Moving Toward a Theoretical Model for Change: The Outlook of Body Image in Women and Girls

Transcription

1 Moving Toward a Theoretical Model for Change: The Outlook of Body Image in Women and Girls Presented by Lauren McLean, M.Ed, M.A., LPC-Intern and Amanda LaGuardia, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC

2 Session Agenda Warm-up Activity Topic Background Rationale for Study/Method Results Discussion Closing Comments/Questions

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4 Background Information Self-worth in women is affected by self-objectification Objectification theory Women are valued for their bodies and beauty Women need to live up to an ideal beauty standard set by culture Self-objectification Women begin to view themselves as objects or bodies for others pleasure Can lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, shame, guilt

5 Background Information Calogero & Pina (2011) Overstreet & Quinn (2012) Women feel guilt and shame about physical appearance May try to correct flaws by disordered eating Investing self-worth in appearance and approval from others associated with body surveillance and reduced appearance satisfaction If women base self-worth on aspects like academics, spirituality, family support there was less surveillance and more satisfaction

6 Background Information Carey, Donaghue, and Broderick (2010) Girls engage in body image concerns on a daily basis Attempts by school to counteract seem ineffective Pipher (1994) Double standard of puberty versus messaging Fredrickson & Roberts (1994) Objectification theory framework analyzes the female body in a sociocultural context Aim is to shed light on the experiences and mental health risks of girls and women who encounter objectification

7 Background Information Tiggemann & Williams (2012) Constant sexual objectification of women gradually socializes girls and women to view themselves as an object whose worth is to be based on appearance alone Engeln-Maddox, Salk, Miller, (2012) Dissatisfaction can lead to fat talk and fat talk creates a cycle of perpetual dissatisfaction, guilt, and shame

8 Purpose of the Study Theoretical model of resiliency was proposed by Choate (2005) that names certain factors that can help strengthen women s resilience against body shame and guilt Family support and modeling Focusing on women s bodies for their strengths and power Educating women on the effects of media exposure Helping women to have a voice in order to challenge the traditional gender roles and thin ideal

9 Qualitative Study Rationale Based on Choate s proposed model Lack of research Wanted to obtain opinions from people who identify as women as to what would be helpful in combating objectification, body shame and guilt Pilot study Methods Interviewed 15 women Two interviews were conducted electronically and the other 13 were conducted face-to-face Face-to-face was audiorecorded Transcribed interviews Analyzed the data

10 Importance Many women seek counseling services Women may struggle with selfesteem and body image issues Body image and self-esteem issues can be a factor in various mental health issues Depression Anxiety Eating Disorders Relationships May be an issue to explore with a client Phenomenon can be worked on early Feminist theory can be implemented with various theories and techniques Empowerment Advocacy Exploring social issues and social justice

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12 Women Tough Question Needed pause to think because it was something that was never thought about Not something I ve ever really thought about. Being a woman is so tied into my identity and existence that it is almost synonymous to being human or being alive for me.

13 Women Nurturing but Mature Independent, hard-working, selfless, proud, free Being able to bear children/mothering but also have a strong side as well I just know what I like to do and I do it. I know how I like to be and I am. I just am who I am. I was born female. I think I will continue to be but not because they tell me that I am. Cares about herself and her own well-being and the choices that she makes are for her and not for everybody else.

14 Women Assumptions Overweight is not healthy, inherent view of attractiveness, cultural and biological influences Judgments and expectations made on women based on biology

15 Woman It s not just being a woman in that I need to buy tampons or being a woman in that I buy high heels and frilly clothes but also being a woman in that if I go to, even if I go outside, I might get cat called. Or, if I go to the auto repair shop people might not take me seriously or people might assume that I am mothering just because I am female. So for me being a woman is all parts. Part my decision and part all the things that people put onto my decisions.

16 Women When a man has a family and a job they don t say oh yeah he has to juggle having a family and a job but when a woman has a job it s like she has to juggle the family and a job because she s expected to take care of the house and the kids and all that. So, it s like, well, how s that any different than, you know, a man having a job. They both got to do the same thing. I guess it means doing more with less sometimes.

