Extract 5.
1 Cli: picture B is where Richie looks her most unhealthy like you can 2 see her ribcage [it (1.0) looks rank
3 Uri: [she l[ooks like skeletal yeah
4 Jef: [◦ definitely B◦
5 Zan: its definitely B like she looks like a really like perfect (.)
6 normal size in B=
7 Cli: =yeah she[s got a flat stomach
8 Zan: [yeah 9 Int: yeah and what about Christina Ricci
10 Jef: I think A to be honest↓ (1.5)
11 Cli: yeah I would probably say A (1.0)
12 Zan: ◦yeah=◦
13 Jef: =but that might be because of her jawline and er
14 Uri: the fact that she looks slutty (2.0)
15 Int: HA[HAHA
16 Jef: [hehe yea::ah but it- its still though the stomach (0.5)
17 Cli: [A fo[r Sophie Dahl
18 Uri: [and me personally A
19 Int: p- [what was that
20 Zan: [I-I prefer B on Sophie Dahl
21 Int: !do you whys that
22 Zan: er I think she looks too (0.5) unhealthily skinny (.) in A
23 (sniff)
24 Cli: I don’t think she looks unhealthy there
25 Uri: I-I think she looks pretty good
26 Cli: she just looks like she goes to the gym=
27 Uri: =yeah she [just looks toned
28 Cli: [like her ARMS (.) like you can tell like her
29 arms (.) aren’t (.) that (0.5) skinny
30 Zan: yea[h
31 Cli: [they just look like (1.0) dro[opy to the side
32 Jef: [if she-↑yea::h
33 Cli: n:: her-her rib there as well ◦so↓◦
34 Jef: she looks like she meant to be naturally skinny
35 Cli: yeah [yeah
36 Jef: [whereas she looks like she not eaten enough food
An opinion is shown (line 1) by Cli who describes Nicole Richie as looking “unhealthy” then pauses for 2 seconds before emphasising the word “see” (line 2) as he describes how you can see her ribcage showing how severe and shocking he finds the appearance of her body. Cli goes on to describe Richie’s body pausing after “it” for a second appearing to think of the right word before ending with “looks rank” using quite a strong, negative adjective to convey his opinion about the way her body looks. There is evidence of overlapping speech (lines 1-3) suggesting each participant is fighting to have their turn to speak and voice their opinion. A conflicted view is shown (line 5) by Zan who describes Richie as “perfect” and “normal size” suggesting the differences in perception on body image between these participants as what one finds to be unhealthily thin another finds to be normal of a woman’s body. However Cli successively follows Zan’s speech by agreeing with his opinion (line 7) despite having previously shown a negative attitude towards Richie’s body which could suggest that he is showing conformity effects (Asche 1951) and modifying his answer to fit with what somebody else has said instead of sticking to his initial opinion that she looked “rank”. Jef seems to be apprehensive to give a solid opinion (line 9) when asked about 2 Christina Ricci photos as he states his opinion quietly, perhaps not wanting to be the first to commit to which picture he prefers. Also he uses the phrase “to be honest” which coupled with the quiet speaking suggests an unconfident answer as a phrase like “to be honest” can be used to as a slight justification as it can’t be questioned if you are claiming to give an honest answer. Another word is shown to justify an opinion (line 18) as Uri says “me personally A” which with using the work “personally” indicates that it’s ok if his opinion was not the majority because it is his personal one and that can’t be questioned. Two of the participants speak collaboratively (line 13-14) as when Jef is justifying his choice he says “er” and Uri then jumps in to finish his sentence with “the fact she looks slutty” which could suggest he took the pause in Jef’s speech as an invitation to add his own opinion or he perhaps he felt he knew the word he was looking for as the “er” could be seen as Jef was unsure how to put what he wanted to say so Uri said it bluntly for him. The interview seems to be pleased to hear an answer leaning towards the less skinny picture of Sophie Dahl (line 21) as she prompts Zan with enthusiasm to explain his choice which could be explained by the fact that she is a girl and therefore has obviously felt the pressures of having the “perfect” body so would be glad to hear a view that wasn’t focused on being perfectly skinny. There is further conflict shown through this extract on what is seen to be a healthy body and what is seen to too thin and unhealthy (line 22 – 36). Zan states that he perceives Sophie Dahl on the picture to be “unhealthily skinny” (line 22) which shows a negative view especially with using the word “skinny” and not an alternative such as “thin” as skinny can have bad connotation such as with the size 0 debate girls being too skinny and “skinny” being linked with eating disorders. This statement is followed by a “(sniff)” (line 23) from the participant which could be a habit used to take away from the fact that he disagreeing with his fellow participants opinions. The opinion that her body is infact a healthy size is followed by the other participants “she just looks like she goes to the gym” which is a justification used that is one that would steer away from the idea of her having an unhealthy body as exercise is something that is perceived to be positive and keeps a person healthy. Cli targets an area of her body to support his opinion that she isn’t unhealthily thin emphasising her “ARMS” (line 22). He pauses repeatedly though making his statement suggesting he is thinking as he goes along. He refers to her arms as “dro]opy” (line 31) which suggests he’s looking for little faults to justify why she isn’t too skinny. Another example of conformity is shown as Zan says “yeah” line 31 in agreement to the other participants arguing that she is not infact unhealthily skinny showing how perhaps he does not want to have chosen what the rest have deemed the “wrong” answer.
