Reducing the negative effects of media exposure on body image: Testing the effectiveness of subvertising and disclaimer labels

• Examined effects of adding disclaimers and subvertising to thin-ideal media.
• Participants were adult women recruited for two experiments (Ns = 1268 and 820).
• Disclaimers and subvertising did not enhance body image relative to unaltered media.
• Disclaimers and subvertising did not reduce state appearance social comparison.
• The results raise concerns about the effectiveness of disclaimers and subvertising.

Body image activists have proposed adding disclaimer labels to digitally altered media as a way to promote positive body image. Another approach advocated by activists is to alter advertisements through subvertising (adding social commentary to the image to undermine the message of the advertisement). We examined if body image could be enhanced by attaching Photoshop disclaimers or subvertising to thin-ideal media images of swimsuit models. In Study 1 (N = 1268), adult women exposed to disclaimers or subvertising did not report higher body state satisfaction or lower drive for thinness than women exposed to unaltered images. In Study 2 (N = 820), adult women who were exposed to disclaimers or subvertising did not report higher state body satisfaction or lower state social appearance comparisons than women exposed to unaltered images or to no images. These results raise questions about the effectiveness of disclaimers and subvertising for promoting body satisfaction.