Date of Graduation

8-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods

Advisor/Mentor

Popejoy, Erin K.

Committee Member

Christian, David D.

Second Committee Member

Grover, Kenda S.

Third Committee Member

Higgins, Kristin K.

Keywords

Body objectification; Experiences; Interpretive phenomenological analysis; Mental health; Mountain biking; Women

Abstract

Description: Despite the attention given to body positivity, body neutrality, and body appreciation, women are consistently and overwhelmingly experiencing body objectification and its harmful effects being normalized by society and internalized individually (Shorter et al., 2008). At the same time, the popularity of mountain biking for women and all-women's mountain biking groups in the Ozarks has grown exponentially in recent years, yet gender stereotypes and disparities for women remain (Irvin et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to make meaning of (1) women’s experiences of body objectification and (2) women’s experiences belonging to an all-women's mountain biking group to advocate for a focus on body instrumentation not ornamentation. Method: Nine women who experienced body objectification and belonged to an all-women's mountain biking group in the Ozarks completed a semi-structured individual interview and focus group in person. The interviews were audio recorded using a HIPAA-compliant software (Seidman, 2013). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework (Smith et al., 2009). A six-step analysis procedure identified seven themes presented with the guidance of the objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Findings: Seven themes were identified from the data; The first two themes (It’s not Okay, but What do I say? and More Than a Body) captured how participants responded to their experiences of body objectification. These themes included memories, reactions, and the meaning the participants made from their experiences about themselves and/or their bodies. The following three themes (Being Here, Being With, and Breaking Barriers, Community Over Competition, and Ride Down) were associated with women’s experiences within mountain biking and the meaning they have made belonging to an all-women's mountain biking group in the Ozarks. The final two themes (A Focus on Functionality and Just Keep Pedaling) relate women’s experiences on the mountain bike with women’s experiences of body objectification. Conclusion: Themes represented participant needs, reactions, choices, values, beliefs, knowledge and skills, and personal agency. The findings of this study provide rich, contextual evidence to (1) bring awareness to and inform of the harmful effects of body objectification and (2) learn what belonging means to women in all-women's mountain biking groups to advocate for a cultural shift that focuses on body functionality, not body image. Keywords: body objectification, mountain biking, women, experiences, interpretive phenomenological analysis, qualitative, mental health

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