Ferdinands, A.

Exploring weight stigma: How do people talk about body size on YouTube?
Melissa Bernaldez*, Keshinee Moonian*, Alexa Ferdinands, Tara-Leigh F. McHugh, Kate Storey, Kim D. Raine *Co-first authors

In a world where obesity is often described as a "public health crisis", young people who live in fat bodies may be stigmatized as "problematic". We conducted an institutional ethnography to explore the current day social organization of young people's weight experiences. We learned through interviews how young people (n=16, aged 15-21, self-identifying as fat) regularly use medicalized language, such as the body mass index, in their talk. We were curious about how they acquired such language. Social media, in particular YouTube, surfaced as a probable source in our interviews. This study pursued this line of inquiry by exploring the body size talk that young people encounter as they navigate YouTube.

A data collection guide was developed with two undergraduate research assistants, both previous interview participants. The guide included factors identified in earlier participant interviews such as age, ethnicity and gender of the people portrayed, terminology used, and viewers' overall interpretations of the video. Research assistants searched YouTube for videos discussing body size in a way reflecting how they actually use YouTube in their everyday lives. They collected data on n=50 videos, each having >1 million views. Validity was enhanced by having the research assistants and project lead each viewing five of the same videos to observe how and whether interpretations differed. As a team, we then convened to unpack our findings as a means of consciousness-raising.

Data analysis is underway. This presentation will summarize YouTube analytic findings descriptively.

Understanding body size talk on YouTube will help us learn how weight-related discourses are (re)produced among young people. By contributing to knowledge of the social organization of young people's weight experiences, we can better inform strategies to reduce weight stigma in the places and spaces where young people live, learn, and play.