbeing if there are barriers to integration. Alternative ways of structuring groups or activities may be more effective and can still avail of the belonging and identity associated with ‘the social cure’.
Abstract.
Sanderson L, Harkin L, Stuart A, Stevenson C, Park MS-A, Yan RJ, Mitra S, Nuseibeh B, Gooch D, Katz D, et al (In Press). A Siege on Positive Ageing: COVID-19 as Exacerbating Age-based Stereotype Threats among Older Adults.
Abstract:
A Siege on Positive Ageing: COVID-19 as Exacerbating Age-based Stereotype Threats among Older Adults
Older adults face significant challenges in regards to the various stereotypes associated with ageing, which have consequences for their mental health and wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened these age-based stereotypes due to older adults’ proportionally higher vulnerability to the virus. The present research explored how the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges of ageing by impacting on the social identities of older adults and how these challenges have been met. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 32 UK older adults from a range of household compositions. Guided by the social identity approach, a thematic analysis found that participants faced a number of recognisable stereotype threats: loss of opportunities to enact meaningful identities, loss of autonomy and loss of usefulness. Despite these threats, we also found participants used identity management strategies and mobilised existing or new social identities to give and receive of support and to retain a meaningful and purposeful life. The implications of this research are that governments and those supporting older adults can attend to the negative psychology impact of protective policies and know that fostering group connections can be a source of pandemic resilience.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Harkin L, Daly R, Sanderson L, Park MS-A, Stevenson C, Katz D, Gooch D, Levine M, Price B, et al (In Press). Ageing in the time of COVID-19: the coronavirus pandemic exacerbates the experience of loneliness in older people by undermining identity processes.
Abstract:
Ageing in the time of COVID-19: the coronavirus pandemic exacerbates the experience of loneliness in older people by undermining identity processes
Loneliness can develop as a result of the identity transitions accompanying older adulthood, including the onset of health conditions and loss of social connections. The current study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected these identity change processes among older adults thereby impacting their experience of loneliness. In this longitudinal qualitative study, we use a theoretically-guided thematic analysis, applying insights from the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC). Interviews were conducted before the pandemic, after the first UK national lockdown, and during the third national lockdown (N=9, Mage=78.7). The themes identified were: threatened social contact; being categorised as a vulnerable older adult; restricted ability to gain and maintain identities; undermined reciprocal social support; and wellbeing hindered by loneliness related fears. Implications discussed include how the pandemic recovery effort will require facilitating positive ageing identities to counteract the vulnerabilities introduced by the pandemic.
Abstract.
Elphick C, Philpot R, Zhang M, Stuart A, Walkington Z, Frumkin L, Pike G, Gardner K, Lacey M, Levine M, et al (In Press). Building trust in digital policing: a scoping review of community policing apps.
Police Practice and Research: an international journal Full text.
Elphick C, Philpot R, Zhang M, Stuart A, Pike G, Strathie A, Havard C, Walkington Z, Frumkin LA, Levine M, et al (In Press). Digital detectives: websleuthing reduces eyewitness identification accuracy in police lineups. Frontiers in Psychology
Stuart A, Katz D, Stevenson C, Gooch D, Harkin L, Bennasar M, Sanderson L, Liddle J, Bennaceur A, Levine M, et al (In Press). Loneliness in Older People and COVID-19: Applying the Social Identity Approach to Digital Intervention Design.
Abstract:
Loneliness in Older People and COVID-19: Applying the Social Identity Approach to Digital Intervention Design
The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing older people's existing challenges in engaging with their physical and social worlds, and is thereby likely to worsen their loneliness. Digital technology has been offered as a potential aid for social connectedness during social distancing/isolation. However, many popular digital communication tools have not been designed to specifically address the needs of older adults impacted by social isolation. We propose that the social identity approach to health and the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) could be a foundation for digital interventions to address loneliness. While SIMIC applies to maintaining wellbeing during life transitions, it has not previously been rigorously applied to digital interventions. There are known challenges to integrating psychological theory to the design of digital technology, such as efficacy, user-autonomy, and engagement. The interdisciplinary field of Human Computer Interaction has a history of drawing on models originating from psychology to improve the design of digital technology and to design technologies in an appropriate manner. Drawing on key lessons from this literature, we consolidate design guidelines that could assist in applying SIMIC to digital interventions for loneliness in older people affected by the pandemic.
