“You Are Not Fat”: The Postfeminist Contradiction in #RejectBodyAnxiety—A Computationally Assisted Critical Thematic Analysis

Lei Chen; Kun Zhou; Sang Jung Kim

doi:10.1177/20563051261419392

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“You Are Not Fat”: The Postfeminist Contradiction in #RejectBodyAnxiety—A Computationally Assisted Critical Thematic Analysis

Journal article

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“You Are Not Fat”: The Postfeminist Contradiction in #RejectBodyAnxiety—A Computationally Assisted Critical Thematic Analysis

Lei Chen, Kun Zhou and Sang Jung Kim

Social media + society, Vol.12(1), pp.1-20

01/01/2026

DOI: 10.1177/20563051261419392

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Abstract

Digital platforms have facilitated body-positive discourses that challenge appearance norms, yet these often intertwine with postfeminist elements, creating paradoxes that both resist and reinforce hegemonic ideals. By deploying computationally assisted critical thematic analysis across 1915 #RejectBodyAnxiety posts on RedNote, this study reveals both the breadth—the full variety of user-generated discursive elements and their articulation patterns—and the depth—the discursive meanings configured through these articulations, of this feminist digital activism site. The findings show that body-positivity discourses under #RejectBodyAnxiety are profoundly reconfigured through their articulation with localized postfeminist formations and platform-mediated empowering mechanisms, reframing body positivity as ideal positivity—a postfeminist discourse that refines hegemonic beauty ideals by shedding their extreme traits (Selective Subversion) and making them appear attainable (Tactical Conformity), thereby transforming them into seemingly positive forms. While fostering empowerment, this discourse risks new exclusions, marginalizing some women and intensifying postfeminist contradictions. Tracing these sensibilities through social media, the study highlights their new forms in non-Western contexts and underscores the need to address emerging discourses in body image promotion.

articulation

body image

hashtag feminism

postfeminism

social media

Details

Title: Subtitle: “You Are Not Fat”: The Postfeminist Contradiction in #RejectBodyAnxiety—A Computationally Assisted Critical Thematic Analysis
Creators: Lei Chen - University of Iowa
Kun Zhou - University of Iowa
Sang Jung Kim - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Social media + society, Vol.12(1), pp.1-20
DOI: 10.1177/20563051261419392
ISSN: 2056-3051
eISSN: 2056-3051
Publisher: Sage
Grant note: Arts and Humanities Initiative University of Iowa (http://data.elsevier.com/vocabulary/SciValFunders/100008893) Anova Health Institute (http://data.elsevier.com/vocabulary/SciValFunders/501100020992)
Language: English
Date published: 01/01/2026
Academic Unit: Center for Social Science Innovation; School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Record Identifier: 9985139301202771

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