Ideal Body Image Around the World

              If you asked someone in the United States about the ideal body type for women, they would likely answer by saying either tall or skinny. The answer for men would most likely be big and muscular. Living in America with a prominent media force it is easy to forget that not all countries see this as a desirable body type. 

 

Many European countries do seek a similar body image to what is promoted in America however there are several countries who do not share this view. A perfect example of this is seen in the country of Tonga. Over 90% of this small country’s population is overweight, however there is little to no negative stigma surrounding this. Being fat in Tonga is seen as a status symbol. Similar attitudes towards body image can be seen in other countries as well. In Jamaica, it is considered desirable for women to have a larger butt compared to the size of the rest of their body. In order to achieve this look, a growing number of women have been consuming very dangerous “chicken pills.” These are the same hormone infused pills that farmers have been giving chickens in order for them to gain weight. The Jamaican women are taking these in hopes of it having the same effect on them. Despite the fact that these contain poison including arsenic, the desire for this specific body type is currently outweighing the countless risks associated with this dangerous action. Countries such as South Africa, Fiji, Nigeria and Mauritania all share a similar ideal of heavier body types also. 

What is interesting to note though is a pattern that has been seen across the world. The more a country becomes influenced by Western culture, the more that country starts to shift their “desired” body type towards a tall and skinny frame. 

             There are, in fact, a few positive sides to these ideals. A skinnier frame often implies that the person is physically fit and in other societies a bigger body shape shows that the person is eating and not starving.  However the problem is that body type should be an irrelevant trait of a person and it greatly affects how we treat people. What all of these countries have in common is that they are using it as a form of a status symbol. Unfortunately, this means that people will go to extreme measures to attain the traits of the body type most valued in their country. This can have devastating impacts on people’s self esteem and even their quality of life as a whole. It is important that we remember that we are all perfect just he way we are, regardless of what you look like or how much you weigh.

-Krista Holtzman

Model Perspective

The media uses models as a representation of perfection, the ideal body image. What most people don’t know is that even those models with the supposed perfect body don’t believe that actually is the perfect body. I interviewed a model, Micki Le, which has been involved in the industry for a couple years. The modeling industry believes the ideal is to be size 0, tall, and with no muscles, butt, or boobs. Le stated in an interview that she would actually prefer to be able to have muscles and a bigger chest, but being in the industry limits that. This just goes to show that the “perfect” body image is unattainable because it is ultimately up to personal perspective. We are trying to achieve a perfect body that is not even perfect to the person with it ideally. Have your own body image and be happy in your skin because you are beautiful. Perfect is only a perspective.

- Alexia Lopez-Klein 

Media's Effect

There has been an epidemic within the culture of the United States. More and more young girls and boys have been looking at the magazines, ads, billboards, TV shows, and movies, and the media in general and creating these images in their minds of what the perfect body and appearance is. The photo shopped models and the fit and in shape athletes are becoming today’s role models. This is creating more and more psychological and health problems within our society. Most teenagers and young adults already struggle with how they look but have not taken it to the extreme for example having eating disorders. According to the article “Why do Women Hate Their Bodies?” by Carolyn Coker on psychcentral.com, “80 percent of women in the U.S. are dissatisfied with their appearance. And more than 10 million are suffering from eating disorders.” This has become a norm in our American culture. People put their mental and physical health, relationships, and sometimes lives at stake.

I interviewed a young 18-year-old girl, Erica who has always been secure in her own skin. In this interview she began to open up and I found out that she too had small insecurities that she would like to change. She represents the young generation that has been influenced by things around her. Even though she did want to look like a certain model, her response to another question was interesting.

I asked , “What do you believe is the perfect body?”

Her response was, “A perfect body is a body type that you are comfortable with. Whether it is skinny or curvy. If you yourself are comfortable in your own skin, then that is the perfect body.”

This response was pleasantly surprising considering everything that influences us to form a perfect body in our head. Even though there are people out there with serious mental and physical health issues, there are people out there that do believe that there is no perfect body.

Daniela Barrantes

Lesley Minervini

Lesley Minervini gives a powerful testimony about accepting and seeing yourself as God sees you.

