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FINDINGS
Theme I. Descriptive Accounts of Appearance Features: Falling Short of Ideals
In the answers to the ‘feature’ questions, most participants describe themselves as explicitly or
implicitly ‘falling short’ of an ideal appearance defined by size, ‘toned’, smooth, surface, and
ideal proportion. Some go beyond this, naming themselves as ‘ugly’ or their feature as
‘misshapen’, using strong metaphors (e.g. ‘witch’) or compile long lists of appearance features
they hate.
Sub-categories: Different reasons for ‘falling short’:
Oversized: There are many instances of body parts described as too large/ wide/ big/ fat. This
is often about weight related issues (abdomen/ hips/ breasts/ upper arms) but can also relate to
an implicitly ‘delicate’ body ideal, against which feet, teeth or nose are seen as too large. The
body part most nominated in this category is the abdomen, followed by thighs, nose, upper
arms, bottom, teeth, chin, breasts and feet. This group was comprised of mostly women; a
couple of men thought their nose was too big, and a few were unhappy with the size of their
abdomen (one also with his large feet). While women referred to this part of their bodies as their
‘stomach’, ‘tummy’ or ‘abdomen’, the men referred to ‘excess weight on my torso’ ‘pot belly’
‘beer belly’ ‘too big belly’ or the feminising ‘wide hips’.
Undersized: In contrast to the above, bodies were also described as ‘too small’. The
predominant issue in this category was having too small breasts. For several women, having
breasts that were ‘small’ or even ‘shrunk’ from ageing was a major issue. Several women were
unhappy about being short and especially having short legs. Some participants of both gender
felt they were too thin, and a few people were unhappy because their height was reduced by a
curved spine or round back. One man complained about a general ‘lack of build’.
Misshapen: Participants felt that parts of their body did not look ‘right’: they were ‘misshapen’; ‘a
funny shape’; marked by scars or skin conditions, or plain ‘ugly’. Several participants described
scars on their stomachs, faces or hands (‘stomach misshapen by large appendix scar’; ‘keloid
scar on jaw line, ugly and difficult to hide). The size and shape of their nose (‘bump on the
bridge; long and crooked) was an issue for some, including one woman who had suffered from
bullying and being called ‘witch’ at school. Several people had another facial ‘feature’ (e.g.
vitiligo, birth marks, bad teeth), and some felt that the lines in their face made them look older or
‘miserable’. Other respondents disliked their legs, as they were marked with broken veins,
varicose veins, scars ‘worry about my scar in terms of meeting someone new’ or just ‘horrid’ or
‘dreadful’. Respondents also said their hands or feet looked ‘deformed’ or ugly, and that their
skin was ‘unsightly’ ‘ugly’ or ‘caused me to stay in the shadows’ through skin conditions, e.g.
psoriasis, or stretch marks. Some female respondents felt their breasts were ‘poorly shaped’.
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