“Make sure that everybody feels there is a space for them”: Understanding and promoting appearance inclusivity at university.

Abstract

Appearance concerns are a pervasive issue affecting many university students and contributing to poor psychosocial and academic outcomes. To combat these, action is needed by universities to promote appearance inclusivity. The current study used inductive qualitative methods to explore students’ lived and/or living experiences and concerns relating to their physical appearance and views on how to achieve an appearance inclusive university. Seventeen students aged 19–55 from a UK university participated in online semi-structured interviews (n=12) and focus groups (n=5). Thirteen participants were women, three were men, and one was non-binary. Interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Students identified several ways appearance concerns had negatively impacted them and supported an increased focus on appearance inclusivity at university. Three themes were developed: 1) appearance has a big impact on my university life; 2) it’s not the same for everyone (i.e., individual differences and intersectionality impact students’ experiences); and 3) intentional change is needed (i.e., change is necessary to improve appearance inclusivity, but it should be consciously thought out). Strategies to improve appearance inclusivity should be prioritised and carefully considered to avoid tokenism and ensure they centre the needs of those from underrepresented groups.