Body guilt: Preliminary evidence for a further subjective experience of self-objectification

Two studies investigated body guilt (i.e., feeling regret and remorse over how the body looks and a desire for reparative action to “fix” the body) within the framework of objectification theory among predominantly White British undergraduate women. In Study 1 (N = 225), participants completed self-report measures of interpersonal sexual objectification, self-surveillance, body shame, body guilt, and eating restraint. Path analyses indicated support for the inclusion of body guilt in the objectification model, with body shame and body guilt fully mediating the relationship between self-surveillance and eating restraint. In Study 2 (N = 85), participants reported higher body guilt, self-surveillance, body shame, and eating restraint when self-objectification was situationally activated, compared to the activation of body empowerment or a neutral condition. Path analyses in the second study replicated the objectification model from Study 1 with a state measure of self-objectification. These findings suggest that women also feel guilt (in addition to shame) about their bodies when attention is directed toward their physical appearance and wish to “correct” their body via disordered eating. Acknowledging women’s feelings of guilt in relation to not meeting restrictive beauty standards furthers our understanding of women’s experience of objectification and provides an additional target for reducing women’s mental health risks.