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Body image

Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body.[1] The concept of body image is used in several disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies; the media also often uses the term. Across these disciplines, there is no single consensus definition, but broadly speaking, body image consists of the ways people view themselves; their memories, experiences, assumptions, and comparisons about their appearances; and their overall attitudes towards their respective heights, shapes, and weights[2]—all of which are shaped by prevalent social and cultural ideals.

This article is about body image from a psychological, historical and sociological point of view. For body image from a neuroscientific viewpoint, see body image (neuroscience) and body schema. For the journal, see Body Image (journal).

Body image can be negative ("body negativity") or positive ("body positivity"). A person with a negative body image may feel self-conscious or ashamed and may feel that others are more attractive.[2] In a time where social media holds a very important place and is used frequently in our daily lives, people of different ages are affected emotionally and mentally by the appearance and body size/shape ideals set by the society they live in. These standards that are created and constantly changed by society, built a world filled with body shaming; the act of humiliating an individual by mocking or making critical comments about a person's physiological appearance.


Aside from having low self-esteem, sufferers typically fixate on altering their physical appearances. Such behavior creates body dissatisfaction and higher risks of eating disorders, isolation, and mental illnesses in the long term.[2] In eating disorders, a negative body image may also lead to body image disturbance, an altered perception of the whole one's body. Body dissatisfaction also characterizes body dysmorphic disorder, an obsessive-compulsive disorder defined by concerns about some specific aspect of one's body (usually face, skin or hair), which is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix. Often, people who have a low body image will try to alter their bodies in some way, such as by dieting or by undergoing cosmetic surgery. On the other hand, positive body image consists of perceiving one's figure clearly and correctly, celebrating and appreciating one's body, and understanding that one's appearance does not reflect one's character or worth.[2]


Many factors contribute to a person's body image, including family dynamics, mental illness, biological predispositions and environmental causes for obesity or malnutrition, and cultural expectations (e.g., media and politics). People who are either underweight or overweight can have poor body image.[3]


A 2007 report by the American Psychological Association found that a culture-wide sexualization of girls and women was contributing to increased female anxiety associated with body image.[4] An Australian government Senate Standing Committee report on the sexualization of children in the media reported similar findings associated with body image.[5] However, other scholars have expressed concern that these claims are not based on solid data.[6]

Causes[edit]

Fashion industry[edit]

Fashion magazines directed at females subtly promote thinness and diet practices, and teenagers heavily rely on them for beauty and fashion advice. Seventeen in particular recorded one of the highest number of articles devoted to appearances; 69% of girls reported that it had influenced their ideal body shapes.[85] 50% of advertisements featured also used beauty appeal to sell products.[86] The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 90% of teenage girls felt a need to change their appearances,[87] and that 81% of 10-year-olds were already afraid of being fat.[87] According to a survey by Manchester Metropolitan University, "self-esteem and views of body image suffered after the participants were shown magazine pictures of models, [suggests] that media portrayal of images can prolong anorexia and bulimia in women and may even be a cause of it".[23] A 2014 survey of 13- to 17-year-old Americans found that 90% "felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny",[88] and that 65% believed that the bodies portrayed were too thin.[88] More than 60% habitually compared themselves to models,[88] and 46% strove to resemble models' bodies.[88]


According to Dove's The 2017 Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report, "a total of 71% of women and 67% of girls want to call on the media to do a better job portraying women of diverse physical appearance, age, race, shape and size."[37] In addition, 67% of men now strongly believe that it is unacceptable for brands to use photo manipulation techniques to alter the body image of a model.[42] In response, the fashion magazine industry has made efforts to include 'real' women, and to reduce or ban the use of airbrushing tools. Likewise, some fashion brands and retailers adopt vanity sizing in their assortments to try to intentionally raise a customer's self-esteem while shopping in stores. This involves labeling clothes with smaller sizes than the actual cut of the items to trick and attract the consumer.


Fashion models themselves have experienced negative body image due to industry pressures: 69% reported that they were told to tone up,[89] while 62% reported that their agencies had required them to lose weight or change their body shapes.[89] 54% of models revealed that they would be dropped by their agencies if they failed to comply.[89] Models frequently have underweight body mass index (BMI): a study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders discovered that a majority of models had a BMI of 17.41,[89] which qualifies as anorexia. In the past twenty years, runway models have also transformed from a typical size 6–8 to 0–2. The average weight of an American model was recorded to be twenty-three percent less than that of an average American woman. In 2006, the fashion industry came under fire due to the untimely deaths of two models, Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolina Reston, both of whom had suffered from eating disorders and been severely underweight. Other models endure intensive exercise regimes, diets, fasts, and detoxes; in order to maintain or lose weight. In addition, 17% have admitted to stimulant abuse,[89] while another 8% frequently engaged in self-induced vomiting to induce weight loss.[89]


Fashion industry insiders argue that clothes hang better on tall, thin catwalk models, but critics respond that an overemphasis on that body type communicates an unhealthy and unrealistic body image to the public.[90]