You Can't Be Too Skinny. You Can't Be Too Fat. I Don't Know What You Are Supposed To Be
Exploring body image experiences of South Asian women in the UK
South Asian heritage women in the UK have distinctive body image experiences owing to the intersecting nature of different aspects of their identities. They are also positioned within the socio-historical context where centuries of British colonisation has pervaded eurocentric appearance ideals into South Asian culture, values and systems. But exploration of such experiences is under researched and scarce. This animation showcases findings from a research project with South Asian heritage women in the UK which aimed to understand the influence of nuanced sociocultural factors in their body image journeys and the impact of representation on their appearance concerns. By exploring their appearance experiences, this film highlights what is important for the women, the role of the socio-cultural and political environment in shaping their experiences and amplifies the need to centre the often marginalised and invisible voices in conversations of body image and appearance to foster more inclusive societies.
Credits
This research project received no funding, it was a passion project for all the researchers involved and was possible through the collaborative effort of Ankita Mishra, Fidan Turk, Jamie Chan, Nadia Craddock, Rosiel Elwyn, Silvia Cerea, Wen Q Tan, Haifa Bin Haamed.
To find out more about the research, you can read the paper here.
This film has been created by Nifty Fox Creative through the funding received by Ankita Mishra from the Digital Pop-Up University fund of the Public Engagement team at the University of Sheffield.
