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Shape-up your body image
What
you think of your body
can affect your self-esteem,
your eating habits, how
much or how little you
exercise, and your
relationships,
especially the intimate
kind.
What is body image?
Body image is thought to
be composed of four
different attitudes and
behaviors.
Satisfaction:
Refers to how satisfied
you are with your body
image appearance.
Investment:
Refers to the importance
you place on body image
physical appearance in
defining yourself and
determining self-worth.
Behavior: Refers
to appearance related
behaviors such as
grooming, concealing,
and avoiding the sight
of your body.
Perception:
Relates to how
accurately you estimate
your own body size.¹
(National Eating
Disorder Information
Center, Do women with
Low Self-esteem Use
Appearance to Feel
Better?, www.nedic.ca.
Retrieved June 7, 2007)
A distorted body image
starts to form early on
in life as we are fed an
endless stream of
unattainable body ideals
from the media Not only
are we bombarded with
media images in the
streets, but often our
friends and family
reinforce these abnormal
body shape standards as
an accepted goal to
strive for in a movie-star
and model obsessed
culture. |
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It is hard to imagine a world
where idealized female imagery
is not plastered everywhere, but
our current situation is a
relatively new phenomenon.
Before the mass media existed,
our ideas of beauty were limited
to our communities. Until the
advent of photography in 1839,
people were not exposed to real-life
images of faces and bodies. Most
people did not even own mirrors.
²
The average American is exposed
to 3,000 ads per day³.
Commercial media must create a
fantasy world that we hope, in
some way, can become ours.
Consequently, magazines,
television, movies and
advertisements rarely feature
women of color as their stars or
on their covers, and Hollywood
executives know that white women
do not, in general, fantasize
about looking Latina, black, or
Asian.4
Your body image is not based on
fact, it is psychological in
nature and it involves your
perception, imagination,
emotions, and physical
sensations. It is also not
inborn, but culturally learned.
5
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Negative body image
is
• A distorted perception
of your shape; you
perceive parts of your
body unlike what they
really are.
• You are convinced that
only other people are
attractive and that your
body size and shape is a
sign of personal failure.
• You feel ashamed, self-conscious,
and anxious about your
body.
• You feel uncomfortable
and awkward in your body. |
Positive body image
is:
A clear true perception
of your shape, you see
various parts of your
body as they really are.
• You celebrate and
appreciate your natural
body shape and you
understand that a
person’s physical
appearance says very
little about their
character and values as
a person.
• You feel proud and
accepting of your unique
body and refuse to spend
an unreasonable amount
of time worrying about
food, weight and
calories.
• You feel comfortable
and confident in your
body.
(National Eating
Disorder Information
Center, Body Image,
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.
Retrieved June 7, 2007) |
What do you see when you look in
the mirror? If you see a list of
defective parts, with a few
positive items interspersed as
consolation, you are comparing
yourself to the beauty ideals
endorsed by the culture. A dose
of comparison to healthy body
images is not all bad, but if
you go around obsessing about
dieting, waiting to buy an item
of clothing until you are
thinner, or avoiding sex with
your partner because you believe
your body does not meet the
standards of a ‘good body’, it
is time to shape-up your body
image.
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Perception Adjusters:
• If Barbie were life-size
she would be 5’9” and
weigh 110 lbs., only 76
percent of what is
considered a healthy
weight for her height.
Her measurements would
be 39-18-33, and she
would not menstruate due
to inadequate levels of
fat in her body.
• Twenty-five years ago,
the average female model
weighed 8 percent less
than the average
American woman.
Currently, the average
female model weighs 23
percent below her
average weight.
• When you step on a
scale, the weight you
see does say anything
about your body
composition (i.e. how
much is muscle, bone, or
fat). Keep in mind that
muscle is denser and
weights more than fat.
So, if you are very
physically active and
have more muscle, you
should weigh more.
• Weight (or even body
composition) isn’t the
best indicator of health
and fitness. Your eating
habits, exercise
patterns, and metabolic
measures (like blood
pressure, blood
cholesterol, and glucose
levels) are more
important indicators of
your health.
• Only about 5 percent
of American women have
the ultra-long and thin
body type that is seen
almost exclusively in
the media. Women who
attempt to achieve this
body type (but lack the
genetic materials to do
so) are setting
themselves up for years
of yo-yo dieting, weight
fluctuations, disordered
eating and depression.
(Student Nutrition
Action Committee, UCLA,
www.snac.ucla.edu/pages/Body_Image/Body_Image.htm.
Retrieved June 7, 2007) |
Befriending our Bodies,
Reclaiming our Boundaries
I challenge you to take a leap
of faith and love the body you
have now. Stop the insanity of
trying to measure up to the
atypical bodies you are fed by
the media. Stop the negative
self-talk, and take action to
nourish what nature has dealt
you.
In past issues of Latina Style,
we have talked about adopting a
healthy diet and exercise, and
becoming aware of emotional
eating so that we can take steps
to manage the triggers that
launch us into these behaviors.
These improvements required a
self-assessment, a comparison
with healthy standards, and
taking steps toward a healthy
lifestyle based on this
awareness. Shaping-up your body
image will require a different
kind of approach. Because this
distortion in perception starts
so early in life, our bodies are
inseparable from our self-image,
and the impracticality of
removing ourselves from society.