Abstract.
Liddle J, Stuart A, Worthy P, Levine M, Kastelle T, Wiles J, Pachana N, Clare L (In Press). “Building the threads of connection that we already have”: the nature of connections via technology for older people.
Clinical Gerontologist: the journal of aging and mental health Full text.
2021
Koschate M, Naserian E, Dickens L, Stuart A, Russo A, Levine M (2021). ASIA: Automated Social Identity Assessment using linguistic style.
Behavior Research Methods,
53(4), 1762-1781.
Abstract:
ASIA: Automated Social Identity Assessment using linguistic style
AbstractThe various group and category memberships that we hold are at the heart of who we are. They have been shown to affect our thoughts, emotions, behavior, and social relations in a variety of social contexts, and have more recently been linked to our mental and physical well-being. Questions remain, however, over the dynamics between different group memberships and the ways in which we cognitively and emotionally acquire these. In particular, current assessment methods are missing that can be applied to naturally occurring data, such as online interactions, to better understand the dynamics and impact of group memberships in naturalistic settings. To provide researchers with a method for assessing specific group memberships of interest, we have developed ASIA (Automated Social Identity Assessment), an analytical protocol that uses linguistic style indicators in text to infer which group membership is salient in a given moment, accompanied by an in-depth open-source Jupyter Notebook tutorial (https://github.com/Identity-lab/Tutorial-on-salient-social-Identity-detection-model). Here, we first discuss the challenges in the study of salient group memberships, and how ASIA can address some of these. We then demonstrate how our analytical protocol can be used to create a method for assessing which of two specific group memberships—parents and feminists—is salient using online forum data, and how the quality (validity) of the measurement and its interpretation can be tested using two further corpora as well as an experimental study. We conclude by discussing future developments in the field.
Abstract.
2020
Zhang M, Bandara A, Price B, Pike G, Walkington Z, Elphick C, Frumkin L, Philpot R, Levine M, Stuart A, et al (2020). Designing Technologies for Community Policing. CHI'20. 25th - 30th Apr 2020.
Abstract:
Designing Technologies for Community Policing
Abstract.
Full text.
Morgenroth T, Stuart A (2020). Gender and psychology. In Naples N (Ed)
Companion to Gender Studies, Wiley Press.
Full text.
Gooch D, Vikram M, Price B, McCormick C, Bandara A, Bennaceur A, Bennasar M, Stuart A, Clare L, Levine M, et al (2020). How are you feeling? Using tangibles to log the emotions of older adults. Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. 9th - 12th Feb 2020.
Abstract:
How are you feeling? Using tangibles to log the emotions of older adults
Abstract.
Full text.
Bandara A, Zhang M, Price B, Pike G, Elphick C, Walkington Z, Frumkin L, Philpot R, Levine M, Stuart A, et al (2020). Towards Citizen Forensics: Improving Citizen-Police Collaboration. Workshop on Crime and/or Punishment: Joining the Dots between Crime, Legality and HCI, Extended Abstracts of ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 25th - 30th Apr 2020.
Abstract:
Towards Citizen Forensics: Improving Citizen-Police Collaboration
Abstract.
Full text.
2019
Bennasar M, McCormick C, Price B, Gooch D, Stuart A, Mehta V, Clare L, Bennaceur A, Cohen J, Bandara A, et al (2019). A Sensor Platform for Non-invasive Remote Monitoring of Older Adults in Real Time.
Abstract:
A Sensor Platform for Non-invasive Remote Monitoring of Older Adults in Real Time
Abstract.
