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Asian countries share a number of similar characteristics based on religious backgrounds that traditionally influenced the way people perceived human beings and their connections, for example China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, are strongly influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism (Noh et al., 2017; Albrecht, 2013; Zhang, 2005); however, westernization has broken these similarities, thus Asian countries now differ in cultural and socioeconomic development, what leads to differences in social meanings of weight (Wang, 2015). People feel pressured by adhering to social norms of being ‘thin’ and stressed by weight-related stigmas as the country has advanced (Noh et al., 2017) triggering negative physical and psychological health outcomes and “anti-fat cultural context (Brewis, 2017), thus, acceptance levels of the different female body types, especially the plus-size, are lower and highly criticized in these cultures.
In this ovation to plus-size women, Panama was chosen for its variety of races and rapid growth during the last years; for being located in the center of America and having a high amount of female migration from other Latino countries (Panamanian Institute of Tourism, 2017). On the other side, there is Taiwan that shares characteristics with Panama in terms of touristic movement and development and also because of the westernization and adoption of beauty ritual from other Asian countries perceived on the media. In both, Panama and Taiwan, plus-size micro-celebrities in Social Networks is something new and there are not abundant English research works related to the topic, nonetheless research addressing an analysis of the movement on these countries.
1.1. Research Background
Online Social Networks (SNS) are not a new way of communication anymore, but a way of adaptable communication where users can share images, videos and texts and where Zhao’s
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“digital self” or online identities are build up (Zhao, 2005). Social Networks have disrupted the gap between what is public and private, modifying the individual identities. Using Goffman’s metaphor about the self-presentation in society, in online communities, users have total control about the way they present themselves through different platforms helped by a variety of tools (Papacharissi, 2014; 2016).
Users have control over their presentation, paradoxically, part of that control is paid through the exposure of the private life. In some cases, especially on Instagram (Ha-tuka, Toch, 2016), celebrities can raise or emerge from these personal accounts and become well-known online and in traditional media. Plus-size women are an example of this phenomena, where females break the standards of hegemonic features of beauty that have been prevailing on fashion and social presentation during years (Blanes, 2017). Using their profiles, those women have evolved and became a new type of micro-celebrities, term that was first coined in 2001 by Theresa Senft on a research about ‘camgirls’ and online resources, meaning people increasing their popularity over the web using different types of technologies (Senft 2008, p. 25; Khamis &
Welling 2017, p. 197 ).
The opportunities Instagram give to plus-size women and female in general of showing themselves as they want, where and when they decide, make this platform an appropriate environment to uncover women’s “perspectives” (Fredick, 1999; Alentola, 2017). In the online community each individual can feel supported and empowered by others (followers) and by the fact that they have encouraged themselves to publish a body positive picture or content related to their lives (Wazmy, 2010) that can be seen and liked by others. However, society is still organized according to regimes of image that through representations, hold relations of power.
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This is a replicated asymmetry that also happens in social networks, where individuals also apply control and surveillance (Ha-tuka and Toch, 2016).
1.1.2. Positive Body Image and the Word Fat
There is not a universal definition of positive body image but, on 2015 Halliwell identified it as being highly satisfied with one’s own appearance. Several characteristics of this movement can be identified, such as: hold favorable opinions of the body, respect of the body, feelings of gratitude towards the body, rejection of societal ideals of attractiveness and a broad conceptualization of beauty (Tylka and Wood-Barcalow, 2015; Halliwel, 2015).
In a study on weight loss and cosmetic surgery Jayne Raisborough examined the notion of self-formation from a sociological approach, exploring the effects of “lifestyle media” on what she expresses as one’s relationship to the self “the goal of most people engaged in weight loss plans or undergoing cosmetic surgery work is to be recognized in a society that only endorses the worth of certain “bodily forms” (beautiful, white and skinny bodies) (Harris-Moore 2016, p. 4).
Past research argues that in social media environments the effects these bodily forms have are stronger and platforms such as Instagram which affords various types of editing and beautifying apps, can help to trigger body dissatisfaction or in some cases body dysmorphia (Ghaznavi &
Taylor, 2015); however, in terms of image of the body and body acceptance, media is also considered a powerful tool. It is not fully responsible for determining the standards of physical attractiveness, but it will somehow prompt base for ideals (Kernan 2018).
There are many elements of the ways in which traditional and digital media present body weight, size, and shape, including representations, practices, and performances related to these bodies (Lupton, 2017); thus, the term fat, to describe bodies, has been always criticized in
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different cultures. In Panama for instance, people will elude using it as a characteristic and individuals will avoid calling themselves or close acquaintances fat, because it may affect someone’s susceptibility; this also happens in Taiwan where terms such as “Feng-Man”
(豐滿-well filled-out figure) or “Rou-Gan”(肉感-voluptuous) are used instead of “Pang” (胖-fat). In
society the word fat is more likely to be considered as negative and used to describe a feeling (I feel fat), Shaming someone or justifying discrimination; it is appropriate to use it only when describing someone (healthy or not) who self-identifies as fat (Zeilinger, 2015).
However, the turn toward sharing contents on media in online platforms has contributed to body acceptance initiatives and variation of movements such as fat activism, body positivism and plus-size movements; in the same line, some websites and social media communities have been working to fight fat shaming and discrimination, highlighting the multiple disadvantages from which fat people can suffer and challenging the global standards of beauty (Lupton, 2017).
Research also indicates that women that participate in online fat acceptance activities experience many benefits of being fat-accepting, such as self-acceptance, emancipation from dieting, and more time and energy to pursue other interests (Ngaire &Clemitshaw, 2012).