I read an interesting chapter from The Good Body (2005) by Eve Ensler. Ensler has been a radical feminist for nearly thirty years. I have added the link for the first chapter of the book. In the first chapter, Ensler focuses on her body image and her dislike for dissatisfaction with particular body parts. Like many women, she has always been anxious about a particular part of her body. Ensler shares she has placed much of her attention on her stomach. She continues to say she feels her stomach has become her most serious committed relationship. Regarding her stomach, Ensler states, "It has protruded through my clothes, my confidence, and my ability to work. I've tried to sedate it, educate it, embrace it and most of all, erase it" (pg. 6).
I found this chapter interesting because Ensler is an intelligent and confident woman, like most women she suffers with body image. I can relate to Ensler. I hate when my girl friends complain about their body size or some part of their body instead of embracing their body. However, I know I am just as guilty about complaining about my stomach and lack of abdominal muscles when I have not worked out, or eat a big, juicy hamburger with salty fries.
Does anyone else share similar feelings about body image? Do you think our culture has engrained into us that thin is beautiful; therefore, the only way to look? Do you think our culture places too much emphasis on appearance instead of, for example, intelligence?
Of course I share your feelings about body image! I often criticize my body for things that most people would never notice. I'm thinking of the scene in Mean Girls where all the girls are standing in front of the mirror making bad comments about what they dont like about their body and then Kady, who recently moved to the US from Africa, feels like she must say something bad about her own body. This best she can come up with it "I have bad breath in the morning." This might make it seem that Americans do have issues with ingraining the "thin is beautiful" idea in our heads. We sometimes feel socially pressured int making negative comments about our bodies just to fitting with what other people are saying. It would be weird if everybody was saying how they hated their bodies and then someone spoke up and stated how great they thought their body was. Especially among girls this would probably influence hatred toward the girl for thinking she was hot shit!
I agree with you that the emphasis should be on intelligence over appearance, but I also think that being in shape and healthy makes you appear more intelligent and hard working. It's a fact that some employers hire most attractive, slimmer people because of this. I'm not saying you have to be skinny, but if you are healthy and exercise and eat right, you feel better about yourself and have more confidence. I think it is sort of ironic that America puts such high emphasis on being skinny, and yet we are the fattest, probably most unhealthiest nation out there! I think need to start focusing more on being healthy than being skinny, because skinny people are sometimes more unhealthy that overweight people. I think whatever gives you more self-esteem and confidence is what you should strive for in regards to body image and your emotions toward it.
I struggle with my body image just like i am sure many women have at some point or another. It is unfortunate how much emphasis is put on outer beauty, especially towards women. Advertising, movies and American culture are constantly bombarding us with images of skinny perfect looking women. This could make anyone question the way they look. I don't think beauty is necessarily has more of an emphasis than intelligence, but being overweight generally just puts a person at a disadvantage; even if they are very intelligent. Many people stereotype overweight individuals to be lazier than a person of normal weight.
This is such a great topic!!!
Here is what I think is amazing...I know that a majority of photos in magazines of women(well people in general) are air brushed and photo shopped but the other day I was looking through a Victoria's Secret catalog and I was actually thinking to myself, boy wouldn't that be cute...well yeah if I was thinner. Or, I wish I had a body more like that...
After that I felt so lame...really I don't want to look like a Victoria's Secret model (at all) but it surprised me that I was actually thinking about it in a positive way. Being a girl I have had friends that would get really down on themselves about their bodies, and to the point where they would stop eating or try diet after diet. I used to be a big advocate of eat what makes you happy, do active activities that you enjoy, find something beautiful about yourself at least once a day, and just have fun and love yourself for what you are. But truly in the back of my mind it has become apparent that I can feel that way if I'm actually somewhat comfortable with my body. When I'm not, its just a bummer and I avoid the mirror and certain clothing.
There was a reference to Mean Girls about the girls looking in the mirror. One day at work we (males and females) were talking about our bodies and how we felt about them and one girl actually butt in and said "well I think I have the perfect body". It was so strange and out of the ordinary to hear those words come out of someone's mouth meaningfully. There is hardly ever talking between friends (so it seems) that is positive, like today I like my hair, or today my bum looks plump...but in a good way! etc.
