- "Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body."
The relationship between gender and the societal standards of physical attractiveness, and the impact of these standards on body image.
Gender identity: The internal sense of whether one identifies as male, female, or non-binary.
Gender expression: The way in which individuals choose to express their gender identity through clothing, behavior, and appearance.
Gender stereotypes: Preconceived notions of what is typically associated with being male or female.
Gender role socialization: The process by which individuals learn and internalize culturally prescribed behaviors and expectations associated with their gender.
Gender dysphoria: A diagnostic term used to describe the distress experienced by individuals who feel their gender identity is incongruent with their biological sex.
Body image: The subjective perception and evaluation of one's own body.
Body shaming: The act of making someone feel ashamed or embarrassed about their body.
Eating disorders: A range of mental health conditions characterized by disordered eating patterns that negatively impact one's physical and mental health.
Media and body image: The influence of media on an individual's body image and perception of beauty standards.
Intersectionality and body image: Examining how different aspects of identity, such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, intersect with body image experiences.
- "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."