Session 2 - Be Body Positive

How are body image issues caused and
maintained?

Media
advertising

Encouraging
the thin ideal

Perfectionism

Unrealistic
standards

Stereotypes
and stigma

Prejudice

Systemic
issues

As well as considering the ways in which your own behaviour and thoughts may cause and maintain body image issues...

...it’s also important to reflect on society’s
impact, including the media’s
influence.

Social media comparisons
and media literacy

Your social media usage may impact
your body image.

Research shows that viewing body positive social media has a positive effect on men and women's body image, self-compassion and mood.

Who you follow on apps like Instagram and TikTok may make a bigger difference to body image than time spent on social media. Diversifying your feed is important!

Consider why you choose to follow certain accounts. How do you feel before and after going on social media?

Media checker

Ask yourself the following questions when looking at social media posts...

Who created it?
Who paid for it?
What is its purpose?
Who is the target audience?
Who benefits?
Who is harmed?
Who/what are the sources of this information?
In what way has the image been manipulated?
What are the values of this message?
Do I agree with the values it represents?

Media literacy

It’s important to think critically when it comes to brands, advertising and well-known apps like Instagram.

Billion dollar industries would be impacted if body image improved. Arguably they would prefer if it doesn’t.

Have you considered what’s real and what’s not when it comes to the media?

When scrolling through social media,
ask yourself:

What is the purpose
of this post?

Do I need to buy
something to achieve
this ideal?

Who is profiting
from this?

Media literacy

Detox = laxative. Short term way of eating that
is mostly liquids and restrictive.

Did you know our bodies naturally filter and detox every single day? If you have a functioning liver and kidneys, it's likely a detox is not necessary or even beneficial for you.

Guilt free = eat as much as you
want and buy more of our product.

Who profits from this? Be critical of food marketing; it is created to sell products NOT to teach us about nutrition or what you should eat.

The effects of photoshop...

Airbrushing – this is where techniques are used to smooth out imperfections, such as spots or moles.

Digital manipulation – this is where an image is altered in a more drastic way, such as changing the model’s body shape or the shape of their facial features. Sometimes a body part of the model is replaced with the same body part from another model.

Use of lighting – special lighting positions can be used when the picture is being taken to highlight certain areas of the model’s body and hide others.

Photoshop: This is where techniques are used to remove imperfections, such as dark circles or blemishes.

Parody accounts and images

These can help to remind you of social media’s unrealistic beauty standards.

Parody accounts drive home the idea that entire teams of professionals are needed to create the images that we unfairly compare ourselves too.

They subvert our 'thin ideal'
expectations.

Viewing body positive content

Choose to follow accounts that promote body acceptance and appreciation and that challenge
society’s 'thin' ideal and celebrate all bodies.

Remember, the modelling industry changes through the ages.
What is considered ‘beautiful’ and ‘ideal’ by society changes dramatically over the years.

The hot cross bun model

The hot cross bun model shows how thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and behaviours all interact with each other in one situation. In some cases, a vicious cycle can be formed, with unhelpful behaviours triggering negative thoughts.

Kim’s thoughts/images
about her body

She thinks she looks fat and ugly.

What Kim did as a result

Missed
school/swimming.

Kim’s feelings towards
her body

Ashamed, disgusted and embarrassed.

Physical sensations
Kim feels in her body

Disgust, uncomfortable, shaky and sick.

Scenario 1: Kim

Kim has just gone into Year 9. In the first term, she has been timetabled for swimming for her weekly PE lesson. Kim is worried about what she might look like in her swimming costume so the day before the first session, she tries it on in her bedroom in front of the mirror.

Kim is disgusted by what she sees in the mirror and thinks she looks fat and ugly. She has the image in her mind of her classmates laughing at her as she walks out of the changing room.

This makes her feel ashamed and embarrassed. The following day Kim wakes up shaking and feeling sick. She asks her Mum to call the school to say that she is poorly.

What thoughts/images might Rohan be having in response to seeing themselves on Zoom?

Critical thoughts regarding appearance.

What do
they do?

Tell their friends
they’re tired and
log off the call.

What might
their feelings be?

Embarrassed,
ashamed
and low.

What physical sensations might Rohan be feeling?

Disgust,
discomfort,
temperature rising and tearful.

Scenario 2: Zoom call

During lockdown, Rohan's friends have arranged a Zoom call one evening for them all to chat online. They can see their own and everyone else's thumbnails and become self-conscious.

They start to think that their friends must be focusing on how they look and believe that their friends are judging them, as they think they look bad.

Rohan quickly feels a mixture of embarrassment, shame and sadness, and in response they say they are tired and want to go to sleep so that they can leave the call.

What thoughts/images might they be having in response to the photo?

Critical thoughts regarding appearance.

What do
they do?

Avoid classmates,
isolating
themselves.

What might
their feelings be?

Embarrassed,
ashamed
and low.

What physical sensations might they be feeling?

Disgust,
discomfort,
temperature rising and tearful.

Scenario 3: Sam

Sam is scrolling through Instagram and comes across a picture of a celebrity they like.

They begin to compare themselves, noticing that their teeth aren’t as white, hair isn’t as smooth and skin isn’t as clear.

Sam begins to think that their classmates must notice and judge these things in them every day and starts to feel incredibly anxious.

Sam feels nervous arriving at school and decides to sit at the back of class so that they can avoid talking to anyone up close.

The hot cross bun model

Now that we have seen examples of how our thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and behaviour can interact in situations, can you think of time when you were self-conscious about your appearance and the way this impacted you. Use the four boxes to complete your own hot cross bun.

Note that changing one section of the cycle can help create changes in other areas.

Thoughts

Behaviours

Emotions

Physical sensation

Self-worth

Means having confidence in one's own worth or abilities - also known as self-esteem.

Self-worth and body image

Most people evaluate their self-worth (or self-esteem) based on a variety of things. They might evaluate how happy they are based on how well important things in their life are going.

People with eating disorders tend to judge their self-worth based largely on their shape and weight and their ability to control these.

They may have other interests, but over time these seem to take a lesser place in their lives.

Draw out 2 different pie charts:

Your current self-worth pie chart.
Your future self-worth pie chart (what you would like it to be).

Your current self

1.

%

2.

%

3.

%

4.

%

5.

%

6.

%

Your future self

1.

%

2.

%

3.

%

4.

%

5.

%

6.

%

Rank the items for self-worth in terms of their importance.

One way of finding out how important each item is, is to ask yourself, “If something goes wrong in this area, how much does it get to me?”

What are the things that are important to your self-worth? How many ‘slices’ have you got in your self-worth pie chart? Is controlling eating, shape and weight in one slice? Is it very much larger than the other slices? If this is the case, then you are banking on this ONE area of your life to work out for you so that you can believe that you are of worth.

You may also have other interests and things in your life, but over time, perhaps these have taken a lesser place.

One important and effective way of reducing your over-evaluation of body shape and weight (and their control) is to begin to extend the other areas of your life – enlarging the other slices of your pie, so to speak.

When you start doing this and keep at it, you will find that your life becomes more balanced and you will feel more content over time.