WHAT IS BODY IMAGE?

• Is made up of a person's beliefs, thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and actions about their body and appearance

• the way an individual views their own physical self, either in a negative or positive light, and is possibly influenced by various factors including social media, magazines and TV/film
  

• Is important because the way we see ourselves influences every aspect of our lives like our mental health, our physical health, how we take care of ourselves, and how we interact with and relate to other people

• Individuals who suffer from eating disorders often have negative or distorted views of themselves, their bodies, and their appearance

• They may also have a tendency to see their body shape and weight as ways to determine self-worth

• However, the majority of people with body image concerns or body image dissatisfaction do NOT have eating disorders, and some individuals with eating disorders do not have body image concerns

• Negative body image can develop from weight stigma, muscularity, sexual functioning, scars, visible facial or body differences, disability, body changes related to medical procedures, or disease

• Body image concern can range from minor discontentment or low self-esteem, to depression, or anxiety

• Healthy body image = an objective, undistorted view of the body and appearance

• People with a healthy body image do not spend a large amount of time checking their body or perceived flaws, or comparing themselves to others

• Having a healthy body image can mean that a person is able to engage in their social, sexual, work, or private lives without body image concerns getting in the way. It can also mean accepting some dissatisfaction with one's body image/appearance, and engaging life's day-to-day activities despite this concern.

• Includes identifying the unrealistic and unattainable standards of beauty and thinness portrayed in the media, and avoiding making comparisons with these portrayals,

• Developing and fostering a healthy body image cannot guarantee good mental/physical health alone, but it can provide a layer of protection against poor self-esteem, disordered eating patterns, weight cycling, and other mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphic disorder

THE EFFECTS OF THE MEDIA ON BODY IMAGE

• For women, the ideal is usually composed of being slender and attractive

• For men, the ideal includes being tall, lean, muscular, and masculine

• When an individual feels the need to live up to the standard, or internalizes this standard of beauty and body image, they can develop negative body image or body dissatisfaction

• Body dissatisfaction can lead to a more serious mental health condition like body dysmorphic disorder (a person becomes preoccupied with their appearance and perceived flaws in their appears that aren't observable by others)

• Negative body image can lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia, and are, to some degree, distinguished by a distorted view of one's body shape or weight and significant body dissatisfaction

• Weight-related stigma has been a significant factor affecting the well-being of people in larger bodies, with biases and discriminatory treatment occurring across various social settings

• Negative body image can cause a cycle of weight loss vs. regain, and self-acceptance vs. self-loathing

• Instagram influencers/celebrities have achieved millions of followers, and since social media platforms, like Instagram, are prevalent amongst teenage girls, they may feel overwhelmed by the pressure to change their appearance to fit the image that these influencers are creating.
  

By associating thinness with other desirable attributes such as wealth and desirability, dramas such as Grey's Anatomy reinforce the idea that it's better to be underweight - a perception that's found in both girls and boys. Similarly, girls who regularly watch reality television such as Netflix's popular Too Hot To Handle, in which scantily clad men and women develop relationships without physically touching one another, are significantly more likely to believe that a girl's looks are the most important thing about her, as well as being more likely to say they would rather people recognize them for their outer beauty than what's inside. - Media Smarts

DEVELOPING HEALTHY BODY IMAGE

• Weight inclusivity and acceptance of all body shapes, sizes, and weights

• Health enhancement through equal access and personal practices that improve overall well-being

• Acknowledgement of weight stigma and weight bias

• Promotion of flexible, individualized, intuitive eating without focusing on weight control

• Support and promotion of enjoyable physical activity that is accessible by people of all sizes, abilities, and interests

• How? (these are tips, not preventative methods or treatment interventions for serious mental health concerns)

• Educating yourself about the influence of the media on body image

• Helps you to begin to challenge the pressure to live up to an unattainable and unrealistic standard of size and beauty

• Limiting exposure to certain forms of media can be helpful

• Become aware of what factors, besides body size, shape, and weight, represent a healthy body (e.g. blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, physical fitness, or engaging in regular physical activity)

• Parents can help their children develop a healthy body image by...

• Encouraging self-acceptance

• Avoiding making critical comments about their child's food intake or body weight or shape

• Avoiding engaging in behaviours that communicate the promotion of poor body esteem (e.g. frequent dieting or self-deprecating talk about their own bodies)

• Practice regular acknowledgement of the parts of your body or your appearance that you like

• Make a list of the functions that your body performs (e.g. walking, swimming, yoga, etc), and engage regularly in those activities that make you feel good in your body

• Cut down or work towards stopping to check your body for flaws, and comparing your body to others'

• Access self-help materials

• Seek support from a qualified mental health provider when attempting to make positive changes in your body image, or for assistance when coping with negative body image or body dissatisfaction

OTHER TIPS from heretohelp.bc.ca

Treat your body with respect.

Eat well-balanced meals and exercise because it makes you feel good and strong, not as a way to control your body.

