Women's consumption practices to cope with objectification

Body image concerns are discussed globally both in the media and within the framework of academic studies. From childhood, women are constantly exposed to messages about how their bodies should look, through channels such as the media, family and society. Over time, women begin to internalize these messages, adopting perspectives that reduce them to objects to be evaluated. This phenomenon is explained by "self-objectification" within the scope of Objectification Theory. Social media, a medium where objectifying messages are commonly encountered, has become a platform through which these messages are conveyed to women, especially through applications such as Instagram that offer visual content. Followed by millions of women, fitspiration accounts that promote posts about nutrition, sports and physical well-being, were included in the research design within this context. The literature reveals that these types of accounts have objectifying features, leading women to develop negative attitudes towards their own bodies. The current research aims to explore the pressure that fitspiration accounts create on their followers and the coping strategies employed, with a particular focus on consumer behaviour. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 women aged between 19 and 24 with different physical characteristics. The research findings indicate that women intensely compare their bodies with influencers they follow on these accounts, and as a result of this comparison, they often experience dissatisfaction with their own bodies and feel inadequate. In response, women make efforts to create changes regarding their bodies in order to cope with these feelings. Two primary coping mechanisms were identified: direct resolution and symbolic self-completion. In direct resolution efforts, there are steps aimed at truly changing the body. Direct resolutions involve tangible efforts to alter the body, such as modifying dietary purchase and engaging in physical activity though various methods. Those who are in symbolic self-completion search have a high interest in sportswear products introduced by influencers. Since the majority of the participants are still students, there is a limited budget. Both solutions entail economic cost and the measures taken by the participants regarding this issue have been discussed in the following section. Aesthetic surgery, which is considered the quickest way to change the body, is not pursued or considered as a viable option among fitspiration followers. Keywords: Social media, Instagram, Body image, Objectification Theory, Consumer behaviour, Coping strategies through consumption