Decolonising psychology curricula faces substantial anti-racist inertia and a history of ‘using d... more Decolonising psychology curricula faces substantial anti-racist inertia and a history of ‘using data limitations as an excuse not to push ahead’ (NUS & Universities UK, 2019; p.35). We report on a targeted curriculum decolonisation project at a British university. We quantitatively coded the identifiable ‘race’, gender and nationality of the authors set as reading at the beginning (in 2015–16) and three-years after the project began (in 2019–20). Our analysis revealed no significant change in the dominance of Globally Northern (95 per cent), white (95 per cent) and male (57 per cent) authors over time. Indeed, there were more White, male authors named John than BAME-female and male authors, of any name, collectively. We call on organisational bodies to promote decolonisation as part of course re-accreditation converging with staff’s interest.
Male baldness is physically benign though it is increasingly described as a “disease” based on cl... more Male baldness is physically benign though it is increasingly described as a “disease” based on claims that it is profoundly distressing. The medicalization of baldness was assessed using data extracted from a review of 37 male baldness psychosocial impact studies. Findings revealed most studies likely had commercial influences (78%), represented baldness as a disease (77%), were conducted on biased samples (68%), and advocated for baldness products/services (60%), omitting their limitations (68%). Health psychologists should challenge baldness medicalization so that men can make informed choices about what, if anything, they do with their baldness.
Project designed to independantly assess the impact and responses to non-disease related hair los... more Project designed to independantly assess the impact and responses to non-disease related hair loss (aka androgentic alopecia) on men.
Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke met as PhD students at Loughborough University where their res... more Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke met as PhD students at Loughborough University where their research was supervised by pioneering feminist psychologists Professors Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger. They began writing collaboratively about qualitative methods in 2006; their first output was a paper on thematic analysis that has proved rather popular (25,000 citations and counting on Google Scholar), and they have subsequently written numerous chapters on thematic analysis and qualitative methods, a prize-winning textbook Successful Qualitative Research (Sage, 2013), they have edited (with Debra Gray) Collecting Qualitative Data (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and have books on thematic analysis and story completion (the latter with Naomi Moller) in progress (both for Sage). They were invited to give a joint keynote address at the 2016 POWS Conference and speak to the conference theme of feminist methodologies. Their talk was entitled “We can do it!” Feminist qualitative resear...
Dissonance-based body image interventions are among the most effective interventions for adolesce... more Dissonance-based body image interventions are among the most effective interventions for adolescent girls. However, dissemination of these interventions remains challenging. In addition, the emerging field of positive body image suggests that interventions should promote body appreciation as well as reduce pathology. The current study examines whether undergraduate students can effectively deliver a dissonance-based intervention to secondary school girls. In addition, it examines whether this intervention can increase body appreciation. Sixty-two adolescent girls were randomly allocated to the intervention or control condition. In the intervention group, body dissatisfaction was significantly reduced and body appreciation was significantly improved from pre- to post-intervention. There were no changes in body dissatisfaction or body appreciation in the control group. There was a reduction in thin-ideal internalization for all participants. These preliminary findings suggest that und...
A systematic review and meta analysis of published studies reporting on the psychological impact ... more A systematic review and meta analysis of published studies reporting on the psychological impact (or quality of life related impact) of men with androgentic alopecia (aka baldness or male pattern hair loss). The Inclusive Systematic Review Registration Form v0.92 has been completed to register this project on fields that are applicable.
Body dissatisfaction can be significantly detrimental to wellbeing. Little is known about older a... more Body dissatisfaction can be significantly detrimental to wellbeing. Little is known about older adults' body image, despite that ageing causes unique bodily changes and that sociocultural pressures to resist these changes abound. We conducted six focus groups with a UK community sample of White British and South Asian older adults aged 65-92 years. Thematic analysis highlighted four themes: appearance indicates capability and identity; physical ability trumps appearance, felt pressures to age 'gracefully' while resisting appearance changes, and gender and cultural differences. These findings suggest that older adults' body image can have important implications for their wellbeing and merits researchers' attention. Keywords: Ageing, Appearance, Health, Body Image Running Head: AGEING AND BODY IMAGE AMONG OLDER ADULTS 3 Looking age-appropriate while growing old gracefully: A qualitative study of ageing and body image among older adults Ageing is accompanied by...
