Looking at our bodies: exploring Aboriginal women?s perspectives

It’s a term we hear often: body image. But what is it? Over 75 years ago it was defined as “The picture of our body which we form in our mind … the way in which our body appears to ourselves” by pioneer psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder. 

Much of the research in this growing field of research focuses on the white North American or European experiences but with little to none on Aboriginal perspectives.

To Dr. Tara-Leigh McHugh, an expert in body image and physical activity, that’s a much-needed voice that’s absent.

Recently hired from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre, McHugh says, “I was drawn to body image and physical activity research among Aboriginal women because living in Canada and in Saskatoon (for my graduate studies), where there is a large Aboriginal population, I couldn’t understand how their experiences had been so overlooked in the body image literature. I also have family members who are Aboriginal and I realized they were not represented (in any of the research).”

McHugh’s own experience as an active woman – she competed nationally in sprint kayaking and canoeing until age 20, and coached at the national level for six years – also drew her to this field. “Body image and physical activity have many logical connections; many health behaviours are connected to body image.”

“Body image is interesting too because it’s one of the few constructs that we study that the public has intimate knowledge of,” she says. “We read about and hear about it everywhere. I find it really interesting that just about everyone has at least a general idea of what it is.”

McHugh engages in participatory action research, working alongside those who’ve agreed to be part of the research, and respecting that they have much knowledge to share. It’s a methodology perfectly suited to her research field where, she acknowledges, it’s imperative to build high-trust relationships – particularly important when women are sharing something as personal as their experiences about their body image.

As part of her doctoral research, McHugh spent a year working with young Aboriginal students at a high school in Saskatoon.  “It took a while for the young women to really ‘get’ that I wasn’t going to tell them what they were going to do or how to do it. We met regularly for body-talk sessions and developed physical activity initiatives together, such as starting a yoga class in the school, and developing a wellness policy at the high school.

“This project ensured that the voices of Aboriginal women were heard; their experiences were central to everything that we designed and created.”

McHugh will play a pivotal role in the delivery of classes for the Faculty’s new degree in Aboriginal Sport, Recreation and Community Development being offered from 2011 onwards, and she relishes the rigours of the classroom. “I love teaching and have taught in classes with nine to 240 students! They bring their own challenges – and excitement. There’s always something new to learn when you’re teaching and I like that – and the university has so many resources for teachers that make your life so much easier.”

To kickstart her research program, McHugh has plans to work closely with her colleagues in the Native Studies Faculty and other researchers working with Aboriginal communities in Alberta.

“I understand the importance of building trust and developing relationships with Aboriginal communities, and I have experience doing that in a respectful manner,” she says. 

“But I know it takes time.”