What exactly do you see when you look into
the mirror?
How does it make you feel?
What are the thoughts that race through your
mind at that moment?
Why do I ask? Well, I guess you have to keep
scrolling to find out!
PUBERTY:
A NEW BEGINNING?
According to psychologist Stanley Hall,
adolescence is the beginning of a new life and accordingly, puberty can be
considered as the beginning of the new beginning.
Puberty is essentially defined as the time in
life when a boy or girl becomes sexually mature—a process that usually happens
between ages 10 and 14 for girls and ages 12 and 16 for boys. It causes
physical changes, and affects boys and girls differently.
But often there are certain issues that come
along with these changes, which are mostly overlooked. Change is scary and
especially when that change takes place in one’s own body. The familiarity
slowly fades away, giving way to features that one needs time to get accustomed
with, thus it is bound to be unsettling. It can be safely said that at least
one among three adolescents experiencing puberty goes through some sort of
emotional distress. Coping with the various physical and physiological changes
is quite challenging in itself. For girls, with puberty comes menstruation
which takes a toll on their mental and physical health. Some even start
encountering PMS or Pre Menstrual Syndrome which becomes extremely taxing.
Throughout adolescence, the body of an
individual reaches its adult form. Puberty kick-starts this process. In the
beginning of, during and after the changes have taken place, one develops one’s
body image.
WHAT
IS BODY IMAGE?
Body image is one’s perception of their own
body and features. It is a person’s thoughts and feelings about their own body.
Even though a person starts becoming conscious about their body quite early in
life, like—according to a survey, even second graders have some sort of
perception about their bodily or facial features and some of them are in fact
quite opinionated about those features, but, these opinions become more rigid
and deep-seated during adolescence.
Body image is
essentially of two broad types:
Positive body image and negative body image.
Positive body image refers to a healthy
perception that one has about their own body, portraying acceptance of their
features and satisfaction with their looks. Individuals with a positive body
image have the ability to look beyond their physical appearance and realise
that their self esteem does not rely on that.
On the other hand, negative body image refers
to a person’s dissatisfaction with their body and features. People with a
negative body image tend to perceive various imperfections in their features
and often hyper fixate or obsessively focus on such self perceived flaws which leads
to low self esteem, and might give rise to anxiety, depression, and/or
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
CONTRIBUTING
FACTORS TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF BODY IMAGE
One’s body image does not grow in isolation.
Various factors contribute to the perception one has about their body. These
factors are often responsible for the development of distorted body image and
body image issues.
Let’s get familiar with these factors—
SOCIAL
INFLUENCE: The society one grows up in, the kind of
people one is surrounded by especially during puberty and adolescence, play a
major role in shaping one’s body image. As soon as girls start showing signs of
development of secondary sexual characteristics, they are made conscious about
them in many societies. In conservative Indian societies, girls with bigger
breasts are asked and made to cover them, as if they are to be hidden from
prying eyes, which gives rise to a sense of shame and guilt. While girls with
smaller breasts are often told that they look like they haven’t attained the
desired growth yet, which again leads to a sense of shame. Either way, they
tend to develop a negative perception of their body which, in the long run,
might lead to the conditions discussed above.
Boys who aren’t muscular, the ones who have a
lean physique or even the ones who have sparse facial and body hair, are made
to feel like they aren’t ‘manly’ enough because in various societies, even
today, the narrow minded ideal prevails that muscularity equals to manliness.
Society often shames individuals for their
height, weight, complexion, various facial features like crooked teeth, nose,
etc.. Irrational, unkind comments passed on one’s appearance under the garb of
being worried or trying to ‘help’, like—”You should wash your face with
milk. That’ll make you fairer.” aren’t just hurtful but also contribute towards
developing deep-rooted insecurities in individuals about their appearance.
FAMILY
ENVIRONMENT: Family plays a key role in shaping one’s
body image. Puberty is complex and having a supportive family is essential
during this period to overcome the various physical and emotional struggles one
encounters. While understanding and compassionate family members, who can be
reached out in times of severe emotional distress or to seek advice can prove
extremely helpful in making adolescence a smoother process, narrow minded
family members on the other hand, can make it excessively difficult. In many
families, girls are shamed and treated as ‘impure’ once they start menstruating
while boys are told to ‘man up’ whenever they show signs of emotional distress.
Family members constantly passing comments on their bodies can make adolescents
grow up into individuals with severe body image issues.
PEER
PRESSURE: During puberty, forging bonds with peers
becomes important for most individuals. They start striving for acceptance and
some sort of acknowledgement from people of the same age group and their
friends. While sharing the same experience of going through puberty with one’s
friends can help feel a sense of connection and some sort of solidarity, but,
in many peer groups, during this time, excessive focus is centred around
appearances. From comparing each other’s heights and complexions, to judging
each other’s figures and physiques. The ones who have features that comply with
the set standards of beauty, are considered beautiful while the ones who do
not, are often shamed and bullied, making them develop a negative body image.
Such teenagers are left vulnerable to developing feelings of jealousy,
insecurity and massive self-loathing.
MEDIA
INFLUENCE AND POPULAR CULTURE: The importance of
popular culture and media representation is undeniable when talking about
factors influencing one’s body image. The beauty standards set by social media,
television and beauty magazines are narrow and mostly unattainable. A certain
body type is portrayed as ideal while any deviation from that is considered to
be in need of ‘correction’. This puts a lot of pressure on adolescents. Trying
to meet the unrealistic beauty standards prove to be exhausting and emotionally
taxing. In advertisements and fashion magazines, men are portrayed as tall,
robust and muscular. The boys who are unable to meet those standards, are
bullied in peer groups or commented upon in an unkind manner in family and
social gatherings. For girls, the set beauty standard is an extremely lean body
with prominent breasts and hips. In the quest of matching up to such
unrealistic standards, thousands of girls starve themselves to death every day
all around the globe and many consider and even go through multiple surgeries
to attain the illusive ‘perfection’.
