What is Body Image?
What is Body Image?
You may have heard the terms body image or positive body image flying around social media, but what exactly are people talking about? Put simply, body image is how we think, feel, and experience our bodies. It includes how we perceive our body to be and also how we perceive others see our body (1). Body image is not just about weight and shape, it also includes lots of additional components like skin colour, gender, weight bias, and muscularity (1).
If you only take one thing from this article, it’s this: body image is not static. Our bodies change over time and in the same way, how you feel, think, and perceive yourself will also change over time. This could mean over a long time like years, or even over a short time like minutes and hours. That’s because body image doesn’t just equate to you - it’s very influenced by external factors, like cultural beauty standards, social media, the thin ideal, and weight bias.
What is Negative Body Image?
Negative body image is viewing yourself in a negative way, and is characterized by overall low body satisfaction, lack of ability to fully appreciate that your body is more than how it looks, and the presence of body checking behaviours (2).
Body checking behaviours include weighing yourself regularly, pinching parts of your body in the mirror, checking how certain clothes fit you, continuously asking others for assurance that your body has not changed, and comparing your body with others (3).
If you’re currently struggling with body image and body checking behaviours, you might feel that developing positive body image is not possible for you. But hopefully there are activities and practices you can add in to start to help reduce negative body image, which we will come to soon.
Now, What Exactly is Positive Body Image?
We now know a bit more about negative body image, so is positive just not doing any of the negative stuff? Actually no. Positive body image is about so much more than just the absence of negative behaviours and thoughts (1). It’s much more than this, and research shows that people with positive body image appreciate their body for what it does for them, they treat their body with care, recognise that bodies change and celebrate that everyone’s body looks different (4).
People with positive body image do still experience negative body image, it’s just they have the positive coping strategies to bounce back. The key to positive body image is not linking how the person looks with how they respond to their body and external messages (5). If we use the example of trying on clothing, people with negative body image may try on a piece of clothing they haven’t worn in a while and is now too small, and this makes them feel really upset. This could turn into a body image spiral and result in body bashing thoughts (e.g. “I don’t look good”) or lead to body checking behaviours that push the negative body image deeper.
In comparison, people with positive body image might think more compassionately or even be more neutral about the situation, and tell themselves “that’s ok, it’s normal for bodies to change”. However, even people with positive body image don’t always respond that way. The key with having a positive body image, is that there’s more appreciation for what their body does for them and less focus on how their body looks or responds to external factors, like clothing sizes (5). When in that situation, people with positive body image might tell themselves: “I am not very comfortable in my body because these clothes are now too small, but I still appreciate my body for helping me do my job/carrying me so I can go on hikes/allowing me to play with my kids”.
Positive body image is not looking in the mirror and only thinking positive things, it's about appreciating and caring for yourself and your body, even if you aren’t completely satisfied when you look in the mirror.
Positive and negative body image are not two sides of one coin
We touched on this before, but negative body image is not disliking every single thing about yourself, and positive body image isn’t loving everything about your body. Positive body image is also not just the absence of negative body image behaviours and thoughts. Which means, it is not just focusing on appearance. A key component of positive body image is being able to filter information that is body image protective (4-5). Which is thought to be one of the main differences between those with negative and positive body image: the ability to filter experiences and thoughts that are not helpful to how you feel about your body.
And finally, here are my top 5 tips to cultivate more positive body image
When trying to cultivate more positive body image, put weight loss on the back burner. There’s a big misconception that body image is fixed by changing your body or by losing weight. When actually, people who diet or those who have lost weight may have poorer body image (6).
Make sure you have basic self-care on your to-do list. This means making sure you are eating regular meals and snacks, drinking enough water, having restful and plenty of sleep, and moving your body in a way that feels good and not as a chore or punishment.
Learning to accept your body as it is, also includes making it feel comfortable. So it’s time to clear out your clothes and donate or sell anything that does not fit. This might be difficult depending on your financial situation, so take it slowly and find a solution that fits your needs- maybe try a clothes swap?
It might be helpful to keep a journal or note on your phone of all the times in a week/month you feel uncomfortable in your body. Notice if there are any themes, common situations, or thoughts that keep coming up, and see if those match with anything else going on in your life. This might be that after watching too much TV featuring glamorous people, or speaking to certain family members you feel less good about yourself. How do you think you can cope with these situations?
Affirmations are your friends. Try developing some self-compassionate statements that you can use when you’re feeling down about your body. Here are 3 examples for specific situations, which I hope you find valuable:
For when you wish your body would change: “I’m feeling uncomfortable in my body, but I’m accepting those feelings. I know these feelings will pass, I’m doing the best I can right now”.
For when you have been comparing your body to others: “I found myself comparing my body to others, which I know is not helpful for my body image. But, I am now going to treat myself with compassion and do something nice for myself. This body is mine, that body is theirs” *Then do something nice for yourself, like moisturise your body or ground yourself with your feet and do a few minutes of deep breathing.
For when you have been doing body checking behaviours: “I accept that my body will change, it’s completely normal. I feel unhappy (*or whatever emotions you feel*) but I know that accepting that I will feel this way sometimes will help me in the long run”.
This guest blog post was written by Shannon Western MSc BSc, a Registered Associate Nutritionist with an interest in Intuitive Eating and Body Image Healing.
References
Tylka, T.L., Wood-Barcalow, N.L. (2015) What is and what is not positive body image? Conceptual foundations and construct definition. Body Image 14: 118-129.
Aparicio-Martinez, P., Perea-Morena A.J., et al. (2019). Social media, thin-ideal, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating: an exploratory analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 21(1): 41-77.
Stefano, E.C., Hudson, D.L. (2016) Examination of body checking, body image dissatisfaction, and negative affect using Ecological momentary assessment. Eating Behaviour 22: 15-54.
Cottone-Cook, C.P. (2015) Incorporating positive body image into the treatment of eating disorders: A model for attunement and mindful self-care. Body Image 14: 158-167.
Webb, J.B., Wood-Barcalow, N.L., Tylka, T.L. (2015) Assessing positive body image: Contemporary approaches and future directions. Body Image 14: 130-145.
Lee, J., Lee, Y. (2016) The association of body image distortion with weight control behaviours, diet behaviours, physical activity, suicide idealsation emong Korean high school students: a cross-sectional study. PC Public Health 16:39-41.