Why Do We Struggle
With Beauty and Body
Image?
The beauty industry spends billions of
dollars a year convincing women that
they need to look thinner, younger and
sexier. Biola Magazine asked Tamara
Anderson — a professor in Biola’s
Rosemead School of Psychology — about
the high toll the media takes on women’s
body image.
How many women struggle with an unhealthy
body image?
The majority of women will say they are
dissatisfied with their bodies, but, on the
flip side, many of them can also tell you
what they like, such as their eyes or hair.
This is healthy because it shows they can
assess themselves. So having a healthy
body image is not about thinking, “I feel
good about myself in all these areas,”
because having areas for improvement is
just the state of being human. But if a
woman feels so bad about how she looks
that she doesn’t leave her house or hang
out with friends, or doesn’t put herself in
a community where she might develop a
romantic attachment, then it’s affecting
her life. And, according to the current
literature, one in four women in
Western culture will have an eating
disorder — anorexia or bulimia — in
their lifetimes.
Do more women in Western culture have an
unhealthy body image than in other cultures?
Eating disorders are seen around the
world in every industrialized country.
But in Western culture, media has a
huge influence on women’s body image,
and we definitely see higher rates of
eating disorders in the West. The
California subculture — home to the
entertainment industry and so many
beaches — is particularly a problem. In
California culture, men are much more
concerned about how their bodies look
than in other places, with what’s pushed
out here as being the ideal body. But it
still does not equal what women deal
with.
How does the media contribute to an unhealthy
body image?
The whole beauty industry is built on,
“You’re not OK the way you are. We’ll
make you better.” It would seem bizarre
to us today, but 50 years ago, when
television was brand new, there were
commercials that would say, “Gain 10
pounds in a week, guaranteed.” Women
bought these products until wafer thin
was considered the best body to have.
Then, for a while, Cindy Crawford
brought in a new kind of image of
models who looked healthier. Also, in
advertisements a woman is often treated
as a body or a collection of body parts
and not a whole. For example, often
you’ll see a part of a woman’s body —
maybe her head isn’t showing and her
knees and below aren’t showing, but the
rest of her body is. That’s a clear
objectification of a woman.
Do celebrities struggle with body image issues?
Yes, they’re also victims of the media.
I’ve worked with models whose names
you’d know based on how popular they
are, and they’ve had to lie in bed for 20
minutes in the morning repeating to
themselves, “I am worthy to get up”
because they think they’re ugly and
they’re depressed and suicidal. Other
people look at them and say, “Wow, they
must have a good life,” but they have no
idea what these women deal with
everyday.
Does the rise in plastic surgeries influence body
image?
Yes, this has been very disturbing to me.
I just heard a radio ad for breast
implants for $299.95. You could get your
full body redone for something like
$6,000. It sounded like a paint job for a
car. The mentality is, “If you’re unhappy
with something about your body, then
get it fixed.” I just heard of a case from a
colleague who is working with a client
whose parents gave her breast implants
for her 16th birthday. That’s outrageous.
The problem with plastic surgeries is that
— even if one area of the body gets
“fixed” — there’s always something else
to be upset about. If somebody has true
body image issues, then 20 plastic
surgeries won’t fix what’s broken on the
inside. Of course, some people do have
very simple concerns. For example, they
feel they have an unusually large nose as
defined by their culture. If they basically
feel good about themselves otherwise,
then getting a nose job can make them
feel good because that’s all they were
concerned about. But the availability of
plastic surgery to the general public is
clouding the issue of body image.
Besides the media, are there other factors that
contribute to an unhealthy body image?
Family messages are very powerful. I’ve
worked with girls who are 9 years old
who exhibit eating disorder symptoms,
partly because they’ve been told by their
families, “You’re fat. You don’t want to
be fat.” So, they start to see themselves
as unworthy based on body size. If body
image is elevated above other things in
girls’ minds, that can create a problem.
What does current research into body image
reveal?
The more refined research is showing
the impact of women’s perceived body
image — their ideas of what other people
think of them — rather than what other
people really think of them. There’s a
subtle difference there, like, for instance,
with a husband and wife. The husband
will say, “I think you’re fine,” but if the
woman’s perception is that he really
doesn’t mean that, then that takes a toll
on her. He can be saying until he’s blue
in the face, “I don’t have any trouble
with how you’re shaped and what you
look like,” but her perception is what is
the most powerful.
What steps should be taken if someone suffers
from an unhealthy body image?
With clinical eating disorders,
interventions will vary woman to
woman. I’ve worked with clients who
I’ve told not to read fashion magazines.
That may seem like a small thing, but it’s
not small for somebody who is already
distressed about her body because
fashion magazines depress every
woman. Many people have spent
a lot of money on themselves , and they also
often surround themselves with people
who reinforce the message that they’re
overweight. These are the girls with
boyfriends who tell them, “You need to
lose some weight.” So, women can choose
to be in relationships with men who
don’t talk that way to them. And
Christian women can learn to see
themselves as God sees them. That can be
a wonderful healing thing, knowing “I’m
one of God’s creatures. He created me.
I’m beautiful to Him.”
How can families help young girls develop a
healthy body image?
I have a 5-year-old sister who loves
to put on outfits and match them. I’ll say,
“Oh, you look beautiful. What a smart
girl you are to be able to be so creative
with your clothes.” So, I’m always
throwing in what a smart girl she is with
how beautiful she looks. However, you
don’t want to go too far the other
direction and deny telling girls they’re
beautiful. Families must also realize that
moms set the tone a lot of the times. If
mom is continually obsessing about her
weight and continually dieting — always
saying, “Oh my goodness, how many
calories are in that?” — that sends a very
strong message to young girls as to what
they should be concerned about and
what’s most important in the world.