Bennasar M, Price B, Stuart A, Gooch D, McCormick C, Mehta V (2019). Knowledge-Based Architecture for Recognising Activities of Older People. 23rd International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information & Engineering Systems. 4th - 6th Sep 2019.
Bennasar M, McCormick C, Price B, Gooch D, Stuart A, Mehta V, Clare L, Bennaceur A, Cohen J, Bandara AK, et al (2019). STRETCH: a Sensor Platform for Non-Invasive Remote Monitoring of Older People in Real Time. KES InMed 2019. 17th - 19th Jun 2019.
Full text.
Stuart A, Bandara AK, Levine M (2019). The psychology of privacy in the digital age.
Social and Personality Psychology Compass,
13(11).
Abstract:
The psychology of privacy in the digital age
Privacy is a psychological topic suffering from historical neglect—a neglect that is increasingly consequential in an era of social media connectedness, mass surveillance, and the permanence of our electronic footprint. Despite fundamental changes in the privacy landscape, social and personality psychology journals remain largely unrepresented in debates on the future of privacy. By contrast, in disciplines like computer science and media and communication studies, engaging directly with sociotechnical developments, interest in privacy has grown considerably. In our review of this interdisciplinary literature, we suggest four domains of interest to psychologists. These are as follows: sensitivity to individual differences in privacy disposition, a claim that privacy is fundamentally based in social interactions, a claim that privacy is inherently contextual, and a suggestion that privacy is as much about psychological groups as it is about individuals. Moreover, we propose a framework to enable progression to more integrative models of the psychology of privacy in the digital age and in particular suggest that a group and social relations–based approach to privacy is needed.
Abstract.
Full text.
Vergani M, Bliuc A-M, Stuart A, Badea C, Muntele D, McGarty C (2019). United in diversity, divided in adversity? Support for right-wing Eurosceptic parties in the face of threat differs across nations.
Frontiers in Psychology Full text.
2018
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Stuart A, Smith LGE, Bourgeois L (2018). Reaching consensus promotes the internalization of commitment to social change.
Group Processes and Intergroup Relations,
22, 615-630.
Full text.
Stuart A, Thomas EF, Donaghue N (2018). “I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action.
Journal of Social and Political Psychology,
6Abstract:
“I don't really want to be associated with the self-righteous left extreme”: Disincentives to participation in collective action
This paper considers collective action non-participation by people sympathetic but not committed to participating in actions for social change (‘sympathisers’). We conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended written accounts of the barriers to participating in sustained collective action (N = 112), finding that people can be reluctant to engage in some types of collective action. Participants wrote about the potential for detrimental consequences resulting from association with ‘protesters’, concern that they may be undermined by ‘extreme’ fringes of a movement, ambivalence about the visible performance of group normative behaviours (specifically, protesting), and trepidation about ‘loss of self’ within a group. We discuss the findings in relation to theory on social (dis)identification, social (dis)incentives, and identity performances, arguing that inaction does not necessarily stem from apathy. Rather, people may engage in motivated inaction – that is, active avoidance of some types of actions, or from affiliations with particular groups, as a response to negative inferences about the legitimacy or efficacy of some forms of collective action. Practical strategies are suggested for groups and individuals, including the potential for people to take actions for social change independently of a formally organised movement.
Abstract.
2017
Stuart A, Levine M (2017). Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance.
European Journal of Social Psychology,
47(6), 694-707.
Abstract:
Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance
Privacy is psychologically important, vital for democracy, and in the era of ubiquitous and mobile surveillance technology, facing increasingly complex threats and challenges. Yet surveillance is often justified under a trope that one has ‘nothing to hide’. We conducted focus groups (N = 42) on topics of surveillance and privacy and using discursive analysis, identify the ideological assumptions and the positions that people adopt to make sense of their participation in a surveillance society. We find a premise that surveillance is increasingly inescapable, but this was only objected to when people reported feeling misrepresented, or where they had an inability to withhold aspects of their identities. The (in)visibility of the surveillance technology also complicated how surveillance is constructed. Those interested in engaging the public in debates about surveillance may be better served by highlighting the identity consequences of surveillance, rather than constructing surveillance as a generalised privacy threat.