Ohmygosh. Of course you're not alone in those thoughts... I could bet that at least 90% of women have some insecurities about their body image. And I bet that most men have insecurities too.
I totally believe that our culture is responsible for this. Why do you think there are so many people with eating disorders now? The media spits images out of "perfect" men and women, and it makes us think that we're the abnormal ones. These images and models also make us believe that they are the only type of people that will be attractive to the ones who we want to be attractive to - and I guess, to a point, that's true. Society and the media greatly shape our beliefs on the members of our culture... for example, in some countries, it's totally acceptable for women to not shave. To us, gross. What guy (or girl, depending on sexual orientation) would really want to cuddle with Satchmo?!
A few years ago, one of my roommates showed me a video regarding the realities of the "perfect" models most of us see. It's a commercial by Dove, who specifically targets the body image issue. Not only was it great because we can see how unrealistic it is that there are tons of physically perfect people, but it was also a really great marketing strategy... It made me feel so much better about not comparing myself to models because they're so fake! So just because they made me feel better, I would seriously consider supporting their company.
The video can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2gD80jv5ZQ
I would think that on days where people feel better about themselves, and have high self-esteem, I function much better. I can get stuff done, and don't have the vicious desire to sit around and mope in self-pity. However, Reeve (2005) states that self-esteem really doesn't have much relation with self-functioning or achievement. Getting stuff done, and obtaining tasks/goals, actually improves self-esteem (pp. 261-262).
Although I think it's rather unrealistic, we have to accept ourselves - including our bodies. Easier said than done! But, according to Reeve (2005), one of the major components of psychological well-being is self-acceptance (p. 262). So, does this mean that almost none of us are "psychologically well"? Not to flip-flop, but I think body image is a confusing thing. I mean, on one hand, I think that most of us have accepted our body images. But on the other, it's hard not to bitch and put ourselves down while looking in the mirror, or seeing ads, or models... and it's hard to accept ourselves the way we are.
There's always something that could be different about ourselves. It is part of being human and living in the society that we do. For me, it's my knees. I know it's stupid but I've always wanted great legs and even when I'm thinner I still have ugly knees not fit for shorts or shorter skirts. However, it's all good because I accepted that whole ugly knee thing a long time ago. I embrace other things, like the fact that I am a curvy girl. I have hips and ass and small waist and I'm okay with that. My body is my own and I am not going to try to be anybody but myself in it. It is part of who I am and how I developed into the woman I am today. I change for me and no one else because if I can't be comfortable with who I am then no one else will.
Our society has always put a high value on external appearance, especially for women. One of the biggest problems we are facing today is that the media doesn't portray real women. The average woman in America is a size 14. However, you open a magazine and all you will see are the images of women who aren't real. Her image has been altered in such a way that you would never be able to recognize her on the street. The truth that they don't want you to know is that she is average, oh she may be thinner than the average woman in America but that's it. She is not a size 0, her eyes are not that big, her skin is not perfect, her stomach is not flat, and she probably has cellulite somewhere on her body.
How do you think we should go about emphasizing intelligence in women over appearances? A societal change like that would take generations and motivation on all levels of society, especially in the family and educational spheres. I mean look at how long it took for women to get the vote not to mention the sexual revolution and third wave feminism all occurred in the last 50 years. On top of that we continue to have organizations, such as Miss America to host pageants which still emphasize beauty. Even though, they have instituted a talent competition and no longer require the girls to weigh in during the competition the main focus is on appearance.
Furthermore, the whole notion of altering cultural emphasis away from beauty may be a double-edged sword, while women hate the standards that society has at least there are standards. Then there is the whole chicken and egg conundrum: do we like to be/feel beautiful because we are women or is it because we are women we feel the need to do everything in our power to be beautiful because of society's ideals? I think it's both. So are we really going to try to eliminate the beauty standards and protocols that have been set forth and evolved over generations?