Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistory of the TermEffectsSignsHow to Practice

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

History of the Term

Effects

Signs

How to Practice

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Female Embodiment

A woman’s body is subject to disempowering cultural expectations that stem from her social interactions, environment, and the media. Some ideals that women try to meet include how she should do her make-up, what clothes she should wearwhen she should or should not have children, and what her body should look like.

Therefore, in an attempt to meet these ideals, women are more likely than men to pursue body transformation goals such as beauty routines to prevent theaging processand dieting to lose weight.

Female Embodiment Is EmpoweringPracticing positive female embodiment can be empowering as it allows a woman to reclaim her body, cement her sense of self, release bottled emotions, fully express herself and live a life without worrying about social pressures.

Female Embodiment Is Empowering

Practicing positive female embodiment can be empowering as it allows a woman to reclaim her body, cement her sense of self, release bottled emotions, fully express herself and live a life without worrying about social pressures.

This article discusses the history of female embodiment, signs you are a positively embodied woman, and the effect the concept has on women. Lastly, it provides some tips on how to practice positive female embodiment.

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History of the Term ‘Female Embodiment’

The term embodiment is based on a philosophical construct that originates from Merleau-Ponty’s work.

In psychology, the term ‘embodiment’ is used to describe the effect the body has on how the mind is shaped.

The Developmental Theory of Embodiment

The Developmental Theory of Embodiment is a framework that aims to understand how embodiment experiences can be protective and disruptive to the lives of girls and women.

Core Pathways of Female Embodiment

The Developmental Theory of Embodiment explains the embodiment experiences can be divided into three core pathways:

The Effects of Female Embodiment on Women

The study led to the development of the experience of embodiment construct which grouped embodiment experiences into five continuous dimensions, each with a positive and negative pole. The five dimensions include:

Adopting Embodiment Practices Leads to Greater Life Satisfaction

Another study examined the associations between embodiment, body esteem, and life satisfaction in Swedish and Canadian men and women. It found that compared to Canadian women, Swedish women had more positive experiences of embodiment, lower levels of disordered eating, and lower thin-ideal internalization.

Overall, it showed strong associations between embodiment, body esteem, and life satisfaction. Specifically, embodiment was a better predictor of life satisfaction than body esteem for both men and women.

Signs of Female Embodiment

Embodied experiences can have a beneficial effect on a woman’s mental and emotional well-being. Some signs you are a positively embodied woman include:

How Accepting Difficult Emotions Can Improve Emotional Health

How to Practice Positive Female Embodiment

Striving for positive embodiment can help increase your woman’s confidence, self-worth, self-esteem, sense of purpose, sensuality, and power.

Here are some tips to practice positive female embodiment:

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.JC, Johnston-Robledo I.Woman’s embodied self: An introduction.In:Woman’s Embodied Self: Feminist Perspectives on Identity and Image.American Psychological Association; 2018:3–14.Moya P.Habit and embodiment in merleau-ponty.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:542.Tylka TL, Piran N.Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment: Constructs, Protective Factors, and Interventions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2019.Embodied possibilities and disruptions:The emergence of the Experience of Embodiment construct from qualitative studies with girls and women.Body Image. 2016;18:43–60.Gattario KH, Frisén A, Teall TL, Piran N. Embodiment:Cultural and gender differences and associations with life satisfaction.Body Image. 2020;35:1–10.Ussher JM, Perz J.Resisting the mantle of the monstrous feminine: women’s construction and experience of premenstrual embodiment. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, eds.The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Palgrave Macmillan; 2020.

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.JC, Johnston-Robledo I.Woman’s embodied self: An introduction.In:Woman’s Embodied Self: Feminist Perspectives on Identity and Image.American Psychological Association; 2018:3–14.Moya P.Habit and embodiment in merleau-ponty.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:542.Tylka TL, Piran N.Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment: Constructs, Protective Factors, and Interventions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2019.Embodied possibilities and disruptions:The emergence of the Experience of Embodiment construct from qualitative studies with girls and women.Body Image. 2016;18:43–60.Gattario KH, Frisén A, Teall TL, Piran N. Embodiment:Cultural and gender differences and associations with life satisfaction.Body Image. 2020;35:1–10.Ussher JM, Perz J.Resisting the mantle of the monstrous feminine: women’s construction and experience of premenstrual embodiment. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, eds.The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Palgrave Macmillan; 2020.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

JC, Johnston-Robledo I.Woman’s embodied self: An introduction.In:Woman’s Embodied Self: Feminist Perspectives on Identity and Image.American Psychological Association; 2018:3–14.Moya P.Habit and embodiment in merleau-ponty.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:542.Tylka TL, Piran N.Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment: Constructs, Protective Factors, and Interventions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2019.Embodied possibilities and disruptions:The emergence of the Experience of Embodiment construct from qualitative studies with girls and women.Body Image. 2016;18:43–60.Gattario KH, Frisén A, Teall TL, Piran N. Embodiment:Cultural and gender differences and associations with life satisfaction.Body Image. 2020;35:1–10.Ussher JM, Perz J.Resisting the mantle of the monstrous feminine: women’s construction and experience of premenstrual embodiment. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, eds.The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Palgrave Macmillan; 2020.

JC, Johnston-Robledo I.Woman’s embodied self: An introduction.In:Woman’s Embodied Self: Feminist Perspectives on Identity and Image.American Psychological Association; 2018:3–14.

Moya P.Habit and embodiment in merleau-ponty.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:542.

Tylka TL, Piran N.Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment: Constructs, Protective Factors, and Interventions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2019.

Embodied possibilities and disruptions:The emergence of the Experience of Embodiment construct from qualitative studies with girls and women.Body Image. 2016;18:43–60.

Gattario KH, Frisén A, Teall TL, Piran N. Embodiment:Cultural and gender differences and associations with life satisfaction.Body Image. 2020;35:1–10.

Ussher JM, Perz J.Resisting the mantle of the monstrous feminine: women’s construction and experience of premenstrual embodiment. In: Bobel C, Winkler IT, Fahs B, Hasson KA, Kissling EA, Roberts TA, eds.The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Palgrave Macmillan; 2020.

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