Body image



Body image is a term which may refer to a person's perception of his or her own physical appearance, or the interpretation of the body by the brain. Essentially, body image describes how one perceives one's appearance to be to others, which in many cases may be dramatically different from one's objective physical condition or how one is actually perceived by others.

A 2007 report by the American Psychological Association found that a culture-wide sexualization[1] of girls (and women)[2] was contributing to increased female anxiety associated with body image.[3] Similar findings associated with body image were found by an Australian government Senate Standing Committee report on the sexualization of children in the media.[4][5]

Contents

History

From the point of view of psychoanalysis, the French child psychoanalyst Francoise Dolto has developed a theory concerning the unconscious body image.[6] Negative feelings towards a fat person's body can in some cases lead to mental disorders such as depression or eating disorders such as Bulimia nervosa, though there can be a variety of different reasons why these disorders can occur.

Within the media industry there have recently been popular debates focusing on how Size Zero models can negatively influence young people into feeling insecure about their own body image. It has been suggested that size zero models be banned from cat walks. Many celebrities are targeted by the media due to their often drastic weight loss and slender frames, examples of such personalities would be Victoria Beckham, Nicole Richie and British Super Model Kate Moss. Some examples of celebrity men targeted in a similar fashion can be found, but the media seem to focus principally on the effect that the Size Zero phenomenon has on young women. Media however, is generally quick to denounce celebrities endorsing fad diets, including popstars who describe girls who are not under a peer pressurized size, a "social suicide".[7]

Body image is often measured by asking the subject to rate their current and ideal body shape using a series of depictions. The difference between these two values is the amount of body dissatisfaction. Monteath and McCabe found that 44%[8] of women express negative feelings about both individual body parts and their bodies as a whole. Body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind, what you believe about your own appearance, how you feel about your body, including your height, shape, and weight.

Psychology Today found that 56% of the women and about 40% of the men who responded to their survey in 1997 were dissatisfied with their overall appearance.[9]

The desire to lose weight is highly correlated with poor body image, and more women than men desire to lose weight. Kashubeck-West et al. reported that when considering only men and women who desire to lose weight, sex differences in body image disappear.[10]

Men's body image is a topic of increasing interest in both academic articles and in the popular press. Current research indicates many men wish to become more muscular than they currently perceive themselves to be, often desiring up to 26 pounds of additional muscle mass.[11]

The desire for additional muscle has been linked to many men's concepts about masculinity. A variety of research has indicated a relationship between men's endorsement of traditionally masculine ideas and characteristics, and his desire for additional muscle[12]. Some research has suggested this relationship between muscle and masculinity may begin early in life, as boys' action figures are often depicted as super-muscular, often beyond the actual limits of human physiology.[13]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, American Psychological Association, 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf Report of the APA Task Force on the Sex of Girls, American Psychological Association, 2007.
  3. ^ http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, American Psychological Association, 2007.
  4. ^ http://www.aph.gov.au/SENATE/committee/eca_ctte/sexualisation_of_children/report/index.htm
  5. ^ http://www.aph.gov.au/SENATE/committee/eca_ctte/sexualisation_of_children/report/report.pdf
  6. ^ Francoise Dolto, L'image inconscient du corps. Paris: Seuil, 1984.
  7. ^ Online audition website peaks traffic
  8. ^ The influence of societal factors on female body image. J Soc Psychol. 1997 Dec;137(6):708-27
  9. ^ Psychology Today: Body Image Poll Results
  10. ^ Separating the effects of sex and weight-loss desire on body satisfaction
  11. ^ Pope, Phillips, & Olivardia 2000
  12. ^ McCreary, Saucier, &Courtenay 2005; Kimmel & Mahalik, 2004
  13. ^ Pope, et al. 1999

Sources

  • Blakeslee, S. "Out-of-Body Experience? Your Brain is to Blame." New York Times, October 3, 2006.
  • Debra L. Gimlin, Body Work: Beauty and Self Image in American Culture (University of California Press, 2002) ISBN 0520228561
  • Grogan, Sarah. Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children.
  • Melzack, R. “Phantom Limbs.” Scientific American, Secret of the Senses. 2006: 53-59.
  • Olivardia, R., Pope, H.G., Borowiecki, J.J., & Cohane, G.H. (2004). Biceps and body image: The relationship between muscularity and self-esteem, depression, and eating disorder symptoms. Psychology of men and masculinity, 5, 112-120.
  • Pope, H.G., Phillips, K.A., & Olivardia, R. (2000). The Adonis complex: The secret crisis of male body obsession. Sydney: The Free Press.
  • Ramachandran, V.S. A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness. New York: Pearson Education, 2004.
  • Ramachandran, V.S. and Rogers-Ramachandran, D. “Its All Done with Mirrors.” Scientific American Mind, August 2007: 16-18
  • Ridgeway, R.T., & Tylka, T.L. (2005). College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of men and masculinity, 6, 209-220.
  • Sacks, Oliver. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985.
  • Sherrington, C. S. The Integrated Action of the Nervous System. C Scribner's Sons, 1906.
  • Smetacek V, Mechsner F (2004). "Making sense". Nature 432 (7013): 21. doi:10.1038/432021a. PMID 15525964. 
  • Volkow N., & O'brein C. "Issue For DSM V: Should Obesity Be Included as a Brain Disorder?" The American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol. 164, 5, 708 (May 2007)

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image"