Blossoming for Whom? Social Approval and Body Image

*Wenting Mu and Fan Wu*

## **Abstract**

Body image is a multidimensional construct that reflects the way we perceive and feel about our physical appearance. This inside view of our body heavily influences our self-esteem, mental health, and overall well-being. Under the influence of mass media, peers and family, individuals, especially women, may feel pressured to conform to the societal standards of beauty, engage in upward social comparison, and consequently experience negative body image. While our sociocultural surroundings plays a role in the internalization process, other intrapersonal factors, such as appearance-based rejection sensitivity and lack of self-concept clarity, may heighten the risk for some individuals. Body image disturbances can be manifested in forms of avoidance behaviors, monitoring, eating restraints, and body modification. In order to promote body acceptance, we ought to gain insights into the formation of our body image and challenge the commonly held belief on who defines beauty.

**Keywords:** body image, societal standards, media message, social approval

### **1. Introduction**

Our relationship with our body has always been complicated. Although our body is an integral part of our life experience, many of us do not grow to like or appreciate our body as the way it is. Through the process of socialization, we develop ideas of what is preferred in our society and how we should look at our body. This belief system shapes our perception of and attitudes towards our body. While the size and shape of our body are an objective measure, our body image is not always as stable or realistic. It is not uncommon for one to hold a distorted view of his or her body, which could lead to body dissatisfaction and compromise one's psychological well-being.

Psychologists have devoted an entire body of research on this particular topic and investigated how our perception of our body influences thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. Some researchers looked into the origins of body image, others studied the influence of negative body image on our mental health. They raised many interesting questions that inspire us to reflect upon. For example, what role do our families and friends play in the shaping of our body image? What makes some individuals more vulnerable to social comparison than others? In this chapter, we will delve into some of these questions and reveal how our societal standards explicitly and implicitly influence our body image.

Before we get started, it is worth mentioning that body image is not a subject that only pertains to girls or women. As many of our male readers may attest, men can be equally troubled by their body images as well. Moreover, body image is not only about size. It would be unfair to assume that one is only concerned with his or her weight or size, given the rich diversity of human experiences. Literature has examined a great variety of body-related topics, such as physical diseases and injuries. For the purpose of this chapter, we will mainly look at the section of literature that relates to shapes and sizes. But it is not to say that other aspects of body image are not as equally important.