With Beauty and Body
Image?to
The beauty industry spends billions ofdollars a year convincing women that
they need to look thinner, younger and
sexier. Biola Magazine asked Tamara
Anderson — a professor in Biola’s
Rosemead School of Psychology — about
the high toll the media takes on women’s
body image.
How many women struggle with an unhealthy
body image?
The majority of women will say they are
dissatisfied with their bodies, but, on the
flip side, many of them can also tell you
what they like, such as their eyes or hair.
This is healthy because it shows they can
assess themselves. So having a healthy
body image is not about thinking, “I feel
good about myself in all these areas,”
because having areas for improvement is
just the state of being human. But if a
woman feels so bad about how she looks
that she doesn’t leave her house or hang
out with friends, or doesn’t put herself in
a community where she might develop a
romantic attachment, then it’s affecting
her life. And, according to the current
literature, one in four women in
Western culture will have an eating
disorder — anorexia or bulimia — in
their lifetimes.
Do more women in Western culture have an
unhealthy body image than in other cultures?
Eating disorders are seen around the
world in every industrialized country.
But in Western culture, media has a
huge influence on women’s body image,
and we definitely see higher rates of
eating disorders in the West. The
California subculture — home to the
entertainment industry and so many
beaches — is particularly a problem. In
California culture, men are much more
concerned about how their bodies look
than in other places, with what’s pushed
out here as being the ideal body. But it
still does not equal what women deal
with.
How does the media contribute to an unhealthy
body image?
The whole beauty industry is built on,
“You’re not OK the way you are. We’ll
make you better.” It would seem bizarre
to us today, but 50 years ago, when
television was brand new, there were
commercials that would say, “Gain 10
pounds in a week, guaranteed.” Women
bought these products until wafer thin
was considered the best body to have.
Then, for a while, Cindy Crawford
brought in a new kind of image of
models who looked healthier. Also, in
advertisements a woman is often treated
as a body or a collection of body parts
and not a whole. For example, often
you’ll see a part of a woman’s body —
maybe her head isn’t showing and her
knees and below aren’t showing, but the
rest of her body is. That’s a clear
objectification of a woman.
Do celebrities struggle with body image issues?
Yes, they’re also victims of the media.
I’ve worked with models whose names
you’d know based on how popular they
are, and they’ve had to lie in bed for 20
minutes in the morning repeating to
themselves, “I am worthy to get up”
because they think they’re ugly and
they’re depressed and suicidal. Other
people look at them and say, “Wow, they
must have a good life,” but they have no
idea what these women deal with
everyday.
Does the rise in plastic surgeries influence body
image?
Yes, this has been very disturbing to me.
I just heard a radio ad for breast
implants for $299.95. You could get your
full body redone for something like
$6,000. It sounded like a paint job for a
car. The mentality is, “If you’re unhappy
with something about your body, then
get it fixed.” I just heard of a case from a
colleague who is working with a client
whose parents gave her breast implants
for her 16th birthday. That’s outrageous.
The problem with plastic surgeries is that
— even if one area of the body gets
“fixed” — there’s always something else
to be upset about. If somebody has true
body image issues, then 20 plastic
surgeries won’t fix what’s broken on the
inside. Of course, some people do have
very simple concerns. For example, they
feel they have an unusually large nose as
defined by their culture. If they basically
feel good about themselves otherwise,
then getting a nose job can make them
feel good because that’s all they were
concerned about. But the availability of
plastic surgery to the general public is
clouding the issue of body image.
Besides the media, are there other factors that
contribute to an unhealthy body image?
Family messages are very powerful. I’ve
worked with girls who are 9 years old
who exhibit eating disorder symptoms,
partly because they’ve been told by their
families, “You’re fat. You don’t want to
be fat.” So, they start to see themselves
as unworthy based on body size. If body
image is elevated above other things in
girls’ minds, that can create a problem.
What does current research into body image
reveal?
The more refined research is showing
the impact of women’s perceived body
image — their ideas of what other people
think of them — rather than what other
people really think of them. There’s a
subtle difference there, like, for instance,
with a husband and wife. The husband
will say, “I think you’re fine,” but if the
woman’s perception is that he really
doesn’t mean that, then that takes a toll
on her. He can be saying until he’s blue
in the face, “I don’t have any trouble
with how you’re shaped and what you
look like,” but her perception is what is
the most powerful.
What steps should be taken if someone suffers
from an unhealthy body image?
With clinical eating disorders,
interventions will vary woman to
woman. I’ve worked with clients who
I’ve told not to read fashion magazines.
That may seem like a small thing, but it’s
not small for somebody who is already
distressed about her body because
fashion magazines depress every
woman. Many people have spent
a lot of money on themselves , and they also
often surround themselves with people
who reinforce the message that they’re
overweight. These are the girls with
boyfriends who tell them, “You need to
lose some weight.” So, women can choose
to be in relationships with men who
don’t talk that way to them. And
Christian women can learn to see
themselves as God sees them. That can be
a wonderful healing thing, knowing “I’m
one of God’s creatures. He created me.
I’m beautiful to Him.”
How can families help young girls develop a
healthy body image?
I have a 5-year-old sister who loves
to put on outfits and match them. I’ll say,
“Oh, you look beautiful. What a smart
girl you are to be able to be so creative
with your clothes.” So, I’m always
throwing in what a smart girl she is with
how beautiful she looks. However, you
don’t want to go too far the other
direction and deny telling girls they’re
beautiful. Families must also realize that
moms set the tone a lot of the times. If
mom is continually obsessing about her
weight and continually dieting — always
saying, “Oh my goodness, how many
calories are in that?” — that sends a very
strong message to young girls as to what
they should be concerned about and
what’s most important in the world.
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