Why do I not like my body?
This is one of the questions that someone with body
dissatisfaction could ask themselves. Sometimes it is not the whole body, but
those parts of me that... I wish! I wish they were a
little thinner, more defined, larger or smaller, somewhat less wrinkled or
without these ugly spots!
We know that body dissatisfaction, understood as
"a concern that produces discomfort towards some imaginary or extreme
defect of physical appearance "(1), is a risk factor for developing and maintaining an eating disorder(anorexia
and bulimia, mainly) (2).
But almost all of us have something in our bodies that
we would like to change, not just those who suffer from clinical problems. Why?
People internalise the ideals of beauty that society
transmits to us and we compare that with our own appearance. As long the way we
perceive ourselves does not fit the ideal of beauty we will be dissatisfied
with our bodies (3).
The role of social
media.
It is 2019, right? The ideals of beauty are no longer
transmitted via paintings in museums or movies on neighbourhood Cinema. They are now
transmitted via social media. In several studies, majority of adolescents
admitted that the most important factor in choosing which photos to upload to social
media was their good appearance(4) and they said they worried a lot about their
physical appearance on social media (5). That is to say: on social media, the
physical image matters.
But can we say that the use of social media promotes
body dissatisfaction? Or is it just a reflection of dissatisfaction that
existed before? A longitudinal study conducted in the Netherlands in 2016
revealed that a higher frequency of social network use predicted an increase in
body dissatisfaction among adolescents 18 months later (6).
Another study from 2017 concluded that what was
important was not so much the time spent on social media but the way we spend
it : body dissatisfaction increases when our platform activity is focused on
appearance(7). For example, we know that this dissatisfaction is associated
with behaviours such as taking selfies, following accounts centred on the body (7)
and exposing oneself to images of acquaintances or celebrities whom we consider
attractive (9).
The ideal of
beauty, today.
It seems that extreme thinness has not been so
fashionable for a few years now. Today, the ideal has more to do with a person
who is fit, exercises and is toned, such as a “fitness person”.
Disguised as a seemingly healthy lifestyle lies the
new tyranny of beauty. The Fitness movement or #fitspiration has been
associated with an increased risk of suffering an eating disorder, as well as
objectivation of the female body (11) and the promotion of an ideal of thinness
and toning (12).
Is it all lost?
Each body is unique and different. While there is only
a single ideal of beauty, it is impossible for all of us to be satisfied with
our bodies. Social media has the danger of presenting us a distorted image of
reality, but also has the power to show diversity. It is precisely in the social
media where the Body Positive movement and #loveyourself movement have arisen,
which are characterized by giving visibility to all types of bodies and
learning to love oneself as one is. Self-compassion (empathising with one's
suffering and self-providing love) is a key component of this movement and ... surprise, surprise: it is associated with body satisfaction (13).
References
1. Raich, R.M.,
Mora, M., Soler, A., Avila, C., Clos, I. y Zapater L. (1996) Adaptación de un
instrumento de
evaluación de la insatisfacción corporal. Clínica y Salud, 7, 51-66.
2. Stice, E.,
& Shaw, H. E. (2002). Role of body dissatisfaction in the onset and
maintenance of
eating pathology: A synthesis of research findings.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53,
985– 993.
3. Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., &
Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty:
Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image
disturbance. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
4. Siibak, A. (2009). Constructing the self through
the photo selection visual impression
management on social networking websites.
Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial
Research on Cyberspace, 3, 1–9.
5. Ringrose, J. (2011). Are you sexy, flirty or a
slut? Exploring ‘‘sexualization’’ and how teen girls
perform/negotiate digital sexual identity on social
networking sites. New femininities (pp. 99–
116). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
6. De Vries, D. A., Peter, J., de Graaf, H., y Nikken,
P. (2016). Adolescents’ social network site
use, peer appearance-related feedback, and body
dissatisfaction: Testing a mediation model.
Journal of youth and adolescence, 45(1), 211-224.
7. Cohen, R., Newton-John, T., y Slater, A. (2017).
The relationship between Facebook and
Instagram appearance-focused activities and body image
concerns in young women. Body
image, 23, 183-187.
8. Wagner, C. N., Aguirre Alfaro, E., & Bryant, E.
M. (2016). The relationship between Instagram
selfies and body image in young adult women. First
Monday, 21(9).
9. Brown, Z., y Tiggemann, M. (2016). Attractive
celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect
on women's mood and body image. Body image, 19, 37-43.
10. Holland, G., y Tiggemann, M. (2017). “Strong beats
skinny every time”: Disordered eating
and compulsive exercise in women who post fitspiration
on Instagram. International Journal of
Eating Disorders, 50(1), 76-79.
11. Carrotte, E. R., Prichard, I., y Lim, M. S. C.
(2017). “Fitspiration” on social media: A content
analysis of gendered images. Journal of medical
Internet research, 19(3).
12. Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2016). ‘Strong
is the new skinny’: A content analysis of
#fitspiration images on Instagram. Journal of health
psychology, 1359105316639436.
13. Slater, A., Varsani, N., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2017). #fitspo
or #loveyourself? The impact of
fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on
women’s body image, self compassion,
and mood. Body
image, 22, 87-96.
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