What can we do about it?
We desperately need as a society a mass wave of positive body acceptance. But it can only start with you. That is where change begins and spreads. So here are some ways you can act to help yourself and help others:
1. Build up your self-esteem. Make it a mission! Self-esteem is an important aspect of body image - it is a mediator between social information and our interpretation of it (Steg et al., 2008). So increasing one's self esteem may be one of the most important ways of alleviating problems of body image.
2. Get healthy - both in your mind and your body. Improving one's general health to, including physical exercise and nutrition has been shown to be important, not only for improving function and health of the body but also improving our self-worth - both of which help to counteract body dissatisfaction (Steg et al., 2008).
3. Look at all the influences in your life that may be contributing to your body image and take steps to correct it. Have a critical friend or boyfriend? Find new friends. Find you feel bad after looking at a fashion magazine? Go on a media cleanse - surround yourself with only positive images. Take a class, find new skills, and take action to feel as good as you can about yourself. The world needs you!
4. Question the social ideal body. I cannot stress this enough. That image of perfection that women compare themselves to is not healthy. It is not perfect. We only make it so. Nor is it real! That airbrushed and manipulated image is not the truth.
5. Pay attention to your thoughts. This is very important to learn how you actually internalize these media standards. Pay attention to what you say as you look at them. Pay attention to what you say when you look at your own body.
6. Challenge the image you see in the mirror. Know that the mind is capable of distortion, EVEN WITH WHAT YOU SEE.
7. Pay attention to your body. Develop body awareness. Become its owner. Take a yoga class, meditate or learn body relaxation techniques. These will all help you reconnect with your body and help minimize our distortions in perception.
8. Take time each day to be grateful for all the wonderful things your body does for you. Thank your body consciously for all the great work it does to keep you moving and alive. If you don’t know what all the parts of you are….then learn! Your body is really a miracle of nature!
9. Revisit the influences you have had as a child and re-evaluate them. Did a neighbour make a comment? - look at how those influences have helped you form your own body image.
10. Deal with your wounds in a safe and supported manner. Sometimes in our lives, we carry hurts that are expressed emotionally through our body image. Seek help and advice from people you can trust.
11. Get help from a professional if you suspect you have an eating disorder. You absolutely deserve to heal this issue. No question.
12. Forget all or nothing beliefs - no one is perfect - you don’t have to be perfect to be loved. Nor do flaws make you unlovable or unattractive
13. Value who you are as a whole person
14. Learn about your mind - learn to distinguish what is real and what is not.
15. Stop talking negatively about your body in front of others.
Becoming a critical viewer of the media:
1. Challenge media images - out loud! Inform others that they are unrealistic and harmful
2. Media messages can only influence us when we are not aware of the message they are sending us. Being informed of how the media dictates beauty standards is a positive step in protecting ourselves.
The Canadian Women's Health Network suggests that:
· Women need to remember that the images shown in the media are not real.
· Recognize in the media when and how physical attractiveness is linked with being healthy, successful or happy.
· Join a support group for women that celebrates the range of women's natural body shapes
· Become involved in campaigns to pressure the media to change the ways they show idealized body types.
· Support media forms that have more realistic models - look at the links for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty for an example of how advertising can make us feel good about our physical selves.
2. Get healthy - both in your mind and your body. Improving one's general health to, including physical exercise and nutrition has been shown to be important, not only for improving function and health of the body but also improving our self-worth - both of which help to counteract body dissatisfaction (Steg et al., 2008).
3. Look at all the influences in your life that may be contributing to your body image and take steps to correct it. Have a critical friend or boyfriend? Find new friends. Find you feel bad after looking at a fashion magazine? Go on a media cleanse - surround yourself with only positive images. Take a class, find new skills, and take action to feel as good as you can about yourself. The world needs you!
4. Question the social ideal body. I cannot stress this enough. That image of perfection that women compare themselves to is not healthy. It is not perfect. We only make it so. Nor is it real! That airbrushed and manipulated image is not the truth.
5. Pay attention to your thoughts. This is very important to learn how you actually internalize these media standards. Pay attention to what you say as you look at them. Pay attention to what you say when you look at your own body.
6. Challenge the image you see in the mirror. Know that the mind is capable of distortion, EVEN WITH WHAT YOU SEE.
7. Pay attention to your body. Develop body awareness. Become its owner. Take a yoga class, meditate or learn body relaxation techniques. These will all help you reconnect with your body and help minimize our distortions in perception.
8. Take time each day to be grateful for all the wonderful things your body does for you. Thank your body consciously for all the great work it does to keep you moving and alive. If you don’t know what all the parts of you are….then learn! Your body is really a miracle of nature!
9. Revisit the influences you have had as a child and re-evaluate them. Did a neighbour make a comment? - look at how those influences have helped you form your own body image.
10. Deal with your wounds in a safe and supported manner. Sometimes in our lives, we carry hurts that are expressed emotionally through our body image. Seek help and advice from people you can trust.
11. Get help from a professional if you suspect you have an eating disorder. You absolutely deserve to heal this issue. No question.
12. Forget all or nothing beliefs - no one is perfect - you don’t have to be perfect to be loved. Nor do flaws make you unlovable or unattractive
13. Value who you are as a whole person
14. Learn about your mind - learn to distinguish what is real and what is not.
15. Stop talking negatively about your body in front of others.
Becoming a critical viewer of the media:
1. Challenge media images - out loud! Inform others that they are unrealistic and harmful
2. Media messages can only influence us when we are not aware of the message they are sending us. Being informed of how the media dictates beauty standards is a positive step in protecting ourselves.
The Canadian Women's Health Network suggests that:
· Women need to remember that the images shown in the media are not real.
· Recognize in the media when and how physical attractiveness is linked with being healthy, successful or happy.
· Join a support group for women that celebrates the range of women's natural body shapes
· Become involved in campaigns to pressure the media to change the ways they show idealized body types.
· Support media forms that have more realistic models - look at the links for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty for an example of how advertising can make us feel good about our physical selves.
I hope this has been informative for you. I hope it has changed how you see yourself and others. I hope this is part of a positive move to changing how we perceive our physical selves, and how our society shapes our perceptions. Thanks for reading!