The sex worker as a sociocultural ‘phenomenon’ occupies a liminal space, simultaneously absent fr... more The sex worker as a sociocultural ‘phenomenon’ occupies a liminal space, simultaneously absent from sociopolitical acceptability yet ever present in often inflammatory, ‘condemn/celebrate’ discourses. In this paper we aim to contribute to a destabilising of the dichotomisation of these representations by referring to the lived experience of independent escorts. In addition we attempt to contextualize the sex worker in consumer capitalism through which notions of choice and exploitation, that arise from both sides of the ‘condemn’/’celebrate’ debate, are rendered oblique. We draw upon the author’s own experience of being an escort as well as accounts from a popular escort internet forum1 to illustrate the issues escorts share with women as a wider social demographic, including violence and abuse, appearance pressures, and economic hardship. By situating escorting as a form of self-employment labour, within the practical reality of neoliberal, consumer capitalism, we aid in the nuanci...
Introduction Head hair comprises a critical part of the male appearance ideal, which itself is a ... more Introduction Head hair comprises a critical part of the male appearance ideal, which itself is a crucial signifier of a man’s masculinity. However, difficulties in recruitment have meant that research has not yet fully explored how men construct the loss of head hair (baldness), perhaps because it is considered “feminine” to disclose body dissatisfaction experiences to a researcher or other people. Methods and Design Online forums provide an opportunity for the anonymous discussion of body dissatisfaction that may overcome this obstacle. The first 260 forums posts from the two most popular baldness forums were thematically analysed. Ethics Statement Institutional ethics approval was granted. Results and Discussion We identified three themes titled: (1) Baldness is an ugly and demasculinising condition, (2) Baldness is stigmatised by a superficial society and superficial women and (3) Resistance to baldness despair. Our findings show baldness distress, and stigma exist though so does...
Background: Research indicates that body dissatisfaction is correlated with and often predictive ... more Background: Research indicates that body dissatisfaction is correlated with and often predictive of both physical and mental health problems. “Fat talk,” a well-studied form of body image talk in adolescents and university-aged women, has been implicated as contributing to body dissatisfaction and mediating the relationship between body dissatisfaction and other mental health problems. Limited research, however, has investigated fat talk across the female lifespan. Further, consistent with most body image research, fat talk research solely focuses on the thin dimension of idealized female attractiveness, even though other dimensions may contribute to body dissatisfaction in women. Method: The current study investigated whether or not “old talk,” a hereto un-described form of body image talk, appears to be a parallel, but distinct, form of body image talk that taps into the young dimension of the thin-young -ideal standard of female beauty. An international, internet sample of women ...
International Journal of Mens Social and Community Health, 2021
Introduction: Head hair forms a central component of the sociocultural male appearance ideal (e.g... more Introduction: Head hair forms a central component of the sociocultural male appearance ideal (e.g.,mesomorphic, tall, young and not bald) and carries masculine connotations and stigma. Immense pressures to conform to this male appearance ideal gives rise to body dissatisfaction. Previous assessments of body dissatisfaction are too narrow, ignoring dissatisfaction beyond mesomorphy such as baldness dissatisfaction. Our study involved two research questions: (i) Do the facial expressions assigned to images of bald and non-bald men differ? and (ii) What forms of body dissatisfaction, including baldness dissatisfaction, do men have and are these related to men’s wellbeing and muscularity behaviours? Method: Eighty-six male participants aged 18–58 years (mean = 23.62; standard deviation = 7.80) were randomly exposed to 10 images of smiling men (half balding and half not) and were asked to rate the facial expression displayed. Participants also rated their body dissatisfaction and wellbei...
Decolonising psychology curricula faces substantial anti-racist inertia and a history of ‘using d... more Decolonising psychology curricula faces substantial anti-racist inertia and a history of ‘using data limitations as an excuse not to push ahead’ (NUS & Universities UK, 2019; p.35). We report on a targeted curriculum decolonisation project at a British university. We quantitatively coded the identifiable ‘race’, gender and nationality of the authors set as reading at the beginning (in 2015–16) and three-years after the project began (in 2019–20). Our analysis revealed no significant change in the dominance of Globally Northern (95 per cent), white (95 per cent) and male (57 per cent) authors over time. Indeed, there were more White, male authors named John than BAME-female and male authors, of any name, collectively. We call on organisational bodies to promote decolonisation as part of course re-accreditation converging with staff’s interest.
