Support Body Image

Body Image is about how young people see themselves and is linked very closely to self esteem. Young people may have good body image, where they feel confident about their looks or they may want to hide away from the world - every young person feels differently.

According to a BBC study, over half of women and nearly a quarter of men said they would consider having plastic surgery.

For women the most popular surgery was a boob job, with liposuction next and for men Liposuction and nose jobs were the most common choices.

More than half of girls aged 12 to 16 felt that their body image either stops them from getting a boyfriend or from relaxing in a relationship.

Half of the women asked said there was "lots they would change" about their bodies - and over 10% "hated" what they looked like.

These statistics are worrying, but why is it that so many of us feel so unhappy with our bodies?

The Media

The media is probably the biggest factor. Everywhere we look, on TV, in magazines and even just walking down the street, we are being bombarded with images of ‘perfection’. The problem with these images is that it is almost impossible to look like them. Even the models themselves often look nothing like they do in the pictures! Everything is airbrushed or enhanced in some way. After just a few minutes looking through a glossy magazine, most women and a lot of men feel pretty bad about their own looks, regardless of their own attractiveness.

It can be very difficult for young people to feel confident in a society where the very thin or beautiful are celebrated and normal is rarely even featured.

The scary thing about our feelings towards our bodies is that it is not uncommon to go to extreme lengths in our efforts to achieve ‘perfection’. Dieting can go from cutting out sweets to skipping meals and even lead to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, which can severely damage health.

Body image is becoming an issue for boys and men too, though discussion of the issues (as reflected by the links on this site) focuses on more on girls and women.

Killing Us Softly

The video below 'Killing Us Softly' looks at advertising and the image of women and is helpful insight to understanding the challenges that young people face and the expectations which they are being bombarded with.

Mentors - Self Esteem - Body Image