Body Image

Body Image

"To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself." -Simone de Beauvoir

How did the obsession with weight begin?

Although there's no exact day, time, or year to trace back to, America's first taste of the trend began in the 1800s.

Before the 1800s, Americans were generally larger than Europeans because they had access to more resources (foods). They ate more, so they gained more. No one thought much of it. In fact, hundreds of years ago, being stick-thin was considered ugly and disgusting. Only the poor, starving people were thin, while those with money ate more food, therefore being much larger. Take a look at famous kings and queens before the 1800s, most of them are fairly large, and their size was praised by the commoners.

So, when did this stop?

In the 1840s, a Presbyterian minister named Sylvester Graham began a diet for women that was seen as the key to health and mortality. This diet consisted of eating mainly bread from coarse graham flour (later used to make graham crackers), vegetables, and water. Then, in the 1860s, William Banting created the Banting diet, which is used as a basis for diets popular today. These two diet plans spread like wildfire, and by the 1920s, obesity no longer symbolized wealth, but instead showed laziness.

Marilyn Monroe, most famous during the 1940s through the '50s, was seen as one of the most beautiful women of her time. Even today, her name is still well known. Marilyn was curvy and sexy, and every girl wanted to look just like her. Today, that may not have been the case. Marilyn Monroe was not large by any means, but she was considerably bigger than the standard size of today’s models. This was mainly due to her height, since she was only 5'5”, but she weighed 118 pounds (this number varied, since her weight changed dramatically as she starred in many different roles), making her dress size a twelve. Average models today normally don’t exceed a size eight.

How did this happen?

In 1959, the first Barbie fashion doll was created. Barbie was a slim, blonde plastic doll that was viewed to be “the ideal woman’s body.” The early Barbie doll hardly resembles the Barbie we see today. She started out as a thin, but curvy doll. Barbie was often dressed in petite clothes and bikinis, just like the popular films in the 1960s. In the 1970s, when drugs and illegal substance abuse was at a high (pun intended), popular fashion models got hooked onto these drugs and their appearance significantly changed. They began to look almost emaciated. This unnaturally thin, ghost-like appearance became common among models.

Even fashion designers were affected by this. They wanted their clothes to look attractive, and picked the thinnest of the models to show off their clothes. Skinny models were essential not only for the appearance, but also for the camera, which can make one look larger than they actually are. The skinnier models got the jobs, while the curvy ones were left standing alone and confused.

Although two hundred years may seem like a lot, in a historical sense, it isn’t much time. In those years, beauty went from being large, to being curvy, then to being stick-thin. Who knows what trends we may see in the next few decades?

High Expectations

Teenage female models average size zero to two for females, with adults being size eight or smaller, and male models hardly ever exceeding 165 pounds. For most runway models, such as Victoria Secret’s “Angels”, this average drops to a perfect size zero. These models are given strict diets and exercise routines that they must follow so they don’t gain any weight, or else they’ll quickly be eliminated. These sickly-thin models sometimes starve themselves to the point of hospitalization to keep their figure, yet this fact seems to slip from the media’s attention. Brand names don’t want the public to hear about these facts because they want people to believe if they buy their product, that it will look just as good on the consumer as it did on the model, regardless of their size.

All around us are people manipulating their bodies to become thinner, and it's no wonder why people easily get sucked in. Being an average, healthy size is viewed as overweight, and the high expectations set for body image can be deadly.

Anorexia

Anorexia is not dieting, it is an eating disorder that includes losing a significant amount of body weight, having a fear of weight gaining, and having a self-image that relies mainly on weight.

Anyone can get anorexia, no matter what age, size, or gender. About ninety five percent of those with anorexia are teens and young adults. Anorexia is becoming more and more common because of the media, which makes being anorexic seem easy and makes you skinny quickly without any consequences.

This is not true. Yes, starving yourself will make you skinny quickly, but yes, the weight will come back.

