Body image is a person's perception of his or her own physical appearance. A person with a poor body image will perceive his or her own body as being unattractive or even repulsive to others, while a person with a good body image will see him or herself as attractive to others, or will at least accept his or her body in its current form. Perceived body image is not necessarily related to any objective measure or the average opinion of other people; a person who has a poor body image may be rated as beautiful by others, and a person with a good body image may be rated as unattractive by others. Body image is most strongly affected during puberty.

Research: measuring body image

Body image is often measured by asking the subjects to rate their current and ideal body shape using a series of depictions. The difference between these two values is the amount of body dissatisfaction.

Monteath and McCabe found that 44%^[1] of women express negative feelings about both individual body parts and their bodies as a whole.

Psychology Today found that 56% of the women and about 40% of the men who responded to their survey in 1997 were dissatisfied with their overall appearance.^[2]

The desire to lose weight is highly correlated with poor body image, which typically means that more women have a poor body image than men. Susan Kashubeck-West, Laurie B. Mintz, and Ingrid Weigold report that the sex differences in body image disappear when we consider only those people who are trying to lose weight.^[3]

Our life orientation also shapes how we feel about our bodies. Women who call themselves feminists view their body more positively than those who do not consider themselves feminists, even though there was no difference between the groups in average body weight.^[4] Exercise habits, sexual experiences, and mood also influence the feelings people have toward their bodies.

Men's body image is a topic of increasing interest in both academic articles and in the popular press. Current research indicates many men wish to become more muscular than they currently perceive themselves to be, often desiring up to 26 lbs. of additional muscle mass (Pope, Phillips, & Olivardia 2000).

The desire for additional muscle has been linked to many men's concepts about masculinity. A variety of research has indicated a relationship between men's endorsement of traditionally masculine ideas and characteristics, and his desire for additional muscle (McCreary, Saucier, &Courtenay 2005; Kimmel & Mahalik, 2004). Some research has suggested this relationship between muscle and masculinity may begin early in life, as boys' action figures are often depicted as super-muscular, often beyond the actual limits of human physiology (Pope, et al. 1999).

This desire for additional muscle has been given various nicknames, including "The Adonis Complex", "Bigorexia", "Reverse Anorexia", and "Muscle Dysmorphia". Muscle dissatisfaction has been linked to low self esteem (Olivardia, et al. 2004), personality disorder (Davis, Karvinen, & McCreary, 2005) and is related to the use of muscle-building supplements and anabolic steroids (Olivardia, et al. 2004; Ridgeway & Tylka 2004). As such, men's body image dissatisfaction represents a substantial concern to public health researchers.

Relationship to psychological disorders

Concerns with body image have been linked to a decrease in self esteem and an increase in dieting or eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Great body dissatisfaction can also lead to Body dysmorphic disorder, which involves a disturbed body image in the absence of eating disorders.

Excessive preoccupation and an unusual fixation on positive body image is sometimes associated with narcissism and vanity.

Disambiguation issue

There is another technical use of the term "body image", which refers to the association of areas of the motor cortex with the voluntary movement of body members. This is often shown as the motor homunculus depicted by Dr. Wilder Penfield. This image distorts the body according to the areas of the motor cortex associated with its movements. For example, it shows the thumb as larger than the thigh because the thumb's movement is much more complex than that of the thigh and thus occupies a larger area of the cortex. The motor homunculus plays a central role in proprioception. This body image is involved in phantom limb phenomena as well as their opposite, as in the case of brain damage resulting in the disappearance of parts of the body from conscious perception.

References

Davis, C., Karvinen, K., & McCreary, D.R. (2005). Personality correlates of a drive for muscularity in young men. Personality and individual differences, 39, 349-359.

Debra L. Gimlin, Body Work: Beauty and Self Image in American Culture (University of California Press, 2002) ISBN:0520228561

Grogan, Sarah. Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children.

McCreary, D.R., Saucier, D.M., & Courtenay, W.H. (2005). The drive for muscularity and masculinity: Testing the associations among gender-role traits, behaviors, attitudes, and conflict. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 6, 83-94.

Olivardia, R., Pope, H.G., Borowiecki, J.J., & Cohane, G.H. (2004). Biceps and body image: The relationship between muscularity and self-esteem, depression, and eating disorder symptoms. Psychology of men and masculinity, 5, 112-120.

Pope, H.G., Phillips, K.A., & Olivardia, R. (2000). The Adonis complex: The secret crisis of male body obsession. Sydney: The Free Press.

Ridgeway, R.T., & Tylka, T.L. (2005). College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of men and masculinity, 6, 209-220.

1. ^ The influence of societal factors on female body image. J Soc Psychol. 1997 Dec;137(6):708-27
2. ^ Psychology Today: Body Image Poll Results
3. ^ Separating the effects of sex and weight-loss desire on body satisfaction
4. ^ Psychology Today: Body Image Poll Results

See also

• Pinocchio illusion

External links

• Adolescent girls' body perceptions as a result of sport participation from JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance found at HighBeam Research
• Body image survey: Monash University online research into body image.
• Body image survey: Differences in body image between men and women.
• AnyBody.org - non-profit organization
• The Media Assault on Male Body Image (September 15, 2006) by Brandon Keim for Seed magazine
• The Ideal Beauty of the Human Body in Art