The Pain of Body Image

996 Words4 Pages
The Pain of Body Image According to Oxford English Dictionary, pain “inflicts bodily suffering,” which can be only associated to one type of pain that relates to body image (“Pain”). Only expressing the physical pain, this definition does not describe the mental and emotional pain a person suffers when they have poor body image. Body image is an issue that lurks in the minds of many people and can affect them daily. Several outside factors such as media, family, and peers can influence the way people view themselves in relation to societal standards. Unhappy with the way they look, people are willing to go to the extreme to get their ideal body. Many women strive to be thinner, while many men strive to be bulkier. Since the issue comes from within, the pain does not diminish, although there is temporary satisfaction. Solely dealing with thought, poor body image distorts a person’s image of himself or herself. The pain associated with body image is not a one step process, starting with mental pain then progressing to emotional pain then on to physical pain. Some may say the root of the problem comes from within but what instills the “perfect” image inside the mind of the person? Factors such as media and family can influence the initial thought. The media, especially magazines, publish pictures of celebrities that have been edited to the point that they look flawless. It is very rare that a magazine publishes a picture of someone who is unedited and natural. Women are smoothed, thinned, and enhanced causing young girls to think that is what they have to look like to be considered beautiful. This false image gets into the minds of the young girls making them feel inferior. Instead of saying “I want a healthy body”, they’ll say “I want a body like…” and they’ll go to every extreme to have a body like that specific person. Not only is the image of
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