The Psychological Truth of Body Image

Xinia Reyes





YEAH IT'S PSYCHOLOGICAL TOO!

In today’s society we’ve come to see a change in children, or maybe you’ve experienced this change if you grew up identifying with your own body image in a negative way. This type of change cries for the need to be beautiful. Although, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be beautiful, there are many psychological aspects that play a strong role in shaping a child’s body image towards a negative impact on children achieving this misconstrued concept.

Developmental Stages

Body image is “the various mental representations that we form about our bodies in different stages of life.” That image has great impact “on [ones] self-esteem, identity, mental health, and social functioning.” That being said, at each stage of development the child works with new frameworks to assert his/her own body image. There are two components from which children evaluate their body image. The perceptual component which is the accuracy of the child’s perception of their body size and shape. Then there is the attitudinal component that are the emotions related with such perceptions. The psychoanalytical theory indicates that body images are formed at a young age. It’s here where children start to be dissatisfied with their bodies. Through such dissatisfaction children develop eating disorders, low self-esteem, and “poor psychological functioning.” 

One of the many disorders formed from negative mental body image is BDD: Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Children and even adults that suffer from BDD don’t have a normal life. It’s not something you can easily snap out of. They obsess over the flaws that they find wrong with their appearance, and feed off of that. Something as small as a scar, barely visible stretch marks, or a disproportion of the body can take hold of their whole mental stage. This dangerous disorder doesn’t not only affect women, but also men equally.

Attachment Theory

Through the attachment theory, we come to see how parents play a fundamental role in shaping a child’s own perspective of themselves. The theory states that we are brought up on attached behaviors by our caregivers, and based on our caregiver’s action to our “attachment needs” we develop our own sense of self in accordance to our body image. Children’s attachment needs can range from attention, touch, and care. Whether or not these needs are met by the caregiver will determine internal working models (IMW). Through these “cognitive maps of the self”, the child will think and feel the same way the caregiver did towards them in early developmental stages. They will also treat and view, their body the way they were raised, and expect others to treat them in the same manner. Sociologist Charles H. Cooley, explains that we see also see ourselves through the looking glass self . Through interactions we have with people, we evaluate ourselves based on what they think of us. Similar to the attachment theory, but the looking glass self is experienced from everyone not just caregivers.

Self-esteem

Self-esteem and the body go hand in hand with each other through out each developmental stage. Self-esteem refers to feelings of self-worth in which form from others perspectives of ourselves. We evaluate ourselves through different aspects such as “appearance, athleticism, intellect” and many more. It is much easier for a child to fall into levels of low self-esteem when they grow up seeing themselves as the caregiver does (if negatively). The feeling of self-worth also comes into play when evaluating their selves. It can grasp a hold on to relationships with others, and even with themselves. The relationship you have with yourself is something to hold sacred. Although, at times it is difficult to nurture a well-rounded relationship with our own body image the important thing to realize is that having a dissatisfying perspective of your body comes with low self-esteem, body-esteem, and sense of self. Not only is it a cruel way to live, but there is a missing opportunity to really understand one’s beauty. 

TED TALK: WHAT IS BEAUTY?

At first, Esther Honig had no idea that what started off as a simple selfie out of boredom would turn into a worldwide controversial topic. Through the power of social media, Honig’s question as to "what do YOU think beauty is?" helped her understand this concept. Honig took a selfie of herself without makeup, or fancy lighting, and sent it to photo editors around the world. She simply asked them to make her beautiful. This meant changes in facial features ranging from thickness of her eyebrows, plumpness of her lips, the spacing of her eyes to the faux freckles applied to her selfie. Each editor had their own unique interpretation of beauty. Even non-photo editors took it into their hands to portray her selfie differently from the various cultures and countries that didn’t provide their input. Honig was amazed at how different they had made her appear. She decided to send her Before and After project to Buzzfeed, and to her surprise it got published. However, as her project began to submerge into the social media culture her skepticism about it rose. Honig began to feel that social media had made Before and After shallow. They had completely missed her point when using her selfie to promote clothes, clickbait, and even wrinkle creams. A month had passed from her project’s stardom, and she asked her bi-racial friend, Priscilla Yuki Wilson to recreate her project in order for the world to comprehend that there is more depth to it. Priscilla’s own version of the project created a spark in western beauty standards. A month after that, a plus size fashion writer recreates her project to speak about beauty and body image. The extension of Honig’s project fuels young women around the world to start the most significant contribution Before and After could gift: a global conversation. Honig encourages everyone to take Before and After and stem off of it, because she believes others “have a perspective worth exploring.”

Since the topic of beauty does in fact exist in our younger generation I took the liberty of asking my 

second grade class a few questions concerning beauty. Here are their responses.

What is beauty?

“I don’t know. Beautiful.”

“Pretty.”

“Cute.”

"Beauty would be like if you say someone is beautiful that's kind of like saying someone is

beautiful. Beautiful and beauty are the same thing, but beautiful is spelled with more letters, because 

they are really beautiful."

Do you think Everyone is beautiful?

“Only girls.”

“No.”

Why?

“Some people think they are beautiful, but others don't because it is in their opinion.”

“Yes.”

Why?

“Because that's how god made them.”

What does it mean to be beautiful?

“Means your beautiful.”

“To be perfect like a star.”

“To put makeup on and lipstick.”

“Wearing makeup, dresses, necklaces, and earrings.”

Can we change the way we view our body? Better yet, the question I should be asking is: Can our society change the way we view our bodies? Beauty does not have to be something negative rather something beautiful in itself. As you’ve already read many of my second graders have a grasp of what beauty is. However, they only know the simplicity of it. Beauty is more than wearing makeup, but to them beauty is determined by appearances (like for many of us). Start where it matters, in a child’s early developmental stage. In return, the child will grow up with a better understanding of what beauty can be.

Works Cited

Knafo, Hannah. "The Development of Body Image in School-Aged Girls: A Review of the Literature from Sociocultural, Social Learning Theory, Psychoanalytic, and Attachment Theory Perspectives." New School Psychology Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 2, Jan. 2016, pp. 1-16. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=117912903&site=ehost-live.
Blackwell, Trish. Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Digital image. Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Odyssey,
10 Feb. 2016. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.
 Marco, Debbie.Girls can be negatively affected by their size from an early age. Digital image. How can you boost your daughter's body image. Express, 11 May 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Your weight is just a number on a scale, and it doesn’t change what kind of a person you are. Digital image. Rebloggy. N.p., 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.
TEDxTalks. "What Does It Mean to Be Beautiful? | Esther Honig | TEDxVancouver." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Dec. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.