In modern society body image dissatisfaction is common, especially with the emphasis of beauty through aesthetic labor. Overtime the image of what society deems is “beautiful”, has changed dramatically and with these progressive changes in beauty standards arise the negative impacts on health, especially amongst the most influential age group; the youth. To exemplify, through the process of body modification, dieting, over exercising and possibly even starvation, you might obtain the impossible image that Western culture has normalized.
Consequently, some of the side effects of these practices, (that affect both genders), include, low self-esteem, and eating disorders. From a socio-cultural perspective, these issues can be analyzed by focusing on the influence of biology along with personal experiences, culture, and the media. Through the evaluation of these three influential factors, it is evident that body image issues and eating disorders play a crucial role in serious health complications especially among young people. Body Image dissatisfaction and eating disorders are greatly dictated by your environment and your biology.
In adolescent years, each child learns and grows in their own environment, in some cases their surroundings may be highly toxic. For example, if a child is abused sexually or emotionally, they will always feel as if they are too “heavy” or too “thin” even if they are of average size (Grogan, 2008, p. 4). Accordingly, traumatic events such as sexual abuse often leave a person feeling as if they are at fault, and they should do something about these negative feelings. It is thought that the development of eating disorders and unhealthy habits are a mechanism that the individual uses to cope with their emotions (“What Causes an Eating Disorder? , n. d. ).
Additionally, parents also play a large role in shaping a child’s environment (Harrison, 1997, p. 37). Studies indicate that mothers with eating disorders themselves tend to exhibit their symptoms onto their children. To exemplify, these mothers tend to use food as a way to reward, comfort or punish their children and they regulate everything that the child eats (Agras, as cited Olmsted, M. P. , & McFarlane). Not only does the mother who is weight conscious have unhealthy eating habits, but she will also be concerned about her child’s weight even if it is average.
Moreover, children who are subjected to this treatment often pick up these food conscious habits and become anorexic or bulimic themselves (Lacey, as cited Olmsted, M. P. , & McFarlane). Scientifically speaking, recent research reveals that biology also plays a major role in contributing to body image issues. When scientists analyzed the brains of individuals with eating disorders, they noticed abnormal patterns in the circuitry that may potentially contribute to eating disorders (“What Causes an Eating Disorder? “, n. d. ).
This predisposition to issues with body image is triggered by a stimulus from the external environment of that person. Another biological factor that works with the environment to thus negatively affect an individual’s health, is heredity (Olmsted, M. P. , & McFarlane, 2004). Parents who themselves struggle with their body image pass these traits to their offspring. As mentioned before, parents inflict these habits on their kids and raise them in this toxic manner, and as a result, these children receive a “doubledose” of health-related risks (Olmsted, M.
P. , & McFarlane, 2004). All things considered, these examples of how the confounding variables, (the environment and biology), have an influence on an individual’s decision, is proof of how social construction is at play. The environment is the structure that limited the potential for personal growth, but also the individual acted out their agency by making choices that may be detrimental to their health. Yuka Nakamura argues that, since their sociological imaginations are not activated, they believe that the choices hat they make are due to their own free will (KINE 1000 lecture, September 28th, 2016).
In other words, these unrealistic images that are engraved in their brains are due to the broader social forces that they are unaware of. Consequently, this leaves them with a higher predisposition to eating disorders and low self-esteem (Grogan, 2008, p. 193). To draw a comparison between both genders in adolescents, when analyzing this issue, it becomes visible how power operates in a socially constructed society (KINE1000 lecture, September 26th,2016).
For example, both men and women experience the negative impacts of body image issues, but in different ways. If boys are bullied as children for being “weak”, this leads them to believe that a more muscular appearance is desirable. On the other hand, girls are more likely to be sexually abused, which results in their idolization of a “thin ideal” (“The Facts About Girls in Canada”, n. d. ). It is clear that women have a higher susceptibility to body image dissatisfaction due to these biological and environmental factors. (Olmsted, M. P. , & McFarlane, 2004).
As quoted in, “The Facts About Girls in Canada”, statistics show, “In 2008, over 11,000 sexual assaults of girls under the age of 18 were reported to police in Canada” (“The Facts About Girls in Canada”, n. d. ). As a result, it has been proven that these experiences lead to the decline of their mental health. They experience higher rates of depression, low self-esteem and feelings of helplessness. Culture also plays a significant role in body image issues and eating disorders, causing serious health problems among the younger generations. Western society has idealized slenderness and has associated specific social attributes with weight.
For instance, if you are thin, then you are happy, kind, successful and socially acceptable. Whereas if you are overweight, you are lazy, have no willpower and have no control over your own body (Grogan, 2008, p. 9). These stereotypes/meanings that have been attached to weight have had detrimental effects on health over the past decade. Also, some individuals can’t attain these toned, idealized bodies, so they go on extreme diets and exercise (Grogan, 2008, p. 9). Consequently, these body modification processes result in the development of eating disorders. Dieting for example is especially dangerous for children and adolescents.
If a person already has a genetic predisposition to eating disorders, dieting speeds up the development of these negative obsessions about weight. To add on, dieting also heightens the feelings of guilt/shame towards “overeating” and binging (“What Causes an Eating Disorder? “, n. d. ). Regrettably, another example of how in culture has a considerably large impact on the youth is visible when taking a look at how children interact with each other. They prefer not to play with others who are overweight and this institutional dimension of oppression follows a child to adulthood (Grogan, 2008, p. 9).
Further examination of this example reveals the differences in power and privilege. To enumerate, children with a lower body eight have “power” over those who society sees as undesirable because of their size and this difference in power, structures the further relationships that are established within the institutional system. This type of power sees one group as dominant and the other as subordinate, and the result of this categorization is unhealthy (Collins, 1993, pp. 6-13). When considering other cultures, it is evident that Western cultures opinion of body image is different than those of others.
Presently, negative stereotyping of body weight was more visible in Western countries, (such as the US), then countries such as Mexico (Grogan, 2008, p. 11). From a sociocultural perspective, this is due to the fact that people of Western societies tend to be more individualistic. In other words, they believe that their own actions and agency will determine their fate (Grogan, 2008, p. 11). Ultimately, they will be less sympathetic towards people who are overweight and will have a moral discourse around fatness (KINE 1000 lecture, February 2nd, 2016).