Anorexia often begins as cutting down calories, and the person doesn’t realize that they’re not eating enough. They then start skipping meals, then skipping a day of eating, and eventually they can’t eat much of anything without getting sick. They first lose muscle, which is their body’s way of getting all of the nutrients that it is lacking when it’s not getting enough food. After the muscle mass is gone, then the fat mass begins to shrink.

They will be very skinny because their body is starving, not because they’ve become healthier. Over time, their metabolism will slow down, and eventually it will almost completely stop. A slow metabolism makes your body take longer to break down calories, therefore, you will gain weight quicker. In order for one with anorexia to stay skinny, they will have to continuously cut down calories, which is dangerous when they are already hardly eating anything.

It is okay if you have anorexia, it does not make you different from society and it does not mean there's something wrong with you. Please talk with a peer or someone you trust if you are anorexic to find treatment. You're not alone, there are millions of people with anorexia, and there are many people you can speak to about overcoming it.

Rehabilitation for anorexia consists of a slow, steady diet that adds more calories over time so it does not throw the body off. The metabolism can go back to normal over time, after consistently following the new diet and taking all of the steps given. If you have anorexia, you can overcome it.

Body Types

There are three body types: ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs. It is unusual for someone to fall perfectly into one body type, instead they're usually a mixture of the three. You cannot change your body type, it's hereditary and you'll have it your entire life.

Ectomorphs are generally thin and find it difficult to gain muscle and body weight. They have fast metabolisms, small frame and bone structure, a flat chest, and small shoulders.

Endomorphs have a larger bone structure with more body mass. They have slower metabolisms, are generally shorter, find it difficult to make muscles defined, but do gain muscle and fat the easiest.

Mesomorphs are generally known as the more athletic structure. They have well defined muscles, a rectangular shaped body, and gain muscle and fat more easily than ectomorphs.

Click here to find out what body type(s) you are.

Remember: no body type is better than the others. They are all beautiful and all have their highs and lows.

Dieting the Safe Way

There are millions of diets out there, some good and some bad, but it is difficult to find the one that works best for you. Some people spend years dieting with little to no results, and they don’t know what they’re doing wrong.

Before you diet, talk to your doctor to find the safest and most effective method for you. Mention your body type and any physical activity you do. You can lose weight in a safe and healthy matter, with just a little bit of effort.

The best diet is always cutting out fats, like those donuts in your pantry or the brownies your mom made, along with added physical activity, but this is also the most difficult way. Completely cutting out sweets will be more difficult, and less effective, in the long run. It’s best to follow a plan, and for serious dieters, to count your calories (set a goal for yourself, not too high but not too low).

How to Love Your Body

We see so many different people everyday, each with a different body, and they always seem to look good with it. But then, we look at ourselves, and we hate our own. How can you love your body?

The easiest thing you can do is to dress according to your figure. Women have four main figures: petite, circle (apple), triangle (pear), and hourglass. Just because you’re not super petite does not mean you can’t look good! Click here to look at different ways to discover the best way to dress for a particular woman’s figure. Men have three main figures: thin, heavyset, or muscular. Click here for the best way to dress for a particular man’s figure.

Make sure you're not surrounded by negative people, their attitude could easily transmit right to you. Try to be around people that are positive and you'll find yourself more upbeat. Give other people compliments, and you'll be surprised how many compliments you get back. Just one compliment can easily brighten your, and someone else's, day.

Don't be afraid to talk it out. We all have that one person who we can trust with our secrets; talk about your insecurity with them. They can help you through it, and even give you tips.

For girls, know that women were created to be more curvy than men because the women bare the children. It's just the way women were created to be

Keep in mind that your body was built for one main function: to keep you alive. Everyday it works hard for you and fights off all of the bad things that came your way, it's best to treat your body properly and be grateful for the amazing body that you have.

If you have questions, comments, concerns, or you need someone to talk to, you can email me here.

Remember that every body is beautiful, no matter what shape or size.