![]() It’s likely that you’ve felt ashamed about your body, were made to feel ashamed about your size by someone you care about, or inadvertently made someone else feel ashamed. Perhaps it would be easier if ideals weren’t so tied to our sense of well-being or if media images didn’t carry so much aspirational appeal, which encourages you to buy products in the hopes they will make you look like the people held up as “beautiful.” Instead, we have multi-million dollar diet, drug, and cosmetic industries advertising their products, implicitly saying, “Try me, give me your money, and I will promise you eternal happiness.” Shaming Ourselves and Others It may be difficult to give up the pursuit of this mythical perfect body size, even though that pursuit may end up being damaging to your emotional and physical health. It is both unfair and unrealistic to expect everyone to look ‘perfect’, but the power of these images remains hard to resist. At best, such figures may be natural for only a small percentage of the population. Ironically, a majority of media photos that portray individuals with perfect bodies (who may actually be seriously underweight) are enhanced by modern technology to achieve the effect. ![]() These messages define body shape and size as targets for regulation and control. Society’s messages about body image are generally shaped by the media, the beauty industry and outdated notions of health and fitness. For instance, these messages tell women to be thin, curvaceous, muscular and delicate-all at once! But did you ever stop and think about who sets these unquestioned standards? Society’s Messages about Body Image We are presented with many contradictory messages about what our bodies are supposed to look like. Not surprisingly, women far outnumber men in terms of preoccupation with body shape, size, and weight. Research suggests that images of women are much more confining than what is allowed for men. ![]() Additionally, individuals whose gender identities do not fall into traditional definitions may feel pressure to conform to these standards. If you are like most people, you have been criticized by others-or you may have criticized yourself-for being too fat or too thin or for simply not fitting the standard. You may be nodding your head at this point because you are aware of these ideals. Men, on the other hand, may have to contend with ideals that demand muscularity or extreme thinness or both. In short, we receive messages that the perfect body is your passport to a good life.īut what does this perfect body look like? For women, this ideal is a very thin supermodel look, an athletic build, or an impossibly voluptuous figure. Society portrays this perfect body as the key–the secret to attracting a romantic partner, to landing a dream job, to having good health, popularity, success, and self-confidence. This article has been viewed 888,052 times.Many elements of society promote the idea that having a ‘perfect body’ is a guaranteed way to command others’ admiration and approval. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. She also teaches at the Boca Raton Museum Art School - formerly at SVA in Manhattan. Renée has even painted a portrait of celebrity, Vanilla Ice. She has garnered numerous awards including “Artist of the Year” from The Bloomfield Art League and First Prize from the Boca Raton Museum Artist’s Guild. Renée is featured in over 68 shows and galleries including a one-woman museum show at the Paterson Museum. She has studied under internationally renowned portrait artists John Howard Sanden, David Leffel, Robert Beverly Hale, Clyde Smith, and Leonid Gervits. With over 50 years of experience, Renée specializes in painting realistically in oil and capturing the soul of the person. Renée Plevy is an Internationally Acclaimed Portrait Artist from New York/Palm Beach who has painted The Grand Dames of Palm Beach and various celebrities and community leaders. This article was co-authored by Renée Plevy and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising.
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