Contrary to the model minority popular belief in the U.S., Asian Americans experience significant body image concerns and related disordered eating and mental health challenges. Asian diasporas in Western countries also face similar challenges to Asian Americans (e.g., racialized and objectified views of Asians). Asians in Asia, on the other hand, are joggling between their collective/national standards of beauty/fitness and the body-image ideals propagated through commercialism and capitalization. Body Image and the Asian Experience: Asians, Asian Americans, and Asian Diasporas Across the Globe discusses the lack of knowledge and misinformation about body image for people of Asian descent, including Asian nationals dwelling in Asia and those in the diaspora (Asian Americans, Asian immigrants in the UK, Australia, etc.). The first section reviews the past and current theories of body image, specifically for people of Asian descent. The next section presents the current research on body image an Asian Americans and Asians around the globe, including specific demographic and social identity groups. The last section examines practical implications in the aspects of mental health, interpersonal and social relationships, and identity development as informed by body image issues.
Table of Contents
1. An Introduction: Understanding body image from historical and contemporary perspectivesSECTION 1: Historical and New Theoretical Perspectives
2. Theoretical models of Asian body image
3. Decolonization of the Asian body
SECTION 2: Current State of Body Image Research of Asian and the Diasporas
4. Body Image Assessment
5. Asian female body image research in the U.S., Part I
6. Asian female body image research in the U.S., Part II
7. Asian female body image research Globally Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore)
8. Asian female body image research Globally Outside of Asian (the Asian diasporas, such as the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, etc.)
9. Asian male body image
10. Sexual and gender minority Asian body image
SECTION 3: Practice Implication
11. Mental health: disordered eating
12. Mental health: Mood and other disorders
13. Social Implications: Parenting, relationships, family, school
14. Sense of self, identity development, and self-esteem
15. Future directions/Closing chapter