Extract 6.
1 Int: which woman do you (.) just find most like normal
2 Jef: mo- most women aren’t like that (1.0) that’s
3 why she[’s a model
4 Uri: [most women aren’t (2.0) aren’t (1.0)
5 Zan: I think a size ten (1.0)
6 Jef: ten to twelve I think [ten I don’t think most girls are a
7 ten
8 Uri: [<model> H
9 Zan: ◦rea[lly not that one◦ (2.0)
10 Jef: [ye[ah
11 Int: [m:[::m
12 Uri: [yeah (1.0)
13 Jef: I honestly don’t know I think I’m thinking
14 I have to- I should s[ay the larger women (0.5) are
15 more common
16 Int: [yeah ↑no ↑no ↑no you don’t
17 have to
18 Jef: but I actually don’t know=
19 Cli: =I think all these have flat stomachs though [don’t
20 they
21 Jef: [yeah
22 that’s the thing
23 Cli: and like not-I don’t think women have l[ike
24 perfectly flat stomachs
25 Jef: [no it probably is
26 a ten or a twelve but with an extra little sort of (0.5)
27 Uri: bump
28 Jef: bit of:::f w[obble (0.5)
In line one the interviewer asks the participants which of the women do they find the most “normal” suggesting that she is steering away from the ideals of a portrayed to be perfect girl and asking who is most like an average, everyday girl. It is acknowledged on line 2 that they know normal girls are not like models. The participants seem to be unsure as to what to define as a normal girl: “most women aren’t (2.0) aren’t (1.0)” suggests that the participant is not sure what to say which is emphasised by the pauses and repetition of “aren’t”. Jef (line 6) goes on to say: “ten to twelve I think” The “I think” shows the uncertainty of what is supposed to perceived as normal in a girl. This effect could be heightened within the participants as they are being interviewed by a female so they could be more caution of offending her and trying to appear to have a better idea of what “normal” in a girl should be. There are suggestions of demand characteristics within the extract with the participant thinking he should say a certain thing maybe in order not to offend the interviewer: “I think I have to- I should say” to which the interviewers speech overlaps with “yeah no no no you don’t” with the “no” loud to emphasise that they are free to express their own opinion in the interview. Line 23 provides further acknowledgement that normal woman are not viewed in the same way as the models and actresses: “I don’t think woman have like perfectly f[lat stomachs” which is overlapped by the other participants as they seem to come to an idea of a “normal” girl together, finishing each other’s sentences when there is a pause. (lines 23 – 28. They all seem to have a similar idea of normal within a girl: “with an extra little sort of (0.5)” “bump” “bit of w[obble” suggesting that despite there previous attitudes towards the pictures, what they perceive to be frequent on a normal girl is very different and shows that perfection is not expected from normal girls. Also to strengthen the use of “little sort of bump” minimises the “bump” by using the word “little” showing that this is not a problem.
This analysis has found that body perceptions differ from person to person and there can be conflict over what is seen to be a healthy body and what isn’t. Also there were several occasions were participants seemed to change their opinion to fit what other people had said which could show conformity effects when looking at perceptions of body shapes as previously mentioned. An important theme that was found was that although there is view of perfection for celebrities and models this perfection is not expected from “normal” girls and that such a thing as a “bump” on a girl is actually seen to be attractive.
Word count : 2411
References:
Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs, 70 (Whole no. 416).
Jefferson, G. (1991) ‘List construction as a task and a resource’, in G. Psathas and R. Frankel (Eds.) Interactional Competence, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kemp, A. (1993) Witchcraft and Paganism Today. London