Abstract.
Full text.
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Stuart A, Lala G, Pedersen A (2017). Education and social participation: Civic identity and civic participation in formal and informal education contexts. In Mavor KI, Platow MJ, Bizumic B (Eds.)
Self and Social Identity in Educational Contexts, Routledge.
Full text.
Rafiq Y, Dickens L, Russo A, Bandara AK, Calikli G, Yang M, Stuart A, Levine M, Price BA, Nuseibeh B, et al (2017). Learning to Share: Engineering Adaptive Decision-Support for Online Social Networks. 2017 32nd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE 2017). 30th Oct - 3rd Nov 2017.
Abstract:
Learning to Share: Engineering Adaptive Decision-Support for Online Social Networks
Abstract.
Full text.
Price BA, Stuart A, Calikli G, McCormick C, Mehta V, Hutton L, Bandara AK, Nuseibeh B (2017). Logging you, logging me: a replicable study of privacy and sharing
behaviour in groups of visual lifeloggers. Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol, 1
Stuart A, Levine M (2017). The co-regulation of privacy in public with wearable cameras. European Association of Social Psychology. 4th - 9th Jul 2017.
Full text.
2016
Calikli G, Law M, Bandara AK, Russo A, Dickens L, Price BA, Stuart A, Levine M, Nuseibeh B (2016). Privacy Dynamics: Learning Privacy Norms for Social
Software. 11th International Symposium on Software Engineering for Adaptive and Self-Managing Systems. 16th - 17th May 2016.
Abstract:
Privacy Dynamics: Learning Privacy Norms for Social
Software
Abstract.
Full text.
Stuart A, Levine M (2016). The threat to identities posed by arbitrary surveillance. International Society of Justice Research. 20th - 23rd Jul 2016.
Abstract:
The threat to identities posed by arbitrary surveillance
Abstract.
Full text.
2015
Anderson JR, Stuart A, Rossen I (2015). Not all negative: Macro justice principles predict positive attitudes towards asylum seekers in Australia.
Australian Journal of Psychology,
67(4), 207-213.
Abstract:
Not all negative: Macro justice principles predict positive attitudes towards asylum seekers in Australia
Public opinion toward asylum seekers within Australia has become increasingly hostile over the past decade. In particular, such negative attitudes are associated with questioning the legitimacy of those who seek asylum, and the fairness of granting their refugee status. In a sample of 100 students (Mage=22.83 years, SDage=8.26 years) we tested the role of macro and micro principles of social justice in predicting attitudes toward asylum seekers, beyond the established role of social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Using multiple hierarchical regression analyses, we show that macro justice social principles (i.e. the belief in equal distribution of resources across a society) predict positive attitudes toward asylum seekers beyond the variation accounted for by SDO and RWA in predicting negative attitudes. These results underscore the importance of taking into account individual orientations toward justice; we argue that these findings have important implications for the development of communication designed to reduce prejudice toward asylum seekers.
Abstract.
Full text.
Thomas EF, McGarty C, Lala G, Stuart A, Hall LJ, Goddard A (2015). Whatever happened to Kony2012? Understanding a global internet phenomenon as an emergent social identity.
European Journal of Social Psychology,
45(3), 356-367.
