Body Image — Self Esteem — Influence of Society

Society shapes us in many ways, even more than we realise. We live in a youth obsessed world. These days, as we watch television, scroll through social media, we can never pass on something about altering our face, bodies or style in order to keep up with the latest fashion to look younger, and sexier. The beauty industry works hard at marketing, in particular to women, altering their appearance into an image that is not realistic. Young women are exposed to this on a daily basis, so how does this really affect their self — esteem and self — image?

Body image is the biggest concern of today, especially in out local communities, and how society perceives us. Body image is both internal — personal, and external — society. This includes;

• How we perceive our bodies visually
• How we feel emotionally about our physical appearance
• How we talk to ourselves and others about our appearance
• How other people view our appearance

The media in particular, has increasingly become a platform that reinforces strong views on how we should look, that we as individuals tend to believe others opinions and thoughts on our appearance. The more we indulge in others lives, looking a perfect images of others, we tend to feel more worse about ourselves, questioning our self worth.

Due to these negative social impacts, we start to engage with unhealthy habits mentally and physically. The more negative our body image, the greater risk for extreme weight concerns and body control behaviours. This includes;

• Extreme dieting
• Exercise compulsion
• Eating disorders
• Unnecessary plastic surgery
• Medications for weight loss or muscle building

The images of perfection we see in the media, in print, film and television projects an unrealistic version of reality. Even walking down the streets of Burwood, Sydney’s Inner West, we are constantly reminded of change, the changes we can make to look better. This is seen through the hundreds of beauty salons down Burwood road, with huge signs you couldn’t miss, about the next ‘in thing,’ including, lip fillers, botox, fat reduction, laser hair removal, nails, hair, makeup, tanning and the list goes on and on.

Burwood is such a busy suburb that contains most of todays youth, whether its taking a visit to Burwood Westfield straight after school, or meeting for lunch at one of the popular cafes during school break. Young girls, especially, are constantly reminded on what they should get done or what they want done, just by hanging around their local area without even realising, myself included. When visiting the local area, I, myself, is constantly on the lookout on which salons offer what, and the best price for it, as Im looking around, seeing young girls in school uniforms looking through brochures for fillers and tanning, as they are examining what they need done. Its crazy how the media, and the beauty industry itself has such control over our youth. The media is a powerful tool that reinforces our values, and while it may not be fully responsible for determining the standards of physical attractiveness, escaping those images we see is impossible.

Family and friends are important networks to keep close. We learn from each other, and to keep positive influences around us, we will be nothing but conclusive to understand the values within another. Attending school, university or even a connected workplace can be very negative; “I wish I had a flatter stomach,” “You’re so lucky that you have thinner thighs,” just the constant comparing and negative body talk tends to take an influence on our own mind. Thus, the importance of blocking out negative talk, and keep those that encourage us, and give us confidence, closer to us.

Building a Strong and Positive Body Image:

Building a positive body image is learning that healthy attractive bodies come in all shapes and sizes, that doesn’t influence on our personality traits. A strong personal acceptance on our developments makes understanding the impact of body influence much more understanding. Understanding the important point of balance includes;

• Have a different outlook on the media: Talk back! Share different opinions and thoughts about understanding what body image and personal appearance is, and how we can look at it through positive aspects.
• Stop comparing yourself to others: We are unique, we cant figure out what we want and what our body needs if we are constantly comparing ourselves, for example, if you have just started at the gym, don’t compare yourself to a bodybuilder who has been training for 10+ years.
• Don’t focus on the numbers on the scales: Learn healthy eating habits and take up healthy enjoyable exercise, such as walks on the beach with your best friend.
• We cant change our body types: We need to appreciate our body shape, whether you are thin, short, curvy, large or tall. We are all different!
• Hang out with positive people: Spend time with influencers that have a healthy relationship with themselves and their appearance.

If we take these aspects into consideration, we will come to the realisation of reality and that everyone is different. Everyone approaches their appearance differently, as long as its the healthy way, both physically and mentally. Its important for the youth to understand these factors and learn from each other in encouraging ways.