Notice when you judge yourself or others based on weight, shape, or size. Ask yourself if there are any other qualities you could look for when those thoughts come up.

Dress in a way that makes you feel good about yourself, in clothes that fit you now.

Find a short message that helps you feel good about yourself and write it on mirrors around your home to remind you to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts.

Surround yourself with positive friends and family who recognize your uniqueness and like you just as you are.

Be aware of how you talk about your body with family and friends. Do you often seek reassurance or validation from others to feel good about yourself? Do you often focus only on physical appearances?

Remember that everyone has challenges with their body image at times. When you talk with friends, you might discover that someone else wishes they had a feature you think is undesirable.

Write a list of the positive benefits of the body part or feature you don't like or struggle to accept.

The next time you notice yourself having negative thoughts about your body and appearance, take a minute to think about what's going on in your life. Are you feeling stressed out, anxious, or low? Are you facing challenges in other parts of your life? When negative thoughts come up, think about what you'd tell a friend if they were in a similar situation and then take your own advice.

Be mindful of messages you hear and see in the media and how those messages inform the way people feel about the way they look. Recognize and challenge those stereotypes! You can learn more about media literacy at www.mediasmarts.ca. 

Ask your community centre, mental health organization or school about resiliency skills programs, which can help people increase self-esteem and well-being in general.

CHALLENGING MEDIA'S MESSAGES ABOUT BODY IMAGE from mediasmarts.ca

• Media are constructions that re-present reality.
  
• Who created this media product?
• What is its purpose?
• What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have about body issues?
• Media have social and ideological implications.
  
• What body shapes are shown more positively or negatively than others?
• Why might these body shapes be shown this way?
• Which body shapes are not shown at all?
• What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?
• Media have commercial implications.
  
• What is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other words, how will it help someone make money?)
• What kinds of "conventional wisdom" about what kinds of body shapes are attractive to audiences (for instance, that consumers will reject models who are not thin, or that movie audiences expect male actors to be muscular) might influence media makers' decisions?
• How does this influence the content and how it's communicated?
• What were the costs of making and distributing this product?
• How do those purposes influence the content and how it's communicated?
• Audiences negotiate meaning in media.
  
• How might different people (for instance, men and women, or people who do not have "ideal" body shapes) see this media product differently?
• How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people portrayed in the media product?
• If you had a chance to speak to the people who made this media product, what would you ask or tell them?
• If you had a chance to make a similar media product, how would you do it differently?
• Each medium has a unique form.
  
• What techniques does the media product use to get your attention and to communicate its message?
• In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various techniques (for example: lighting, makeup, camera angle, photo manipulation)?
• What are the expectations of the genre (for example: print advertising, TV drama, music video) towards body shape?
• Digital media are networked.
  
• How are you expected to interact with this message (Like or Favorite it, share it, etc.)
• How might the expected interactions have influenced how it was made? (For example, how might it have been posed, selected or manipulated to get more likes?)
• Digital media are shareable and persistent.
  
• How did this product get to you? Was it because you are mutual friends with the maker, because you follow the maker, because someone else shared it with you, or because you found it in a different way?
• If you made the product, how did you share it? How did that influence how you made it?
• Was the product meant to be shared widely? If so, what did the maker do to encourage others to share it? If not, what did the maker do to try to limit people's ability to share or copy it?
• Digital media have unexpected audiences.
  
• Who was the intended audience for the product? How did the intended audience influence how it was made? (For example, how would a photo you post for your friends to see be different from one for your parents, or a romantic partner?)
• How might the product be interpreted differently if it was seen by an audience other than the one it was meant for?
• Were you the intended audience for the product? If so, how did that affect how you responded to it? If not, how did the product reach you?
• Digital media experiences are shaped by the tools we use.
• What tools were used to make and distribute this product?
• What are the tools' affordances - in other words, what does the tool let you do? (For example, are there limits on how many photos you can post to your account at one time? How much freedom do you have to modify your avatar in an online game? Are there tools like filters that let you manipulate a photo?)
• What are the tools' defaults - the things that the tool lets you do without having to specifically choose them? (For instance, photos self-destruct by default on Snapchat, but on Instagram you have to choose to do that. Some online games allow you to choose your avatar's body shape but give you an idealized shape by default.)
•  Interactions through digital media can have a real impact.
• Was the product made by someone you know offline or someone you don't (like a celebrity?) How does that change how it makes you feel?
• How does it make you feel to make and share pictures online? How do the things you do to make or choose the best pictures make you feel?
• What are the norms of your online communities when it to how people represent themselves? (For example, what will make a photo more likely to be shared? What kinds of photos will get negative comments? Do you often see photos or avatars that look like your own body shape? Will people react differently if you use an avatar who is less idealized?)

SELF-TEST from heretohelp.bc.ca

Add up the number of points in each response you circled. The higher the number, the higher your self-esteem.