resist Western beauty pressures. Kelly boycotts magazines that promote the Western beauty “ideal,” while Nila resists by reminding herself that images of women in advertising and in popular culture are digitally-altered and unrealistic. Lastly, Kristen resists by trying to channel what she allows herself to see in magazines, on television and on the internet. Based on the findings from this research, it is crucial for feminist scholars and activists to continue to challenge Western beauty norms that present beauty as restrictive and conformist rather than open and subjective. Previous research that focuses on loving fatness (Gurrieri & Cherrier, 2013), loving blackness (hooks, 1992) and loving gender queer and transqueer identities in a heteronormative world (Siebler, 2012) offers feminist activism the opportunity to strive for the acceptance and celebration of multiple beauties/identities. Feminist activism can begin to achieve this by honouring women‟s most empowering option for resistance while working to create alternative images and broader definitions of beauty that challenge gender binaries and celebrate women‟s cultural and individual differences in opposition to multi-billion dollar industries that aim to make women feel inadequate for profit. Acknowledgements I would like to thank all thirteen women who generously shared their time and experiences with me to make this research project possible. They are so brave and strong for sharing such intimate details about their lives. I would also like to thank my family and friends for supporting me throughout my entire education. I am so grateful that I have them in my life. I am grateful that I had so much support from two brilliant Women‟s and Gender Studies Professors, Dr. WendeeKubik and Dr. Shannon Moore. Endnotes 1. A small sample size and a general lack of diversity in my sample makes it problematic to generalize my findings so it is recommended that future research utilize qualitative research methods to interview a larger, more diverse sample of women in order to be able to generalize the findings. 2. Despite the separate themes in this research, I recognize that the themes overlap and create unique experiences of oppression and resistance among women. References Brown, C., & Jasper, K. (1993). Introduction: Why women? Why weight? Why now? In C. Brown, & K. Jasper (Eds.), Consuming Passions: Feminist Approaches to Weight Preoccupation and Eating Disorders(pp. 16-35). Toronto: Second Story Press. Buchanan, K. S. (1993). Creating beauty in blackness. In C. Brown,& K. Jasper (Eds.), Consuming Passions: Feminist Approaches to Weight Preoccupation and Eating Disorders. (pp.36-51). Toronto: Second Story Press. Darling-Wolf, F. (2009). From airbrushing to liposuction: The technological reconstruction of the female body. In B.A. Crow, &L. Gotell(3rdEd.), Open Boundaries: A Canadian Women’s Studies Reader(pp.251-256). Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc. 10 International Journal of Gender and Women‟s Studies, Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2018 Davis, K. (2008). Intersectionality as buzzword: A sociology of science perspective on what makes a feminist theory successful. Feminist theory, 9(1), pp. 67-85. de Oliveira, C., Kurdyak, P., Cheng, J., Colton, P., & Olmsted, M. (2017). The direct health care costs of eating disorders among hospitalized patients: A population-based study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(12), pp. 1385-1393. Dellinger, K. & Williams, C.L. (1997). Makeup at work: Negotiating appearance rules in the workplace. Gender and Society, 11, pp. 151-177. Eller, G. M. (2014). On fat oppression. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 24(3), pp. 219-245. Fikkan, J.J., & Rothblum, E. (2012). Is fat a feminist issue? Exploring the gendered nature of weight bias. Sex Roles, 66(9-10), pp. 575-592. Gurrieri, L., &Cherrier, H. (2013). Queering beauty: Fatshionistas in the fatosphere. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 16(3), pp. 276-295. hooks, b. (1992). Black looks: Race and representation. South End Press. Boston, MA. Jeffreys, S. (2005). Beauty and misogyny: Harmful cultural practices in the West. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group (1sted.). London and New York. Kelly, L. (2007). Lesbian body image perceptions: The context of body silence. Qualitative Health Research, 17, pp. 873- 883. Kilbourne, J. (2010). Killing us softly 4[Motion Picture]. United States: Media EducationFoundation. Klatt, J., Eimler, S.C., &Krämer, N. C. (2016). Makeup your mind: The impact of styling on perceived competence and warmth of female leaders. Journal of Social Psychology, 156(5), pp. 483-497. Larbi, M. (2017), People are rightfully outraged over this „racist‟ Dove Facebook ad. [Online] Available :http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/08/people-are-rightfully-outraged-over-this-racist-dove-facebook-