Self-Enhancement

According to Fiske (2009), people strive for self-enhancement. She describes that this includes self-esteem and culturally defined self-improvement. Crocker and Quinn (2000) describe how negative stereotypes and devaluation can pose a threat to the self worth of the stigmatized. This implies that the discrimination faced by the stigmatized puts achieving this core social goal in jeopardy. This low self-esteem is also induced by the acceptance of the negative attitudes held towards the stigmatized (Crocker & Major, 1989; E. E. Jones et al., 1984). Our result analysis mirrors the challenge faced by the stigmatized in achieving the goal of maintaining self-esteem and fulfilling their self-enhancement goals. Our results particularly bring forward fashion and portraying the body as the main domains pertaining to this goal.

The failure to achieve a high self-esteem first comes, as discussed in the previous section, from socializing in an environment filled with discrimination. This Prejudice emanates from the social environment, the self and the marketplace. Their body is rejected and they are faced with stigma related failures when it comes to marketplace interactions.

This erodes their self-esteem especially in instances where they integrate the stereotypes held against them.

The second challenge to achieving self-enhancement comes from their inability to dress their body in a way that makes them feel good about themselves. Many of them complain about not being able to find their size in garments that they like. Finally, these consumers fail to achieve fashion styles that project their identity. Their fat body is

challenging to dress as it requires an expertise in body types that they do not have. Also, the poor offering of the ready to wear industry in terms of cuts and styles constitutes a structural discrimination that blocks them from reaching their self-enhancement goal.

Hence, for the consumers who give a high importance to this goal, failure leads to perceiving the situation as a threat since their chances of achieving this goal are reduced. This leads many of them to adopt a withdrawal strategy, and to adhere to the stereotypes held against them such as “looking ugly”. This mirrors what Scaraboto and Fischer (2013) report

regarding the US culture; whereby fat people are expected to feel ashamed about their body.

Hence, they should try to hide or disguise it. Being fashionable is not incorporated within the cultural framework pertaining to these people, as fashion is associated with being thin.

During our results analysis, we encountered many accounts of consumers who report that the community has helped them change their coping strategies from

avoidance/disengagement to approach/engagement coping strategies. Several of our members describe how they moved from framing their consumption as a threat, and avoiding self-diminishment, to approaching consumption and seeking the goal of self-enhancement. A typical account of this is offered by Camille that describes how the community helped her change her relationship with clothing. Before, she perceived dressing as a threat, which pushed her to limit herself to buying functional clothes that hid her body. She explains that thanks to VLR she started seeking pleasure from dressing. This has also pushed her to engage in shopping and travel to remote cities to fulfill her goal.

Yeah right, if this message did not exist I would have created it! I have just realized that thanks to VLR I have changed my relationship with clothes. I have just spent a week in Paris where I went shopping for two days and a half. This is not me or I must say was not me.

Because there, I have treated myself. Before my clothes were functional and their objective was to hide me as much as possible.

Now I enjoy myself. I have tried clothes, and I have opened up to new styles that I would have never dared before. Also, since one year (when I joined VLR) I have started shopping through mail-order, and I treat myself. In fact, it’s the idea of enjoyment that is new. Before it was more of a burden because I had to wear something. Now, I get many compliments, I am becoming more feminine. Anyway, I started to work on myself. On Monday, I was even about to purchase a skirt in C&A but well I am not there yet, I did not dare… I “convinced myself” as my best friend would say, that it would not look good on me. That’s what I usually do. But it’s not happening to me as often anymore. Now, I buy clothes and I am having the time of my life, and I think it shows… Let’s talk about it once more next week, I am going to Newcastle and I am allocating a full day to the Metro Center!! I think that I will enjoy myself, I’ll let you know.

A similar account of moving from loss avoidance to benefit seeking is offered by Vanessa. She discusses how she used to limit herself to buying what was available at her size from the few stores she knew about. She explains how, thanks to the community, she now seeks to pick her clothes according to her preferences.

I join the club…

To summarize: before VLR I looked at the size before the garment. I bought the clothes that were available in my size, in the few stores that I knew about…

Since VLR I have started looking at the garment first! I really dress better, I really pick my clothes, which was not the case before.

Anyway, thanks VLR!

Moving from avoidance to engagement has helped several of our members improve their self –esteem. They did this by distancing from the stereotypes associated with their stigma. Several of them report how the community supported them to move from an avoidance strategy where they confirmed the stereotypes associated with being fat to an engagement strategy where they disconfirmed the stereotypic beliefs held against them. This is the case of Marie that explains how VLR helped her dress in a new way that gets her compliments from her environment. She explains that this approach behavior made her environment evaluate her as not being fat.

Same for me, I had almost given up on shopping and wearing nice stuff. I used to be happy finding clothes that were not in the male section or that looked like my grandma’s.

Since VLR, I started wearing many things that I did not before. I dare colors, low necks, nice cuts, boots, and leggings. People often

compliment my outfits and ask me where I find such nice things!

This has brought joy the most to my mom. She had given up hope to see me cute because she is very much so. Now she is very happy to see that I am enjoying and treating myself regularly with nice and cute clothes.

Another cool thing, apparently I am not fat! That’s what people usually tell me. I am curvy but I do not look fat because I do not dress like a “fat” but with real nice feminine clothes. This means that clothes and attitude can also help change perspective about being overweight. I am fat, I know that, but now it’s true that it’s totally of a secondary importance.

Self-enhancement and the recovered self confidence result in positive feelings.

Carmen reports how VLR helped her discover how to be happy and feel good in her body.

These positive feelings result in engagement coping responses as she felt like improving her style and trying new things.

I remember when I had just gotten here more than seven years ago. I had clicked on a link on the website of Marianne James and I was redirected to a website of proud to be fat and nutty girls who claimed that it’s possible to lose weight and self accept without even dieting!

(sorry but this is how I felt when I first joined!)

I have looked throughout the website and I was surprised:

Overweight girls with real clothes that did not look like bags or widows from ancient times! Fat girls that seemed to feel good in their skin! …. I tried to explore other websites of overweight girls but I never felt good there. They were more like dating websites, that’s not at all what I was looking for. And others were too “communal” for my taste. I am fat for sure, but I am not just that.

Gradually, I have started feeling better, dressing nicely, feeling like new things. I have recovered a different self-confidence, found parts of me that I had lost, reencountered the desire to take charge of my life…

And this feels good!