Shannan McCready, Volleyball Athlete

I interviewed my volleyball teammate, Shannan McCready about her body image and how being an athlete has affected her perspective on it. I thought she would be a good interviewee to get the perspective from a hard-working athlete who has a big passion for volleyball.

Shannan McCready, setter and defensive specialist for the ASU women’s volleyball team talks about her perspective on how body image plays a role in her life while being a high level athlete. This little Hawaiian, coming from a place where she was very average in height in her volleyball teams and everyday life, comes to a place where all of a sudden she is considered very short. Having the stereotypical height ideal in mind, McCready knew what she would be surrounded by. She has a positive and focused mindset that she plays the sport of volleyball for the simple reason of passion.

“I have a big passion for sports, I really like that it keeps me fit without having to go work out on my own. It’s a commitment to something I love, and has the bonus of being physically healthy.” – Shannan McCready

Growing up being nothing but skin and bones to gaining muscle mass and definition, Shannan has become more content with her body knowing that she has come to maintain a fit, athletic build which works well for her passion. “Because an athlete’s body is the key to success and performance it is not uncommon with the idea of making it ‘perfect’.” (Kendrin Sonneville, 2012). 

McCready stated that the perfect and ideal image that is portrayed for a women is unrealistic, “not everyone is going to be as tall or as skinny… everyone is beautiful in their own way and it shouldn’t be judged on this unrealistic portrayal of what they should look like. I think the idea that there is a “perfect” body to have is wrong because there can’t be just one picture of perfection. In different cultures and perspectives the perfect body can be completely different than the next.”

From the perspective of an athlete, it is much more important to maintain a healthy and fit body type that will help boost performance levels than to maintain an image of what society calls perfect. Too much muscle in places it shouldn’t be or having a little too much definition in the arms that make a female athlete look “bulky” just represent the body image of an athlete. This image could be that perfection that a coach or trainer is looking for, and therefore it is perfect for the person. Shannan is a hard-worker and passionate athlete who is seen as having a great physicality for herself and for those guiding her along her athletic path.

Whitney Follette

http://volleyballmag.com/articles/38-a-healthy-balance-sports-and-body-image
 

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time women were praised for being voluptuous – not just in their chest or buttocks – but all over. Extra weight was viewed as ideal and preferred.

 

Once upon a time women wrapped and bound their chests to flatten and hide their breasts – in an effort to be called beautiful.

 

Once upon a time women did everything they could to minimize their waistline, even breaking ribs to shrink a few extra inches.

 

Once upon a time women cut their hair short, and wore webbed girdles to lose their feminine curves and make themselves look like boys.

 

Once upon a time women powdered their faces to be as pale as possible.

 

Once upon a time women would avoid eating, vomit their meals, and have expensive surgeries to mutate their bodies into what the ideal woman is expected to look like. Oh wait, never mind, that’s true. That’s where we are now.   

 

It may be hard to believe, but once upon a time, all these statements were true. Every one of them describes an era in the short history of humanity in which certain attributes were endlessly chased by women in an effort to meet societal standards and expectations of “beautiful”. Women would take drastic and dangerous measures to meet the body image stipulations of society.

 

Does this scare you? It should. This means that women currently are, and always have been, sacrificing their health to become look-a-like soldiers of a “beautiful” army, rather than celebrating the uniqueness and individuality of the miracle they’ve been blessed with – their body and their life.

 

Women spend so much time worrying and stressing over their appearance that they forget that their health is a blessing, one that should NOT be sacrificed to become something that they’re not. Instead, women should learn to appreciate their own natural and unique body image, and make the decision to see themselves – how they naturally are – as their own ideal.

 

I’ve mostly been talking about women, but the same goes for men. Perhaps not as drastically, but expectations have shifted throughout the years. From the thin, slender, and toned runner’s body, to the massive muscle bulging body builder, the media has consistently exploited the male physique in advertising, just as much as it does women, putting extreme pressure on men to live up to what is “manly.”

 

I had the unique opportunity to pick the brain of one of these “ideal” men. Anyone that sees James Timberlake will immediately think, that’s a big dude – and not because he’s had “too many cheeseburgers,” as he might say – but rather because of the sheer amount of muscle on his body. Put any young man next to James, and it’s likely he’ll start thinking about how he needs to hit the weights a little harder next time.

