How can describing a person's body affect how they feel about themselves?
Answers
Explanation:
Body image is a person's perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. It involves how a person sees themselves, compared to the standards that have been set by society. The Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder coined the phrase 'body-image' in his book The Image and Appearance of the Human Body (1935).Human society has at all times placed great value on beauty of the human body, but a person's perception of their own body may not correspond to society's standards.
The concept of body image is used in a number of disciplines, including psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies; the media also often uses the term. Across these disciplines and media there is no consensus definition, but body image may be expressed as how people view themselves in the mirror, or in their minds. It incorporates the memories, experiences, assumptions, and comparisons of one's own appearance, and overall attitudes towards one's height, shape, and weight. An individual's impression of their body is also assumed[by whom?] to be a product of ideals cultivated by various social and cultural ideals.
The issues surrounding body image can be examined through body negativity and through body positivity. Negative body image consists of a disoriented view of one's shape; whereby one may often feel self-conscious or feel ashamed, and assume others are more attractive. Aside from having low self-esteem, sufferers typically fixate on altering their physical appearances. Long-term behavior could thus potentially lead to higher risks of eating disorders, isolation, and mental illnesses. Having a negative body-image may lead to a more serious mental illness such as body dysmorphic disorder: "Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), occasionally still called dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder characterized by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one's own body part or appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix their dysmorphic part on their person..."[better source needed] Positive body image on the other hand, is described as a clear true perception of one's figure. In addition to celebrating and appreciating the body, it also requires an understanding that an individual's appearance does not reflect their character or self-worth.