Body Image & Self-Esteem

We are our own worst critics.....

A Knowledge Check-In

What is body image?

What is self-esteem?

How do you think body image affects self-esteem?

Who is affected by body image?

Should physical appearances define self-esteem?

What can happen when people have low self-esteem?

Are people treated differently based on appearances? Why?

Actual Factuals:

Everyone IS different - and that’s great!

People come in all shapes and sizes

Having self-esteem is a crucial part of being a happy, healthy person

Our society puts pressure on everyone to look a certain way, whether or not we realize it

Being healthy is key, not striving to look a certain way (usually unattainable)

Actual Factuals:

Everyone has a bad day and feels down about themselves once in a while, and that’s okay - just don’t take these bad feelings to heart and don’t focus all your energy on the bad

We can help ourselves and others improve their self-esteem!

Rate Yourself

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being “I hate it” to 10 being “I love it”, rate each of the following:

Thighs

Breasts

Lips

Face

Height

Hair

Arms

Kidney

Heart

Stomach (External)

Stomach (internal organ)

Rate Yourself: Discussion

We’re all very critical of our external body parts in terms of how they look, such as our thighs, instead of what they do for us, like allow us to stand and walk

When we think of our internal body parts, we don’t pass judgement on how they look, but on how they work

Our bodies are tools we use for our whole lives and we need to take care of them

There’s a difference between having confidence in your body and being self-absorbed. It’s okay to like our bodies and what they do for us.

The Barbie Effect

If Barbie were real, she...

Would be 7 feet tall and 110 pounds

Would be unable to walk

Her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimetres of bowel. A real woman built like that would have chronic diarrhea and eventually die of malnutrition.

How do you think this affects the self-esteem and body image of girls who play with this doll and dolls like her (i.e. Bratz)?

The Media Effect

Things the media edits:

Body features are enhanced with props, lighting angles, and computer programs

Shapes and sizes are altered

Blemishes, freckles, lines, wrinkles, skin folds, and any other distinguishing features are edited out

Body parts from different people are combined to create what’s in the picture

“Body doubles” are common in films when body parts of lead actors don’t measure up to the media’s image

The Media Effect

We’re our worst critics.

We get these messages from the media (ads, movies, actors, etc.) that there is a “perfect” body type.

This isn’t true. For someone to actually have that “perfect” body, there has to be a lot of things in place, such as a personal trainer, chef, hair and makeup stylists, plastic surgery, air brushing blemishes away, etc.

This perfection is UNATTAINABLE!

What We’re “Told” Is “Right”

The Photoshop Effect

The Photoshop Effect: Discuss

How do these photoshopped images, telling us that’s the norm, make us feel about ourselves??

8 of 10 people in America have a negative body image.

Video: Amy (Dove)

Amy Discussion

How did this video make you feel? Can any of you identify with it?

“F**kin’ Perfect” - P!NK

P!NK Discussion

How did this video make you feel?

How did body image play a role?

How can we go beyond what the media and society portray as the “perfect” body?

1. Are fat people discriminated in today’s society?

There are fewer clothing choices for larger people.

Airline seats are small and large people have to buy two seats.

There is job discrimination against fat people - given equal qualifications and employer will pick the smaller person.

Fat jokes are considered acceptable.

Plus size models are actually the average size.

0 and 00 sizing encourages women to take up less space, be smaller.

2. Going on a diet that limits the food you eat is the ideal way of going on a diet.

FALSE!

Fad diets work only 5% of the time.

It seems to be easier to go on a diet than to exercise.

Dieting creates an endless cycle of feeling good then bad (to keep weight off, you need to exercise, not just lack of food).

Why do we try to achieve an ideal weight instead of the weight that’s right for our body?

We’re thinking about what we look like instead of what our body needs to do for us.

If the focus of exercise is to get thinner, then we don’t know when to stop.

We need food, rest, exercise, love, and friendship to be healthy .

3. Weight charts are a reliable standard for all people.

FALSE!

People have different body types and builds.

Insurance companies actually created the BDI (Body Density Index) and weight charts to set guidelines for charging insurance premiums.

The BDI includes age, height, and weight, but doesn’t include bone density, muscle mass, or body type.

4. What society describes as beautiful doesn’t change with time.

FALSE!

The Beauty Evolution in Society:

1700’s: Women were fat and pale as a sign of affluence

1800’s: Corsets and the hour glass figure caused women to faint because they couldn’t breathe

1920’s: Being boxy and boyish was “in”

1930-60: Marilyn Monroe type with large breasts and big hips

1960’s: Twiggy types being extremely thin with extreme dieting and anorexia/bulimia

The Beauty Evolution in Society continued

1970-80’s: Jane Fonda worked out obsessively and dieted excessively.

1990’s: Heroine chic with underdeveloped bodies.

Kate Moss: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”

Women of colour shown more often, but with lightened faces and very white features.

Breast enlargements and implants.

Present: Megan Fox type - dieting, tattoos.

Mostly about what society thinks is “hot” at the time.

Brainstorming Activity

What can we do to make ourselves feel better about our bodies? Make others feel better about their bodies?

Thanks!!