- "Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body."
A study that examines the relationship between media consumption and body image issues.
Media representations of body image: The ways in which media outlets depict and create images of body types and sizes, and how these portrayals can shape attitudes and behaviors towards body image.
The impact of social media on body image: Social media platforms have become a major vehicle for sharing and disseminating images of the body, leading to concerns regarding the impact of these images on body image and self-esteem.
Psychological theories related to body image: Theoretical perspectives from cognitive psychology, social psychology, and other branches of psychology can help us understand how individuals form and maintain their body image perceptions.
Cultural variations in body image: Different cultures have different ideals of beauty and acceptability, which have an impact on how media representations of body image are received and perceived.
Eating disorders and body image: Some individuals with eating disorders are influenced by media representations of body image and struggle to maintain their own body weight and shape.
Advertising and body image: Advertising uses body image as a selling point for a variety of products, leading to questions about the ethical implications of this marketing technique.
The role of gender in body image: Gender influences the ways in which individuals perceive and feel about their bodies, as well as the ways in which media representations of body image are created and disseminated.
Body shaming and bullying: The use of negative language, comments, and other forms of bullying towards others based on their body type and shape can have a negative effect on self-esteem and body image.
Media literacy: Developing the skills to critically analyze and interpret media messages related to body image, and to challenge negative or unrealistic portrayals of the body in media.
Role models and representative media: Identifying and promoting positive role models and media representations of diverse body types and shapes can have a positive impact on attitudes and behaviors towards body image.
Advertising: The use of visual and written communication to promote products, services, or ideas. Advertising can have a significant impact on body image because it often features models or celebrities with unrealistic body standards.
Television and Film: Television and film can shape our understanding and expectations of what our bodies should look like. Often, characters on television and in movies embody idealized body types, leading to unrealistic expectations and harmful body image issues.
Social Media: Social media can contribute to negative body image since it is often used to share images and stories about our bodies. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat allow users to compare themselves to others, resulting in a distorted perception of body image.
Magazines: Similar to advertising, magazines are known for featuring celebrity and model bodies with unrealistic standards. Women's magazines in particular are infamous for promoting unrealistic beauty standards.
Video Games: Video games can have a significant impact on body image since they often feature idealized and unrealistic body types. Video games that emphasize physical attributes, such as sports games, can promote negative body image issues.
Music: Music videos featuring attractive and thin performers can create an unrealistic image of what our bodies should look like. Additionally, lyrics and themes in popular music can reinforce and strengthen harmful body image views.
Fashion: The fashion industry has been criticized for promoting unhealthy body standards. High fashion models are often underweight and unhealthy, promoting unrealistic body types.
News Media: News media can contribute to negative body image issues when messages about health and body norms are transmitted. Health news can often sensationalize certain aspects of health, such as weight and dieting, leading to harmful and distorted body image perceptions.
Body Art: Body art can also impact body image. In recent years, cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, breast implants, and tummy tucks have become more popular, affecting how we view and experience our bodies.
Food and Beauty Industry: The food and beauty industries can also have a significant impact on body image. The industry can heighten body dissatisfaction by promoting products with unrealistic promises and showcasing images of idealized models.
- "The concept of body image is used in a number of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies."
- "Across these disciplines, there is no single consensus definition."
- "Body image consists of the ways people view themselves; their memories, experiences, assumptions, and comparisons about their own appearances; and their overall attitudes towards their own respective heights, shapes, and weights—all of which are shaped by prevalent social and cultural ideals."
- "Body image can be negative ('body negativity') or positive ('body positivity')."
- "In a time where social media holds a very important place and is used frequently in our daily lives, people of different ages are affected emotionally and mentally by the appearance and body size/shape ideals set by the society they live in."
- "These standards created and changed by society created a world filled with body shaming; the act of humiliating an individual by mocking or making critical comments about a person's physiological appearance."
- "Such behavior creates body dissatisfaction and higher risks of eating disorders, isolation, and mental illnesses in the long term."
- "In eating disorders, a negative body image may also lead to body image disturbance, an altered perception of the whole one's body."
- "Body dissatisfaction also characterizes body dysmorphic disorder, an obsessive-compulsive disorder defined by concerns about some specific aspect of one's body which is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix."
- "Often, people who have a low body image will try to alter their bodies in some way, such as by dieting or by undergoing cosmetic surgery."
- "Many factors contribute to a person's body image, including family dynamics, mental illness, biological predispositions and environmental causes for obesity or malnutrition, and cultural expectations (e.g., media and politics)."
- "People who are either underweight or overweight can have poor body image."
- "those who are normal or overweight on the BMI scale have higher risks of poor body image."
- "A 2007 report by the American Psychological Association found that a culture-wide sexualization of girls and women was contributing to increased female anxiety associated with body image."
- "An Australian government Senate Standing Committee report on the sexualization of children in the media reported similar findings associated with body image."
- "However, other scholars have expressed concern that these claims are not based on solid data."
- "All of which are shaped by prevalent social and cultural ideals."
- "A person with a negative body image may feel self-conscious or ashamed, and may feel that others are more attractive."
- "On the other hand, positive body image consists of perceiving one's figure clearly and correctly, celebrating and appreciating one's body, and understanding that one's appearance does not reflect one's character or worth."