Approximate reading time: 3 minutes

Body Image

Our bodies take us through life, but how we see them is often shaped by society’s labels that can make us feel less important, left out, and less human. Stretch marks, scars, cellulite, acne, muscles, fat, curves and birthmarks are devoid of meaning, except the meaning we give to them. Fitness magazines, airbrushed images of celebrities, computer generated images, movies, and music videos are presented to us as reality, which causes a warped perception about what actual human bodies look like, naked and clothed. These unrealistic standards can lead to a distorted self-image and heightened body dissatisfaction. When we are inundated with and overwhelmed by these idealised images, we are left questioning our own self-worth and beauty. If what we find beautiful depends on who is looking, how can we learn to see ourselves as beautiful just the way we are? How can we remove all the false messages from the media, society, family and friends?

The internalisation of beauty ideals significantly impacts body image, leading to dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviours, self-objectification, and lowered self-esteem. This influence is evident across various demographics and is exacerbated by media exposure.

1. Increased Body Dissatisfaction: Exposure to widely accepted (hegemonic) beauty ideals, especially through social media, makes people more unhappy with their own bodies. This effect is moderated by the internalisation of gender-specific beauty ideals (Castellanos Silva & Steins, 2023).
2. Heightened Body Image Concerns: Higher internalisation of beauty ideals portrayed by the media leads to greater body image dissatisfaction, particularly in specific demographic groups like Asian American women (Lau et al., 2006).
3. Disordered Eating Behaviours: Internalisation of beauty ideals, such as thinness and big muscles, can lead to disordered eating behaviours and muscularity-oriented behaviours (Hoffmann & Warschburger, 2019).
4. Self-Objectification and Comparison: Greater overall social media use is associated with increased self-objectification — the process of viewing oneself primarily as an object to be evaluated based on physical appearance, rather than for personal qualities or competencies (Fardouly et al., 2018).
5. Influence on Self-Esteem: Passive use — just scrolling — of platforms like Facebook influences women’s internalisation of societal beauty ideals, inversely related to their body satisfaction and self-esteem (Strubel et al., 2018).
6. Impact on BIPOC People: The internalisation of idealised media images negatively impacts the body image and satisfaction with self-appearance of Black, Indigenous and Person of Colour (BIPOC) people (Capodilupo, 2015).
7. Influence on Adolescents: Adolescents internalise media messages about established beauty standards, leading to increased dissatisfaction with body size/shape and potentially unhealthy behaviours to achieve “ideal beauty” (Uchôa et al., 2017).
8. Media’s Role in Shaping Ideals: Parents, peers and mass media contribute to the degree to which adolescents internalise cultural ideals, decreasing their level of body satisfaction and increasing fashion consumption behaviour (Manchiraju & Damhorst, 2016).
9. Media-Induced Negative Mood and Self-Esteem: Exposure to “thin-and-beautiful” media images negatively affects body image and mood states of young women (Yamamiya et al., 2005).