Narratives of Body Image: South Asian American Women’s Experiences at Historically Women’s Colleges

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to explore the body image experiences of South Asian American undergraduate women attending historically women’s colleges in the United States. Participants described their experiences with body image before and during college and pointed to specific contextual factors of historically women’s colleges that have influenced their body image development. This study utilized an intersectional self-authorship framework to understand the structural elements as well as the familial and individual elements that impact this population’s body image development. The findings are presented as first-person narratives from each participant’s experiences and highlight the varied body image experiences of South Asian Americans, as well as the prominence of whiteness at historically women’s colleges. Findings suggest that colleges should implement intersectional practices, including moving toward intersectional notions of feminism within the campus culture.