Beauty and body image

This powerpoit was made by:Jéssica Nº12 9ºGGabriela Nº9 9ºG

Much has been written about body image over the past decades - almost all of it suggesting that both men and women are growing increasingly dissatisfied with their physical selves. Why are more people becoming dissatisfied with their appearance? The answer is certainly complex and influenced by a number of factors, including the growing disparity between our actual body weights and those of models, actors and celebrities depicted in advertising and the media.

Virginia, 12: "The best body is ribs, skin and bones, and that's the only thing I care about."

Karen, 15: "I'm fat and ugly. I have to lose twenty pounds. I need a nose job, my hair is a mousy color; my lips are too thin and I could use lip injections. I exercised my stomach muscles and now they're hard, but I still have a belly."

Media's Effect on Body Image

• The popular media (television, movies, magazines, etc.) have, since World War II, increasingly held up a thinner and thinner body image as the ideal for women.

• In a survey of girls 9 and 10 years old, 40% have tried to lose weight, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

• In a study on fifth graders, 10 year old girls and boys told researchers they were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or a clip from the TV show "Friends".

• A 1996 study found that the amount of time an adolescent watches soaps, movies and music videos is associated with their degree of body dissatisfaction and desire to be thin.

• One study reports that at age thirteen, 53% of American girls are "unhappy with their bodies." This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen.

Vulnerability of Boys: The Case of Muscle Dysmorphia

While boys do not appear to suffer from body dissatisfaction with quite the same frequency as girls, they are more at risk than was previously realized. Boys are also subject to the media representation of the "ideal" male body .Boys and men with extreme body dissatisfaction are at risk to develop a form of body dysmorphic disorder known as muscle dysmorphia. Previously termed "reverse anorexia," muscle dysmorphia involves a preoccupation with the idea that one's body is not sufficiently lean and muscular. Muscle dysmorphia involves a distortion in perception, where the level of muscle mass is underestimated. Individuals with muscle dysmorphia are more likely to engage in such dangerous behaviors as steroid use.

Risks

• depresion• anxiety • obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).• anorexia • Bulimia• Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Margaret, a 17 year old Caucasian female, was housebound for three months. Margaret repeatedly told her family that she was ashamed of multiple aspects of her appearance including her "big" nose, "small" breasts, "flat" hair and "bad" skin. In reality, these deformities were minimal or nonexistent. Margaret spent several hours per day scrutinizing her appearance in the mirror and constantly asked her family for reassurance that she looked okay. Her once-active social life dwindled down to nothing, as she routinely avoided dating and social situations. Recently, she decided to begin consulting with plastic surgeons in order to improve her appearance.

How Schools Can Help

• encourage discussions on sociocultural factors such as worship of thinness and muscularity,

• target prevention efforts at the younger age groups, as cases of anorexia in preteenagers have increased.

• maintain a library of material on body image distortion and eating disorders as well as literature on nutrition,

How Parents Can Help

• help adolescents realize that they are valued because they are unique, not because of appearance or thinness,

• accept their children's developing sexuality and encourage open expression of feeling,

• praise their children's positive abilities and talents,

• monitor negative comments about their own bodies.