Plus-size Women and Appearance Management with a Focus on Clothing -Grounded Theory Based Exploratory Study-

Abstract

This study explores various issues of appearance management behavior for plus-size women in Korea with a focus on clothing. In-depth interviews and focused group interviews were conducted with 24 plus-size women. The interviews were recorded and the transcripts were analyzed based on grounded theory. Discomfort was the main phenomenon involving the experience of plus-size women related to appearance management. Psychological as well as physiological/physical discomfort, unmet needs (regarding clothing) and inconvenient shopping experiences were frequently mentioned. Causal conditions for discomfort were obesity, social stigma, and an underdeveloped clothing market for plus-size consumers. Interviewees developed strategies to cope with discomfort (suppressing clothing need, loss of interest in clothing, diversion from clothing needs, sole focus on physical comfort, dress-up and increase in shopping channels, and change in shopping patterns) that depended on contextual conditions (such as duration of obesity and attitudes of people) close to the interviewees. The discomfort of interviewees decreased or continued depending on if they became ambivalent about their obese condition, lost weight, or utilized plus-size specialty stores.

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