To bring about a transformation
this change will require
deliberate action against
emotions and beliefs connected
with your self-image and hold
you back from wearing certain
clothes, colors, or engaging in
certain activities. No
assessments, no comparisons, no
diets. Just taking care of the
body your parents genetic
influences until you can declare
your independence from the movie-star
and model shape obsessed culture
and can look at yourself in the
mirror and say, ‘there is
nothing wrong with me.’
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Tips for Befriending
Your Body.
These steps
will help you
desensitize from your
own body avoidance and
body deprecation and
with continued practice
will help you develop a
more realistic, more
appreciative sense of
your appearance.
Emphasize those parts of
you that you find
attractive. You can do
this with color,
accessories, or with a
particular style. Take a
look at your clothes and
start implementing these
accents right away.
Don’t wait until you buy
new clothes, experiment
with monochromatic or
colorful combinations
that make you feel good.
Reclaim your sense of
style to dress the body
you have now.
Practice being playful. Get out and enjoy a swim,
a hike, a bike ride, a
picnic, a walk on the
beach, take yoga classes,
or better yet, go out
dancing in a sexy outfit.
Put discomforts to rest
and step out to do
something you like. Life
is happening now, it is
not waiting until you
get in shape or lose
weight. |
Take care of every part, the
rewards will be countless. Nourish your soul and your body
with a relaxing bath. Take good
care of your hands and feet with
a manicure/pedicure. Treat
yourself to a new hair cut that
suits your lifestyle. Get or
give yourself a facial and find
a face treatment that is in line
with your needs. Share these
experiences with a friend. Most
importantly, do this for
yourself and on a regular basis.
Overrule any self-unworthiness
and take care of your body.
Don’t wait, make yourself a
priority.
Initiate intimacy with your
partner. It does not matter if
the lights are off, or if you
are partially clothed. Put your
inadequacies aside, and override
your complexes with action. Just
do it. Concentrate on the
wonderful sensations your body
can deliver, not on how you look
to the outside world.
Have you noticed men do not
dwell on their protruding
stomachs, their flab, wrinkles,
gray hair, or excessive body
hair when engaged in sex? What
would happen if we start
enjoying our bodies more and are
less focused on imperfections?
You know the answer, our
partners would enjoy being
intimate with us more often
bringing more passion to our
lives and closeness to our
relationships.
Acknowledge the old self-talk
without judgment, and move on to
action in spite of any painful
feelings. The pain comes from
the views we allow our culture
to impose on us, our longing for
a body shape that we don’t have,
and our inability to get nature
to comply. Use your intellect to
put these simple steps to work
and pay attention to any changes
in your attitude. With time, you
will reclaim and establish
appropriate boundaries shifting
your focus from weight-obsession
to feeling and living healthy.
Like with any change, you need
to practice loving yourself on a
consistent basis until these
nurturing steps become a part of
your life.
Feeling beautiful is a state of
mind. Think about it, it is a
state of wholeness, of love for
the self. Practice being
beautiful in your own skin,
befriend your body with care and
activities that restore your
connectedness to it. A woman’s
body is a biological masterpiece,
enjoy it!
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Ana Castro works for
UnitedHealthcare Latino
Health Solutions. Ana
has over 20 years of
experience in the field
of fitness as a personal
trainer, lifestyle
management coach, and is
the producer and
developer of six
exercise videos in
Spanish especially
dedicated to Latinas
Edited by Francisca
Azocar, Ph.D., Assistant
Vice President of
Research and Evaluation,
Behavioral Health
Sciences, United
Behavioral Health.
References
1. National Eating
Disorder Information
Center, Do Women with
Low Self-esteem Use
Appearance to Feel
Better?,
www.nedic.ca
Retrieved June 7, 2007
2. Peiss, Hope in a Jar,
45-47
3. (Jean Kilbourne,
Deadly Persuasion: Why
Women and Girls Must
Fight the Addictive
Power of Advertising. (New
York: The Free Press,
1999.) 27, 58.)
4. Our Bodies Ourselves.
Chapter 1 - Body Image,
The Media Lies,
www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/excerpt.asp?id=2
Retrieved June 7, 2007
5. Eating Disorder
Referral and Information
Center, Improving Body
Image,
www.edreferal.com/body_image.htm
Retrieved June 7, 200 |
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Additional Resources
Useful Web sites on Body Image
• Adios Barbie
http://www.adiosbarbie.com/
• Mind on the Media
http://www.mindonthemedia.org/
• The Old Women’s Project
http://www.oldwomensproject.org/
• Slim Hopes: Advertising and
the Obsession with Thinness
http://www.nedic.ca/resources/slimhopes.html
• The Real Women Project
http://www.realwomenproject.com/
• The Body Positive
http://www.thebodypositive.org/
• Body Works: A Toolkit for
Healthy Girls and Strong Women
www.womenshealth.gov/bodyworks/
• Caring for your Child
www.mentalhealth.org/publications/allpubs/Ca-0034/default.asp
• Girls and Body Image
www.family.samhsa.gov/be/gnb_image.aspx
• Girlshealth.gov: For Parents
and Caregivers
www.girlshealth.gov/parents/index.htm
• Helping Your Overweight Child
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/over_child.htm
• Binge Eating Disorder
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/binge_eating.html
By Ana
Castro |
