Negative body image on college campuses has become an epidemic nationwide and universities are trying to bring body acceptance in creative ways. From March 6th- March 9th was Love Every Body Week at Southern Oregon University (SOU). Featuring events like Art & Self Care Day and the Body Positive Fashion Show.
The Body Positive Fashion Show featured about 15 models who showed off an outfit of their choice for each season, including and additional look showing off their favorite outfit.
Jacqueline Lorenz Paxton, a staffer at the Women’s Resource Center and director of the Body Positive Fashion Show wanted to put on the show because she herself has dealt with body issues, “Entering college was a very big wake-up call to how I view my own body. It was really impactful for me to say this is my event and this is what I need to do.”
College is mainly a social experience rather than educational. Most students are struggling to find out who they are in the world and in general, trying to figure themselves out, making them more susceptible to negative body images, regardless of gender. Paxton says, “I don’t think we are always aware of it. I think in particular middle school and high school is when it really begins and starts making a more of a conscious appearance. College is particularly vulnerable.”
Additionally, Linda Smith, the registered dietitian on SOU’s campus says, “There is a lot of pressure to look a certain way, to fit in, to be fit and yet taking time for self-care (good food, exercise, adequate sleep and keeping stress controlled) is a challenge.”
Smith says she usually sees three or four students per term who have weight issues that she connects with having a negative body image. But, body image issues usually go unreported meaning they do not seek help or see no problems with their body issues. Both Smith and Paxton attribute negative body image to society.
“There is a lot of pressure put on young people to be thin, to look better [from the] fashion industry, Hollywood stars, and loved ones,” says Smith.
Models who took part of the Fashion show also feel the same way. Alexandra Gonzalez says, “Body positivity means that you feel so beautiful in your own skin that all the social standards don’t exist… No one should be telling us what the restrictions are [to beauty].”
Being “body positive” means different things to everyone. Smith says it is about, “feeling good about your physical and emotional self [and] knowing that changes and growth in self-are an important part of life.”
To Paxton, “Positive body image is being comfortable in your own skin and for me, its not just about accepting it but saying I am beautiful no matter what size I am.”
Some of the models were asked what does being body positive mean to them, each of their answers differed from one another because their experiences with body image were completely different. To see their answers, see the video below.
It’s important to remember that negative body image is genderless. It affects anyone under the multiple spectrums. “I don’t think there’s been enough attention with addressing those issues and I think we’ve been seeing a lot more men who have eating disorders and depression because they feel like aren’t meeting the expectation of what they’re supposed to look like,” says Paxton.
She emphasizes that although it’s called the Women’s Resource Center, that they’re all inclusive. They take in everyone, regardless of how the self-identify.
Matthew East is on SOU’s track team and says that even though the media and men themselves do not avidly discuss how men are affected by body image issues, that they definitely exist. “I feel like when men open up to certain topics such as this, it’ll make them feel vulnerable and weak because this is something that women usually only talk about. We are taught as men that this is weak to open up to something like this.”
He also talks about how body image is in the sports world. During track practices, East discusses that people are more aware of how muscular a person may be versus competitions where he feels everyone is more focused. But there is still a stigma that a more muscular a person is, the better he’d perform compared to someone who is not as fit. Which according to scientists, isn’t always true.
Aside from the track team, East is also an aspiring model and had the opportunity to attend a modeling conference a few months back. He notes that the whole thing felt like a competition, “The whole time you’re kind of just sizing yourself up to other people, you definitely do judge [how well a person models] a lot based on how people look.”
Due to the fact that negative body image is mainly how a person perceives themselves, it’s hard to treat. There are not any medications that could easily dispel negative body image, nor could any therapists or doctor convince someone of their beauty. It’s an inner battle that those suffering from negative body image have to go through. Paxton puts it perfectly, “There’s nothing an outsider can do to kind of convince someone to change. I think changing that body image is a long process and it has to be motivated by yourself.”
