‘’Thank God we are like this here’’: A qualitative investigation of televisual media influence on women’s body image in an ethnically diverse rural Nicaraguan population

Abundant published literature evidences the harmful effects of appearance-idealized media imagery on women’s body image in predominantly Western populations. Most countries in Latin America (LA) have received little empirical attention. The current study qualitatively explored Nicaraguan women’s ideas about appearance, and the role of televisual media in shaping their body image. A total of 24 women of Creole and Mestizo ethnicities from small communities on the rural Caribbean coast of Nicaragua took part in 4 focus groups. A semi-inductive thematic analysis was used to interpret the women’s transcribed conversations. Findings suggest that local cultural appearance ideals for women are relatively loosely defined and center on a curvy body shape and other aspects of appearance rather than a low body weight. Most women reported being satisfied with their ‘God-given’ bodies and showed little desire to modify them, although Mestizo women tended to diet more. Television (TV) was seen as both a positive and a negative influence on women’s attitudes towards and behaviours around their appearance and their bodies. Our findings contribute to the scant literature on media influence on body image in under researched contexts and could provide evidence for alternative approaches to preventative work in ethnically diverse Latin American populations.