Body Image
Body image refers to the way a person perceives and feels about their body.
Body image is developed over a lifetime and they are influenced by a range of factors, including representation in the media, cultural traditions, and attitudes of friends and relations.
The influence of these factors can be demonstrated by looking at women's fashions and film stars over the past century. In the early decades of the twentieth century, the visual images we have of women are fairly well-rounded when compared with today's rather more angular stereotypes.
Images are repeatedly projected at us by the mass media, movie companies, fashion houses, in fact anyone who has anything to sell. These images stereotype men and women by constantly representing the 'ideal' body type. These stereotypes become a standard by which people judge themselves – and others.
Representation in the media
Television, magazines, movies, newspapers, billboards, and the internet are all powerful creators of the 'desirable' man or woman. They reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes with which we compare the reality of our own body. Similarities between the 'ideal' and our own bodies are commended and differences are considered unattractive.
Visual images of the 'ideal' woman are used to sell everything from cars to ice cream. This commodification of the female body (that is, treating the body as property – something which can be traded or traded upon) can lead women to identify their physical appearance as a type of currency – personal worth or value as measured by body type. The closer to the 'ideal', the more valuable (or valued) the person feels.
Cultural traditions
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as modified by particular cultural traditions. Different cultures have different ideas of physical beauty. For example, tattoos, body piercing and small feet are valued attributes in non-Western cultures and, in direct opposition to Western ideals of beauty, some South Pacific cultures consider ‘big is beautiful’. The point is that there is no right or wrong; physical beauty is a matter of cultural taste.
Cultural traditions are difficult to resist, especially as they are reinforced by media representations of an epitome of beauty, as well as being reflected in our everyday relationships.
Attitudes of family and friends
Attitudes of people with whom we have a close relationship are influential in two ways. First, in reinforcing a stereotype by positive comments and conversations regarding the ideal body type. Second, through criticism of 'perceived' differences from the ideal, especially if these criticisms concern ourselves. These criticisms and comments can be about anything from hair colour to weight. Casual comments can be as devastating to the recipient as strident criticism. Statements such as ‘you should lose a bit of weight’ or ‘she looks so good now that she has lost those extra pounds’ can engender a negative self-image. That, in turn, can lead to a loss of self-confidence, eating disorders and social or behavioural problems.
Sport and body image
Stereotypes influence the types of sports in which women are likely to participate. Not only are sports labelled masculine or feminine, those female athletes who participate in sports are also subject to being labelled and stereotyped as either masculine (possibly lesbian) or feminine (conforming to the ideal).
Sport can be a liberating experience for women, in that it offers them a chance to be in control of their own bodies. However, when women start to develop attributes that are perceived to be masculine, for example, muscle bulk and competitiveness, they are often subject to a type of harassment that comes of stepping outside the conventional range of the idealised female body type. There are a number of athletes who have received this sort of public treatment. Bev Francis, Dawn Fraser, Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport are among them.
Diet and exercise are used by women to alter their body in order to conform to ideal female images. These practices control women and can lead to eating disorders. There is concern regarding the relationship between eating disorders and elite female athletes, especially in sports with an emphasis on aesthetics and body presentation.
Research has clearly linked negative body image with the prevalence of eating disorders, and the susceptibility of those women with negative body image to develop poor eating behaviours. The relationship is consistent, almost every person suffering from an eating disorder suffers from a severely distorted body image.
Taking action, participate and feel great
Research in the United States has found that women who participate in sports and physical activity have a more positive body image than those who don’t. Participation in sports elicits approval from peers, family and friends, and helps women feel that their bodies are capable and competent. These positive feelings produce a positive body image.
Although body image is profoundly shaped by social, political, racial, age and gender factors, these experiences are not static and are vulnerable to other more modern influences. We have the power to resist and change these stereotypes. By refusing the stereotype, women will have access to a greater diversity of experiences that shape body image and self-concept.
