The symbology of the body and the resignification of power relations in the media with typologies Plus Size

Abstract

The representation of the body has always been associated with ethical and moral values determined by social groups, such as society, religion, among others. The ephemeral social relations of contemporaneity have transformed the female body into an instrument of personal assertion. In this sense, the present research seeks to reflect on how the media have explored the female physical and bodily pattern, relating them to self-acceptance and  social status, through the acceptance of the other. The objective of this research is to analyze the discourses  of social media with Plus Size  typologies, in order to evaluate how social media conveys information about the body, associating it with the identity of individuals. The methodology used includes a literature review and uses content analysis (BARDIN, 2010), aiming to understand the resignification of the power relations of the body in social media. Goffman (1988), Bourdieu (2000), Vargas (2014), Brunelli, Amaral and Silva (2019), among others, were used as theoretical frameworks. That said, issues related to beauty standards and some forms of media influences capable of creating, maintaining, or intensifying the resignification of the body are highlighted, as well as evidencing the difficulties of self-acceptance, considering the liquid modernity that transforms values into something transitory with the creation of active concepts in people's perception of themselves and of what is expected of society.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2023.008-005