🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses the mental health risks and body image distress arising from Western societal ideal-body pressures. It presents the first systematic comparison of affective representations associated with the “thin ideal” versus the “muscular ideal” (i.e., bigorexia) within transgender online communities. Leveraging data from 46 Reddit diet/fitness subreddits, we integrate community structural analysis with Transformer-based language modeling to construct a multidimensional affective space projection. Results reveal significantly higher levels of negative affect—and stronger associations with severe psychological conditions—in thin-ideal-oriented communities, particularly those dominated by cisgender and transgender women; in contrast, muscular-ideal-oriented communities exhibit comparatively neutral affective profiles. The study innovatively uncovers an interaction effect between body-ideal type and gender identity on affective expression, offering empirical evidence and a methodological framework to inform gender-sensitive, context-aware interventions targeting harmful online content.
📝 Abstract
The gendered expectations about ideal body types can lead to body image concerns, dissatisfaction, and in extreme cases, disordered eating and other psychopathologies across the gender spectrum. While research has focused on pro-anorexia online communities that glorify the 'thin ideal', less attention has been given to the broader spectrum of body image concerns or how emerging disorders like muscle dysmorphia ('bigorexia') present in online discussions. To address these gaps, we analyze 46 Reddit discussion forums related to diet, fitness, and associated mental health challenges. Using membership structure analysis and transformer-based language models, we project these communities along gender and body ideal axes, revealing complex interactions between gender, body ideals, and emotional expression. Our findings show that feminine-oriented communities generally express more negative emotions, particularly in thinness-promoting forums. Conversely, communities focused on the muscular ideal exhibit less negativity, regardless of gender orientation. We also uncover a gendered pattern in emotional indicators of mental health challenges, with communities discussing serious issues aligning more closely with thinness-oriented, predominantly feminine-leaning communities. By revealing the gendered emotional dynamics of online communities, our findings can inform the development of more effective content moderation approaches that facilitate supportive interactions, while minimizing exposure to potentially harmful content.