Body Language
A Body-Neutral Guide to Help Redefine How to Talk About Bodies
Body Language is a workbook that includes journal prompts and activities to help college-age students repair their body image with a more body-neutral perspective. Body neutrality is an inclusive movement that promotes a way of thinking that takes the importance off of a person’s bodily appearance and encourages appreciation for other attributes of their body. College students, in particular, are most affected by body image-related disorders such as eating disorders and body dysmorphia. The content of Body Language calls attention to the negative influences that young adults are exposed to such as social media and diet talk that contribute to these disorders. The activities guide the user to analyze the negative influences and learn how to implement body neutrality to work against them. How can design help college-age students to use a body-neutral lens when talking about their bodies internally and externally? Effective design backed by research can nurture new mindsets and ways of thinking.
This project was my senior thesis at Bowling Green State University.
5”x8” (soft-cover book)
The activities within Body Language are structured as weekly prompts that span the duration of a calendar year. The cadence of activities allows for consistency and flexibility to ensure the longevity of the interaction between the user and the content. This content was designed to foster students’ personal expression while providing body-neutral resources for them to explore. Inside the workbook, there are 4 main types of activities: writing, discussion, goal setting, and reflection prompts. This creates an ideal environment to establish good habits and inspire self-reflection of the relationship between the mind and body. It is important to take a step back to analyze what as a society we value when it comes to body standards and evaluate if it is causing harm to others.
write it out…
This type of activity will consist of journal prompts that only prompt you to write out your thoughts. These activities are the first activity of each month. Each month there will also be a featured podcast or social media account to follow. The write it out activities will reference these.
talk it out…
This type of activity will prompt you to ask a friend about a provided topic. Usually you will record their response along with your own. This activity will help you self-reflect by surveying how people around you experience the world through their body.
plan it out…
This type of activity will help you set goals to establish your body neutral mindset. The prompt will have you layout a plan to help you reach certain goals. There will also be reflection journal entries to check-in how you have been doing with managing the goals you set or plans you made.
brain dump…
This type of activity gives you freedom to write about what is going on in your life at that moment. We all need to vent sometimes and this is the place to do that. Feel free to journal, doodle, or just vent your thoughts in this space provided for these activities.
what is body neutrality?
Body neutrality is an inclusive movement that anyone can adopt into their lives. It can help combat disorders related to body image, such as body dysmorphia (1) and disordered eating (2). It also works against normalized behaviors like chronic dieting (3). Overall, the body neutrality movement helps people heal their relationships with their body.
1 Body dysmorphia: when someone is focused on their body and physical flaws that are invisible to others; altered perception of their own appearance or a feeling of disconnection to their body
2 Disordered eating: any obsessive behavior around eating that results from an unhealthy relationship with food and/or one’s body; can be apart of an eating disorder or be a precursor to an ED
3 Chronic dieting: the cycle of dieting to lose weight, gaining it back, and repeating over a long period of time
(left) This a photo documenting my thesis exhibition space. I painted and applied vinyl graphics to the wall. I had a wall for shelves to display copies of the book.
(below) For part of my exhibition space I wanted to simulate where and how the book would be displayed. I set up a coffee table and decor to make viewers feel at home!
