Girls and women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Research has investigated various explanatory factors (e.g., lack of role models, sexism) in these patterns. However, to date, the roles of media use and body concerns have not been examined. This study investigated associations among appearance-focused social media behaviors (e.g., posting photos), objectified body consciousness (i.e., body shame, body surveillance), and attitudes toward math and science (i.e., self-expectancy, task value, cost, future plans) in a sample of U.S. middle school girls (N = 243). Results demonstrated that body shame partially mediated associations between appearance-focused social media behaviors and math and science attitudes. These findings suggest that media use and body concerns have implications for girls’ involvement in STEM fields.

在科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）领域，女孩和妇女的代表性不足。研究已经调查了这些模式中的各种解释性因素（例如，缺乏榜样，性别歧视）。但是，迄今为止，尚未研究媒体使用和身体关注的作用。这项研究调查了以外观为导向的社交媒体行为（例如，张贴照片），客观的身体意识（即，身体羞耻，身体监视）以及对数学和科学的态度（即，自我期望，任务价值，成本，未来）之间的关联。计划）的美国女中学生样本中（ñ= 243）。结果表明，身体羞耻部分地介导了以外表为中心的社交媒体行为与数学和科学态度之间的关联。这些发现表明，媒体的使用和对身体的关注对女孩参与STEM领域有影响。