IN
from the OUTSIDE looking
Body image -- be it publicly or privately -- is a topic that everyone deals with. "Do I look good enough in this photo to post it?" "Does the way I'm standing make me look hideous?" "Maybe if I looked a little bit more like _____ I would be well liked (accepted, pretty, cute, hot, etc.)." Body image puts us in a vicious cycle of being our own worst critic & tempts us to refine ourselves to meet society's "norms." In today's digital age of worshipping the legs of Victoria's Secret Angels, abs of professional athletes, and the backsides of the Kardashian women -- from the outside looking in -- body "perfection" seems impossible to achieve & body image, an all-time low.
Take a look at some of most prevalent trends in what affects body image today, and gain some personal perspecitve from the editors of Knucklehead News.
For me, my body image has always been something I have been conscious about. Growing up as a dancer, I was constantly reminded that the way my body looked would be showcased for hundreds of people when I had to get on stage and compete. It was not until college though that I realized how much I cared about what my body looked like. I wanted to stay as skinny as I was growing up, but that dream is hard to make a reality when you have the pressures of college and not dancing 20+ hours a week. One thing I have done in college to take care of myself is going to work out. I have found that even though I might not be the same weight or size as I was in high school, I need to love myself because that is what is important.
from the diaries of the EDITORS
- Natalie
Photos courtesy of Google Images
Ever since the sun hit my skin, I remember a civil war
A civil war between The Ideal and The Mirror
The Ideal has always been around
The commercials of Saturday morning cartoons, the magazines sitting on the tables while I wait for a check up
She was there with her bronzed check bones, with her vanished pores
The Mirror has chopped bangs and had dorky glasses. Scrapes up and down her legs that anxiety picked at.
She grew into her teens, she grew more.
More things that weren't like the commercials or the magazines
Weeds and invasive species that seemed to overcome the natural landscape
The Mirror would pick battles with The Ideal
The Mirror was fighting for a feeling
A feeling The Ideal would never be able to give The Mirror
The thing about this civil war, it has never been so civil
And in a raging war, The Mirror was covinced by force to hate herself instead of The Ideal
a poem by Claire
boys talk body image
Source: CNN
This is who I am.
That is who I want to be.
She is what I'm not, but that's
exactly what I need to be -
To be happy, to be loved, to be carefree.
I wish I was that girl,
That girl on my screen.
- Kayla
Photos courtesy of Google Images
know the facts
Growing up being a dancer and playing every sport under the sun, body image was always on my mind. It's hard not to compare yourself in every way when you're competing. Not only in body image, but also in performance and how your body affects your performance. For girls I feel like it's something that we all struggle with but don't necessarily talk about it unless we're talking negatively about ourselves.
- Lauren
Source: Health Research Funding
Q & A
Knucklehead News: What is the one thing that you wish you could change about your body?
HANNA: Moving back and forth between Korea and the US influenced me a lot. In Korea, being stick skinny with caucasian like features (big eyes, narrow pointy nose) is viewed as “beautiful” and “pretty” so I grew up having similar beauty standards, which often caused me to shame myself for being “thick” for an Asian.
LINDSAY: I wish I could change the size of my thighs. I really hate the way I look in different types of pants. Because I would like to look a little bit different, it makes shopping for clothes or getting ready for school really hard for me.
Knucklehead News: Do you struggle with your body image?
HANNA: Yes, I do! In fact, I would say it’s something I struggle with on a daily basis. I think it’s because I grew up with beauty standards that were different from what I actually looked. Also, my family played a big role in it, because while all my family members are fit & slim, I’m considered the “thick and fat” one in the family. Whenever my whole family gets together on holidays, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles would almost always comment how “I’ve gained more weight” and that I look “bigger” and etc. these comments really got to me and has made me more self-conscious about my body.
LINDSAY: Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I don't feel comfortable in my own skin.
Knucklehead News: Describe the first time you remember dealing with body image.
HANNA: The first time I had to deal with body image was probably around 4-5th grade. I moved to Korea around that time, and because I was a bit tanner than my classmates, I was often picked on and called names regarding the tone of my skin. However, I really started struggling with body image during the transition from elementary school to middle school (7th grade-ish). I wasn’t even overweight, just simply thicker than my classmates.
LINDSAY: I am a twin - a fraternal twin, which means that we don't look alike. My twin and I look like totally different people. She's much shorter than me & is so skinny, full of muscle. Ever since I can remember, I've always been referred to as the "bigger twin", which sometimes, to me, sounds like "uglier twin". I know people don't mean it that way, but that's what it sounds like.
Knucklehead News: What is the number one thing that affects your personal body image?
HANNA: I would say the beauty standards of the society and the people around me affect my personal body image the most.
LINDSAY: The number one thing that I think affects my body image is my friends. I compare myself to people around me and how they look and convince myself that that's what I need to look like. Instagram is also hard to have & not compare yourself to every girl on there, whether it's my friends or someone famous - you always see someone you'd rather look like.
Knucklehead News: If you could give any advice to your younger self about the way you view yourself, what would you say?
HANNA: I would tell myself that I'm beautiful for who I am and that my body is unique in its own way. I would also convince myself not to try all those crazy unhealthy diets that don’t really work, and to stop obsessing over the numbers on the scale! It’s really the inside that matters!
LINDSAY: I'm still kind of young, but if I could go back to the very first time me and my twin sister were compared to each other, I would remind myself that I should just be happy with the person that I am and not let anyone else affect the way I live my life or how I view myself.
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