Male baldness is physically benign though it is increasingly described as a “disease” based on cl... more Male baldness is physically benign though it is increasingly described as a “disease” based on claims that it is profoundly distressing. The medicalization of baldness was assessed using data extracted from a review of 37 male baldness psychosocial impact studies. Findings revealed most studies likely had commercial influences (78%), represented baldness as a disease (77%), were conducted on biased samples (68%), and advocated for baldness products/services (60%), omitting their limitations (68%). Health psychologists should challenge baldness medicalization so that men can make informed choices about what, if anything, they do with their baldness.
Project designed to independantly assess the impact and responses to non-disease related hair los... more Project designed to independantly assess the impact and responses to non-disease related hair loss (aka androgentic alopecia) on men.
Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke met as PhD students at Loughborough University where their res... more Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke met as PhD students at Loughborough University where their research was supervised by pioneering feminist psychologists Professors Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger. They began writing collaboratively about qualitative methods in 2006; their first output was a paper on thematic analysis that has proved rather popular (25,000 citations and counting on Google Scholar), and they have subsequently written numerous chapters on thematic analysis and qualitative methods, a prize-winning textbook Successful Qualitative Research (Sage, 2013), they have edited (with Debra Gray) Collecting Qualitative Data (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and have books on thematic analysis and story completion (the latter with Naomi Moller) in progress (both for Sage). They were invited to give a joint keynote address at the 2016 POWS Conference and speak to the conference theme of feminist methodologies. Their talk was entitled “We can do it!” Feminist qualitative resear...
Dissonance-based body image interventions are among the most effective interventions for adolesce... more Dissonance-based body image interventions are among the most effective interventions for adolescent girls. However, dissemination of these interventions remains challenging. In addition, the emerging field of positive body image suggests that interventions should promote body appreciation as well as reduce pathology. The current study examines whether undergraduate students can effectively deliver a dissonance-based intervention to secondary school girls. In addition, it examines whether this intervention can increase body appreciation. Sixty-two adolescent girls were randomly allocated to the intervention or control condition. In the intervention group, body dissatisfaction was significantly reduced and body appreciation was significantly improved from pre- to post-intervention. There were no changes in body dissatisfaction or body appreciation in the control group. There was a reduction in thin-ideal internalization for all participants. These preliminary findings suggest that und...
A systematic review and meta analysis of published studies reporting on the psychological impact ... more A systematic review and meta analysis of published studies reporting on the psychological impact (or quality of life related impact) of men with androgentic alopecia (aka baldness or male pattern hair loss). The Inclusive Systematic Review Registration Form v0.92 has been completed to register this project on fields that are applicable.
Body dissatisfaction can be significantly detrimental to wellbeing. Little is known about older a... more Body dissatisfaction can be significantly detrimental to wellbeing. Little is known about older adults' body image, despite that ageing causes unique bodily changes and that sociocultural pressures to resist these changes abound. We conducted six focus groups with a UK community sample of White British and South Asian older adults aged 65-92 years. Thematic analysis highlighted four themes: appearance indicates capability and identity; physical ability trumps appearance, felt pressures to age 'gracefully' while resisting appearance changes, and gender and cultural differences. These findings suggest that older adults' body image can have important implications for their wellbeing and merits researchers' attention. Keywords: Ageing, Appearance, Health, Body Image Running Head: AGEING AND BODY IMAGE AMONG OLDER ADULTS 3 Looking age-appropriate while growing old gracefully: A qualitative study of ageing and body image among older adults Ageing is accompanied by...
The sex worker as a sociocultural ‘phenomenon’ occupies a liminal space, simultaneously absent fr... more The sex worker as a sociocultural ‘phenomenon’ occupies a liminal space, simultaneously absent from sociopolitical acceptability yet ever present in often inflammatory, ‘condemn/celebrate’ discourses. In this paper we aim to contribute to a destabilising of the dichotomisation of these representations by referring to the lived experience of independent escorts. In addition we attempt to contextualize the sex worker in consumer capitalism through which notions of choice and exploitation, that arise from both sides of the ‘condemn’/’celebrate’ debate, are rendered oblique. We draw upon the author’s own experience of being an escort as well as accounts from a popular escort internet forum1 to illustrate the issues escorts share with women as a wider social demographic, including violence and abuse, appearance pressures, and economic hardship. By situating escorting as a form of self-employment labour, within the practical reality of neoliberal, consumer capitalism, we aid in the nuanci...
