Illustrating the body: Cross-sectional and prospective investigations of the impact of life drawing sessions on body image

• Attendance at life drawing sessions associated with healthier trait body image.
• Effects stronger for women than men.
• Attending a life drawing session improves state body image in women.

Life drawing sessions, where individuals produce drawings of the human figure from observations of a live model, may contain embodying elements that promote healthier body image. Two pilot studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. In Study 1, 138 individuals recruited from life drawing sessions in London, UK, estimated how many sessions they had attended in their lifetime and completed measures of negative and positive body image. In women, greater attendance was significantly associated with higher body appreciation and lower drive for thinness and social physique anxiety. In men, greater attendance was significantly associated with higher body appreciation, but not drive for muscularity or social physique anxiety. In Study 2, 37 women took part in a life drawing session for the first time. Compared to pre-session scores, participants had significantly more positive state body image and appearance satisfaction after the session. The findings of these studies suggest that life drawing may promote healthier body image, particularly among women, but further research is needed.