Abstract:
Whatever happened to Kony2012? Understanding a global internet phenomenon as an emergent social identity
Kony2012 was a viral Internet video that attracted unprecedented online interest in promoting a campaign to arrest the leader of an African militant group. The current research considers the social psychological bases of social media-based collective action. In three cross sectional surveys (N = 304) collected before, on, and after the key action date of April 20, 2012, we consider the nature (opinion-based or global) and function (emergent or transforming) of social identity in modern forms of social action. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed that Kony2012 action was best captured by an emergent opinion-based social identity. Moreover, the same factors that predicted Kony2012 action generally also predicted engagement in new repertoires of protest (involving the use of social media) and an observable traditional socio-political action (signing a letter to a government minister). The results suggest that there is no sharp dividing line between traditional and new forms of collective action and that both may be understood as valid expressions of collective selfhood.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Levine M (2015). When will people resist surveillance: First they need to notice it, then identify the source. International Society for Political Psychology. 21st - 26th Jun 2015.
Abstract:
When will people resist surveillance: First they need to notice it, then identify the source.
Abstract.
Full text.
2013
Stuart A, Thomas EF, Donaghue N, Russell A (2013). “We may be pirates, but we are not protesters”: Identity in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Political Psychology,
34(5), 753-777.
Abstract:
“We may be pirates, but we are not protesters”: Identity in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Radical activist organizations face the complex task of managing their identity so as to draw political attention but also to appear legitimate and thus gain public support. In this article we develop a picture of the identities of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) members, a group mostly known for their direct action against whaling, via a thematic analysis of material from the SSCS website and interviews with SSCS members. In online commentary, founder Captain Paul Watson establishes several deliberately paradoxical notions of who the Sea Shepherds are. We relate these identity statements to interviews with core activists to examine how they manage the identity conflicts resulting from the group identity, such as being seen as “pirates” and “hard lined vegans.” We found that SSCS positions themselves as a diverse and unstructured organization, yet distinctively passionate and willing to take action where others will not. The implications of this research are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the constraints and conflicts around political activist identities.
Abstract.
2012
Stuart A, Donaghue N (2012). Choosing to conform: the discursive complexities of choice in relation to feminine beauty practices.
Feminism and Psychology,
22(1), 98-121.
Abstract:
Choosing to conform: the discursive complexities of choice in relation to feminine beauty practices
There exists the idea that western societies are now postfeminist, implying that remaining
differences between men and women should be understood as a result of the free
exercise of individual choice. Yet this postfeminist promise of liberation is overwhelmingly
packaged within the crushingly cruel beauty images that western women are
judged against and incited to emulate. Theorizing female agency in light of choice and
liberation discourses has been the topic of much recent feminist literature, to which this
article seeks to contribute. We utilized a feminist post-structuralist framework to
examine how young Australian women position themselves as freely choosing and
able to throw off oppression. We discuss these findings in relation to the conception
of the neoliberal feminine subject; described as someone who playfully expresses herself
by freely choosing her level of participation in socially promoted beauty practices; in
turn resulting in a resistance to being seen as inflexible, or critical of wider social
influences.
Abstract.
Stuart A, Kurz T, Ashby K (2012). Damned if you do and damned if you don't: the (Re)production of larger breasts as ideal in criticisms of breast surgery.
Australian Feminist Studies,
74(27), 405-420.
Abstract:
Damned if you do and damned if you don't: the (Re)production of larger breasts as ideal in criticisms of breast surgery
In contemporary Western societies women are often thought to have overcome inequality, become autonomous and resistant to social pressures, and in so doing gained the freedoms to make their own choices. However, this ‘post-feminist sensibility’ can arguably be seen as a double-bind as some types of ‘choices’ cannot always be recognised as freely chosen if they are taken as an indication of failing to resist social (appearance) pressures. We argue that one such example is the ‘choice’ to have cosmetic breast surgery, a practice that has received both criticism and celebration from different feminist angles. In this paper we analyse how women who have had breast augmentation are constructed by readers of an internet blog in which they are largely vilified and pathologised for not valuing their ‘natural’ (yet ‘deficient’) breasts. We demonstrate how the same discursive constructions that appear to value women’s ‘natural’ bodies simultaneously (re)produce the conditions in which women may feel the need to have breast augmentation.
Abstract.
Full text.