In movies and series, from time immemorial,
chubby characters have in most of the cases been either portrayed as foolish or
as side kicks while the leads have always been shown to have ‘perfect’,
sculpted bodies. This trend is carried on till date which screams at
adolescents who are slightly overweight that they cannot ever dream of a life
the lead characters get to live because they aren’t beautiful enough.
The beauty standards promoted on social media
platforms are unrealistic and nothing short of toxic. Most of the models and
online magazines post heavily edited pictures, which make adolescents extremely
conscious about their bodies and they find
‘imperfections’ in themselves.
UNREALISTIC
TOYS: Even toys aren’t exempt from the list of
factors influencing body image. Dolls with unrealistic body types (for example,
the now infamous Barbie doll) and action figures and figurines with sculpted,
overtly sexual, muscular bodies, contribute towards shaping one’s body image or
one’s perception of beauty from a very early age.
PERSONAL
HISTORY AND GENETICS: An individual’s personal
history also affects their body image to a great extent. A history of abuse can
lead to Body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders owing to extreme self
loathing, depression and chronic anxiety. Individuals who have been brought up
in a home with distressed interpersonal relationships are prone to developing
deep rooted insecurities and a negative body and self image. If body image
issues run in the family, spanning through generations, then, the individual
becomes more likely to develop a distorted body image as that might get
transmitted through genes.
DISABILITIES:
Individuals with physical disabilities in
their adolescence, start becoming conscious of their appearance and might feel
bad about being different from others their age, especially if they grow up in
an unsupportive household or society. This might lead to severe BDD.
BODY
IMAGE AND THE LGBTQIA COMMUNITY
Even though any and every adolescent might
deal with body image issues, it is slightly more likely for LGBTQIA individuals
to struggle a little more with accepting their bodies. Many have reported not
feeling ‘at peace’ with their bodies since their gender and sexual identity are
often at war with each other. It is very important for family and peers to
support such adolescents and help them deal with their body image issues in
whatever way they deem fit, whether that be cross dressing, or going through
gender reassignment surgery. Individuals should be allowed to exercise the
right over their own bodies without any hindrance.
COMBATING
BODY IMAGE ISSUES: STEPS TOWARDS DEVELOPING A POSITIVE BODY IMAGE
As discussed above, a lot goes into making
one perceive their body the way they do. Following are a few things that can
help battle a negative body image and turn it into a positive one:
A
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: A healthy lifestyle with
sufficient sleep, proper eating habits and regular exercise can help one cope
with body image issues since, a regulated schedule helps in keeping the
hormones in check, ensures proper functioning of the brain thus keeping at bay
to a great extent feelings of emptiness, depression and anxiety.
INDULGING
IN CREATIVE ACTIVITIES: Taking part and indulging in
creative activities like dancing, writing, painting, recitation and so on can
help one feel more positive. Becoming aware of and focusing on one’s skills and
talents can take one’s mind off their bodies and help feel a renewed sense of
purpose for life.
KIND
COMPANY: The company one keeps, people one interacts
with and is surrounded by play a key role in the development of body image. It
is very important to surround oneself with people who are non-judgemental, kind
and understanding and have a better outlook towards life. Broad-minded,
generous people can help in developing a positive and healthy body image.
LAST
BUT NEVER THE LEAST—THERAPY: For adolescents and adults
dealing with severe body image issues, therapy is a must. Eating disorders,
anxiety, depression and everything that comes along with body dysmorphia is
treatable through therapy and counselling. Individuals dealing with the mental
health implications related to body dysmorphia should be encouraged to seek
help from mental health professionals as soon as they identify the symptoms or
someone else points the symptoms out for them.
YOU
ARE NOT YOUR BODY—YOU ARE SO MUCH MORE!
Human beings are complex creatures bubbling
with a plethora of emotions and so much potential. What we see in the mirror is
just a part of us. Our body is more like a vessel that contains our inner
being. Instead of loathing it and hyper fixating on the self-perceived or
pointed-out-by-narrow-minded-others ‘flaws’, it’s time we thank our bodies for
helping us sustain ourselves and perceive the world around us so intricately
with our senses.
Each and every body is unique and beautiful
in its own way. Those stretch marks you’re trying to get rid of, or those
crooked teeth your ‘friend’ laughed at or the layer of fat around your
thighs—all of that makes you, you. Who decides what is beautiful and what
isn’t? Who decides what the “perfect body type” is? The beauty standards set by
popular culture are nothing but toxic social constructs to sell the various
beauty products by bringing people down, by lowering our self esteem to such an
extent that we become convinced that we need ‘correctors’ like fairness creams,
slimming pills and cosmetic surgeries to look acceptable and it is high time
that we break free of them.
There’s beauty in every single person—one
just needs the eye to see it.
Embrace your body in its entirety and try to
look beyond it. It’s hard and it might take a long time to get there—at times
insecurities will be rife and they might rear their heads every now and then,
but, the next time you look into the mirror, try to look beyond your
features—try to look at the real you and the next time you look at someone
else, try to see them for who they are inside if you don’t already because
beauty is really what radiates from deep within—from the soul.
We are living, breathing beings with so much
going on inside us, in our minds and we are so much more than our bodies and
features. Our self worth does not depend on how we look. Our self worth depends
on our actions, our kind gestures, on the love we shower upon the people around
us, on the lives we live and what we endure, on how we turn out to be. Be kind
to others and most importantly, be kind to yourself and your body. The
authentic you is beautiful—beautiful, in every possible way.
–
AISHANI CHATTERJEE