Reshaping Body Image

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Reshaping Body Image
How are overweight and obese people treated in
our society?
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Directions

• 1. I am going to show you 5 pictures. I want you
  to write your first impression for each picture.
  (No discussion ?)

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A. What are your first impressions?
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B.

• B

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Discussion

What were some of the first words that came to
mind about these people?
Did you have any impressions about the health and
happiness of each person? What were they?


Did you have any impressions about the level of
intelligence or success of each person? What were
they?

Did you write down any words about how attractive
or unattractive each person is? What words did
you use?

Did you write down any words about the body size
or shape of each person? Which ones? What words
did you use to describe their bodies?

Were your first impressions of the women
different from your feelings about the men? How
about the white people as compared to the people
of color?
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Size

• Is there anyone who did not think about the size
  of these people?
• Although each person looks happy, healthy or
  active, the first impression many people have is
  about their body size
• 2. Where do we get our ideas about what body
  shape size is attractive healthy?
• 3. What are some negatives about how we obtain
  information and/or are influenced by this
  information?
• Ideas in our society are so ingrained that most
  of us take them for granted accept them as
  natural normal.

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History

• Up until the 20th century, stoutness was
  associated with good health, affluence elevated
  social status, while thin people were often
  regarded as poor unattractive
• From the earliest times, depictions of human
  beings such as the Venus figurines sculptures
  of fertility goddesses celebrated large size as
  a sign of well-being prosperity
• In WWI, concerns about food shortages led to
  claims that gaining weight was unpatriotic
• 1930s-40s anti-fat attitudes took hold
• 1950s medical inventions (surgery drugs) were
  introduced to fight fatness
• 1960s models like Twiggy replaced more
  voluptuous figures like Marilyn Monroe

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Images

• For the following images
• 4. Which images surprised you? Why?

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now
then
Lillian Russell Actress and Sex symbol, early
20th century (200 lbs)
Angelina Jolie Actress Sex symbol, 21st century
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now
then
Babe Ruth Pro baseball player, early 20th century
Mike Trout Pro baseball player, 21st century
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now
then
King Henry VIII 16th century
President Obama 21st century
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now
then
Miss America contestant 1950s
Miss America 2013
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Cross-Cultural Comparisons

• Western standards of beauty are not universal.
• In central Africa, Massa men are made to drink
  milk for 3-month periods to produce large,
  radiant bodies that symbolize beauty
• In other African cultures, women also enter into
  fattening periods to increase their beauty
  fertility
• Moroccan Saharawi women use drugs, traditional
  suppositories, inactivity overfeeding to fatten
  themselves in preparation for marriage
• Pacific Islanders find a fuller figured body
  representing status, power, authority, wealth
  fertility most attractive
• Countries that rank high on individualism
  (Australia, Poland the U.S.) show greater
  anti-fat attitudes than those ranked lower on
  individualism (India, Turkey, Venezuela)

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there
here
American dancer ballet
New Zeland dancers performing Maori haka
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there
here
American Wrestlers
Japanese Sumo Wrestlers
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Race Gender Lines

• Variations in attitudes toward body size exist
  within U.S. subculture.
• Research indicates that non-white adults are more
  accepting of larger body shapes, hold more
  positive body images, are less likely to
  stigmatize overweight people
• White women are more dissatisfied with their
  bodies than African American women despite the
  fact that African American women weigh on average
  10 pounds more.
• In one study 13-14 year old overweight black
  girls were found to have similar levels of
  self-esteem to average weight girls while
  self-esteem was significantly lower in overweight
  white Hispanic girls

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Race Gender Lines

• Both white and African American women
• Rated thin white women more attractive but only
  white women negatively rated the fat womans
  intelligence, job success happiness
• On average, African American men showed more
  acceptance for large body types than White men
• Men have a more positive body image than women
  often overestimate their attractiveness as
  compared to women
• Women are generally more discontent with their
  appearance than men (often due to body weight)
• Girls as young as 6 are going on diets because
  they think they are fat by age 9, half of all
  girls have gone on a diet

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Questions continued

• 5. How have ideas about body image in our society
  changed over time? What do you think caused these
  changes? Do you think they will shift again in
  the future?
• http//www.today.com/video/today/54515687
• 6. How are ideas about body image different in
  other parts of the world? What do you think
  accounts for these differences?
• 7. How do you think fixed ideas about body shape
  size in U.S. culture influence you?
• 8. List at least two physical features you like
  about yourself.