 

James is a body builder. He competes for the love of weight lifting, the love of his health, and the love of competition. While he’s always been an athlete, and thus had the body type of such, taking the natural next step towards body building post-college sports has magnified the “ideal body image” that he embodies.

 

The interesting thing about James, though, is that while body building is a competition of muscles, it’s not really about that. It’s about the fun of the mere competition of seeing how you size up (literally and figuratively) to all the other men. It’s about eating right and working out – placing health as the number one priority. James allows his Catholic faith to enrich his competitive nature, knowing that his body is a “gift from God, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.” Keeping this in mind, he maintains his passion for bodybuilding in a way that keeps the dieting and weightlifting as a means of taking care of his body, and keeping it healthy.

 

We can all learn something from James. He knows “that if you put forth the effort you can train your body to perform in any way you would like it to.”  He understands the importance of keeping your body healthy, because after all, it is a gift from God.

 

I wish we would all learn a little lesson from James and realize that when people advocate “loving yourself for the body you have,” they aren’t saying “go ahead and have that cookie, and love yourself anyways.” They’re saying be conscientious of your health, eat well, exercise, and be sure that you’re placing your health as a top priority. Just DON’T sacrifice your health to be something you’re not.

 

I wish we could break the cyclical carousel we’re riding. We’re on patterned path, deep-seated in history, in which the media feeds us unattainable images of “perfection,” and we in turn encourage the media by employing dangerous technologies and techniques to reach said “perfection.” This routine has become a frightening norm. It’s heartbreaking to know that people are ignoring the blessings of where and how they do and can live, and are forgoing the health that many in this world just don’t have, simply to subscribe to a prescribed image of “beautiful.”

 

If we all took a step back and remembered that the definition of “beautiful” is in fact “excellent of its kind,” and realized that each of us are a unique kind of our own, perhaps we could add a refreshing twist to the timeline of body image. Maybe, just maybe, we could begin to define an era in which body image wasn’t so much about what your body looks like, but rather about celebrating who you are, and what your body can do.

 

Erin Swiatek

Meet Your Doctor

Psychologist and Eating Disorder Specialist Q&A

Thanks for the information providing by Dr. Robson & Dr. Romand

Q: what’s anorexia or eating disorders in general?

A: Eating disorders are illnesses, not character flaws or choices. Individuals don’t choose to have an eating disorder. You also can’t tell whether a person has an eating disorder just by looking at their appearance. People with eating disorders can be underweight, normal weight or overweight. It’s impossible to diagnose anyone just by looking at them.

Anorexia and bulimia are not  the only forms of eating disorders. There are also non-classified eating disorders, which are just as serious. In fact, someone can die from a short-term eating disorder. They’re caused by a complex combination of factors, including genetic, biochemical, psychological, cultural and environmental. While researchers haven’t been able to pinpoint the specifics behind these causes, they can identify various factors that make individuals susceptible to eating disorders.

Unfortunately, because of the media, eating disorders sometimes seem as though they are almost encouraged and admired. Yet this is unfortunate as they’re serious, devastating illnesses that need to be treated. A person can lose their health, their family, their motivation for living and ultimately their life.

Q: what are some factors that may contribute to eating disorders?

Genetics

Genetics has a significant contribution and may predispose individuals to eating disorders. Researchers have found that eating disorders tend to run in families. Also, there seem to be higher rates of eating disorders in identical twins than in fraternal twins or other siblings. In addition, specific chromosomes have been linked to both bulimia and anorexia.

Biochemistry

Individuals with eating disorders may have abnormal levels of certain chemicals that regulate such processes as appetite, mood, sleep and stress. For instance, both people with bulimia and anorexia have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Some research also suggests that individuals with anorexia have too much serotonin, which keeps them in a constant state of stress.