Introduction Head hair comprises a critical part of the male appearance ideal, which itself is a ... more Introduction Head hair comprises a critical part of the male appearance ideal, which itself is a crucial signifier of a man’s masculinity. However, difficulties in recruitment have meant that research has not yet fully explored how men construct the loss of head hair (baldness), perhaps because it is considered “feminine” to disclose body dissatisfaction experiences to a researcher or other people. Methods and Design Online forums provide an opportunity for the anonymous discussion of body dissatisfaction that may overcome this obstacle. The first 260 forums posts from the two most popular baldness forums were thematically analysed. Ethics Statement Institutional ethics approval was granted. Results and Discussion We identified three themes titled: (1) Baldness is an ugly and demasculinising condition, (2) Baldness is stigmatised by a superficial society and superficial women and (3) Resistance to baldness despair. Our findings show baldness distress, and stigma exist though so does...
Background: Research indicates that body dissatisfaction is correlated with and often predictive ... more Background: Research indicates that body dissatisfaction is correlated with and often predictive of both physical and mental health problems. “Fat talk,” a well-studied form of body image talk in adolescents and university-aged women, has been implicated as contributing to body dissatisfaction and mediating the relationship between body dissatisfaction and other mental health problems. Limited research, however, has investigated fat talk across the female lifespan. Further, consistent with most body image research, fat talk research solely focuses on the thin dimension of idealized female attractiveness, even though other dimensions may contribute to body dissatisfaction in women. Method: The current study investigated whether or not “old talk,” a hereto un-described form of body image talk, appears to be a parallel, but distinct, form of body image talk that taps into the young dimension of the thin-young -ideal standard of female beauty. An international, internet sample of women ...
International Journal of Mens Social and Community Health, 2021
Introduction: Head hair forms a central component of the sociocultural male appearance ideal (e.g... more Introduction: Head hair forms a central component of the sociocultural male appearance ideal (e.g.,mesomorphic, tall, young and not bald) and carries masculine connotations and stigma. Immense pressures to conform to this male appearance ideal gives rise to body dissatisfaction. Previous assessments of body dissatisfaction are too narrow, ignoring dissatisfaction beyond mesomorphy such as baldness dissatisfaction. Our study involved two research questions: (i) Do the facial expressions assigned to images of bald and non-bald men differ? and (ii) What forms of body dissatisfaction, including baldness dissatisfaction, do men have and are these related to men’s wellbeing and muscularity behaviours? Method: Eighty-six male participants aged 18–58 years (mean = 23.62; standard deviation = 7.80) were randomly exposed to 10 images of smiling men (half balding and half not) and were asked to rate the facial expression displayed. Participants also rated their body dissatisfaction and wellbei...
Body dissatisfaction is now normative among men. Whilst the impact of this is recognized clinical... more Body dissatisfaction is now normative among men. Whilst the impact of this is recognized clinically (e.g., via depression and eating disorders), it also has more intimate, seemingly-mundane impacts and is therefore never benign. Body dissatisfaction research and advocacy then seeks to undo body dissatisfaction, recognizing it as a consequence of an injustice. Studies 1 and 2 of this thesis consisted of the implementation and mixed-methods evaluation of an intervention to reduce men’s body dissatisfaction. Results showed promise but also that the intervention was limited by its focus on individuals. This follows a general trend in body dissatisfaction research where people are pathologised as responsible for causing their own body dissatisfaction (e.g., gay men) and the role of culture is ignored or reduce to an epiphenomenon (i.e., mass media). Studies 3 and 4 attempted to redress this by comparing the ‘appearance potency’ not of gay and straight men themselves but of media that markets towards both groups (thereby also shifting the focus off the individual and onto culture). The results of these studies found a high level of appearance potency in both types of media, though media was not homogenous and had many positive aspects (e.g., LGBT political advocacy). This appearance potency was particularly prominent in the adverts reflecting how media content is dictated by their advertising revenue and their own profit imperative. This thesis concludes that neither individuals nor media per se drive body dissatisfaction. Instead it is the system that allows corporations to make profits when body dissatisfaction is engendered that does (i.e., capitalism). Advocacy must acknowledge this system; the intersectional harms it does including both misrecognition and maldistribution (e.g., through sweatshops; Fraser, 1995) if body dissatisfaction, among other forms of suffering, are to be undone.
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Papers by Glen Jankowski