| The present study was initiated with the aim of recording and analyzing the body image experience of a sample of spiritual feminists. Framing these women as a unique subculture of Western women, the investigation was informed by past research which examined the role that subcultural affiliation can play in a woman's body image experience.; Eight women were interviewed for this heuristic study, including the investigator. The interviews were structured in such a way as to elicit the body image experience of each participant in as much depth as possible. Along with gaining a holistic sense of the participant's body image experience, the interviews were also structured so as to uncover what ways, if any, exposure to the subculture of feminist spirituality translated into the participant's own body image experience.; Results illuminated the contextualized nature of body image. In particular, the participants highlighted ways in which their body image experience was influenced by factors endemic to both their (Western) cultural and their subcultural milieu. Consistent with findings from research on subculture and body image, the results also highlighted how the norms and values of certain subcultures (in this case the spiritual feminist subculture) can provide some degree of alternative to or buffer against the often damaging body messages of Western culture at large.; The results also suggested that each participant experienced a more positive body image over time, and that some of this positive trajectory can be credited to their experiences as spiritual feminists. Finally, the results highlighted what experiences or factors in particular were the most significant in supporting a more positive body image among these women.; While not generalizing the findings of this study to all spiritual feminists, the results suggested that spiritual feminism may offer the potential for supporting a less conflicted body image experience in women who are exposed to the spiritual subcultural milieu, cosmogony and iconography. |