Psychology

Various psychological factors can contribute to eating disorders. In fact, eating disorders are common in individuals who struggle with clinical depression, anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Other factors include:

• Low self-esteem
• Feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy 
• Trouble coping with emotions or expressing your emotions 
• Perfectionism 
• Impulsivity

Culture

Dieting, body dissatisfaction and wanting to be thin are all factors that increase the risk for an eating disorder. Unfortunately, our society encourages all three. You can’t walk by a cash register without seeing a magazine that encourages rapid weight loss, calorie counting or feeling guilty after a meal. Here are some aspects of our culture that contribute to eating disorders:

• An over-emphasis on appearance, at the expense of more meaningful attributes
• Societal beauty standards that promote an unrealistically thin body shape 
• Associating thinness with positive qualities like attractiveness, health, success and love 
• Media’s focus on dieting and striving for a slim and toned silhouette 
• Messages that perpetuate a fear of fat and food; viewing fat as undesirable or foods as “good,” “bad” or “sinful”

Environment

Your environment can also play a major role in developing an eating disorder. These factors include:

• Family or other relationship problems
• Difficult or turbulent childhood
• History of physical or sexual abuse
• Activities that encourage thinness or focus on weight, such as gymnastics, dancing, running, wrestling and modeling
• Peer pressure 
• Being bullied because of weight or appearance in general

Q: What are some underlying issues beside eating disorder?

A: There are many misconceptions in our society about what causes eating disorders. Although the symptoms of anorexia largely surround food and eating, the truth is that at its core, anorexia and other eating disorders do not solely have to do with food and weight. Instead, sufferers use food and unhealthy behaviors like dieting, starving, binging and purging to cope with unpleasant and overwhelming emotions and stressful situations. Eating disorders can be part of an overall picture of the struggle in a person’s life. Often we find that people with eating disorders are experiencing underlying emotional distress, relationship or psychological conflicts, difficult life transitions or past trauma. At least in the short term, these behaviors relieve anxiety and stress. Long term, however, they actually increase anxiety and stress and create other serious complications.

Q: What are some key points about anorexia in overall populations?

A: Anorexia does occur in males! There is a common stereotype that anorexia is a female illness; however, that is not the case. We know that 10% to 15% of anorexia cases are diagnosed in males, and those are just the cases that go reported. Experts feel the rate may be significantly higher; however, many men feel a greater stigma about eating disorders, so they may not seek treatment. Male athletes have a higher reported rate of eating disorders than the general population, due in part to the belief that weight loss is a necessary requirement for peak athletic performance in their sports, and a higher rate of anorexia has also been reported in homosexual and bisexual males. Body image dissatisfaction is fairly stable across the age span. For example many of the same risks of eating disorders in younger women can be precursors for older women as well.

Q: What are some treatments for someone with an eating disorder?

A: When combined with genetic and biological factors, these struggles can sometimes be a precursor to eating disorder symptoms. For some people, anorexia serves as a complex distraction from other painful, seemingly uncontrollable feelings or life events. Part of the recovery process from anorexia is learning other, healthier ways of coping with life’s challenges.  

Psychotherapy Individual psychotherapy can help you learn how to exchange unhealthy habits for healthy ones. You learn how to monitor your eating and your moods, develop problem-solving skills, and explore healthy ways to cope with stressful situations. Psychotherapy can also help improve your relationships and your mood. A type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy is commonly used in eating disorder treatment, especially for bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Group therapy also may be helpful for some people.

Family-based therapy is the only effective treatment for children and adolescents with eating disorders. This type of therapy begins with the assumption that the person with the eating disorder is no longer capable of making sound decisions regarding his or her health and needs help from the family. An important part of family-based therapy is that your family is involved in making sure that your child or other family member is following healthy-eating patterns and is restoring weight. This type of therapy can help encourage support from concerned family members.

Weight restoration and nutrition education If you're underweight due to an eating disorder, the first goal of treatment will be to start getting you back to a healthy weight. No matter what your weight, dietitians and other health care providers can give you information about a healthy diet and help design an eating plan that can help you achieve a healthy weight and instill normal-eating habits. If you have binge-eating disorder, you may benefit from medical supervised weight-loss programs.

Hospitalization If you have serious health problems or if you have anorexia and refuse to eat or gain weight, your doctor may recommend hospitalization. Hospitalization may be on a medical or psychiatric ward. Some clinics specialize in treating people with eating disorders. Some may offer day programs, rather than full hospitalization. Specialized eating disorder programs may offer more intensive treatment over longer periods of time.

Medications Medication can't cure an eating disorder. However, medications may help you control urges to binge or purge or to manage excessive preoccupations with food and diet. Medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications may also help with symptoms of depression or anxiety, which are frequently associated with eating disorders