17 Self-Esteem Comfortable More than just body image Knowing yourself and not worrying about what others think of you I don t think I m any less of a woman because part of my body was taken out or because, you know, I can t have a kid. I don t feel like good selfesteem means you always feel great about yourself or that you never have any questions. Just that more often than not you feel comfortable being who you are.

18 Family Role Models Formative messages The people in your life who can support you; not necessarily family members but can be other influences The people who are with you the max amount of time when you are learning how to interact with the world, I think they are the ones who have the impact on you. Women will get their ideas on how to behave from other strong women.

19 Gender Reinforcement of rules Positive: Accepted, Organized Negative: Judged, Bullied, Pressured It is easier to live within the rules of your gender but it can also be limiting Flexibility Can express a mixture of female and male characteristics with less backlash Can explore boundary parameters as long as rules are still followed Open

20 Gender If you re going to buck that you can be because there s a little bit more flexibility than say if we were males, but if you re going to buck the system you better buck it well. So, you can t just be a tomboy, it s better if you can be the captain of the softball team.

21 Gender I definitely identify as a woman but in that context I m allowed to exhibit masculine behaviors as much as I want as long as I also perform as a woman. I can go see man movies because I want to see man movies but men can t see girly movies because, you know, oh you re girly if you like girly movies.

22 Athleticism Social Interaction/Health Acceptance Being a part of a team Feeling better about yourself with a sense of accomplishment Restrictive Negative judgments about body and level of athleticism It also would help your body look like what society says it should look like, which, I mean, body image is pretty much reliant on that.

23 Athleticism I go to a mostly women health club where we do dancing, and Pilates, and ballet type exercises which are definitely more feminine-gendered things healthy but in a pretty way at the same time. It s tough to be a woman. Society says be athletic, be fit, but don t be too fit because you have to be feminine.

24 Coping Teaching/Education Campaigns, begin early, opportunities Having conversations regarding the messages received Need to be genuine and not fake

25 Holistic Interconnected Integrated Each component of holistic wellness is tied to a broader component A woman is composed of tons of things that cannot be divided and organized into gender or anything like that. Balance Ideal Health, wellness, stability Broadens view of self but can be difficult to achieve

26 Most Helpful Family Relationship, Community Surrounding yourself with positive people Holistic Everything is a component of holistic All of them. At different points in my life and in different ways. All of them

27 Influences Double-edged sword Both positive and negative, pressure to do more, not doing enough and not good enough You came this far but you haven t gone far enough and yeah, you re a size 18 now but you should be a size 8.

28 Change No change This will always be a lifelong struggle because you are trying to change longstanding childhood mental patterns and the more steps you take the more you realize what is wrong It does matter what you look like. It s always mattered what you look like. It will always matter what you look like.

29 Change In our culture, I don t think she [women with healthy self-esteem and body image] really exists. Best thing we can hope for is to become more aware. Women will always feel the need to look 100% perfect all the time.

30 Change Uniqueness Inherent worth, Diversity Raise awareness on multiple forms of worth instead of focusing on one They are an individual. They aren t anyone else and so they shouldn t have to compare themselves to anyone else. It s okay to not be good at something because everyone is not good at something. I was so worried about what I could not do well instead of worrying about the things that were a strength for me.

31 Change I wish that the default for all of us could be that level of self-esteem, that understanding, that we re all worthy in some way and that it s just a matter of keeping that up rather than starving believing that we re inherently broken or imperfect and having to work up from there.

32 Change Action Individual responsibility, media distortion There needs to be a change in society because it is a broader societal problem Somebody s got to take some action and that is, I think, the most important thing is that we have to start taking actions instead of having intellectual conversations about it and then tabling it.

33 Change I would still rather be making gains somewhere in one of those categories than to make no progress anywhere. And if we could all agree that tomorrow that, okay, fine, screw it, we re going to pick athleticism. We re going to work really hard to make everybody take care of their bodies or at least try to embrace their physical well-being fine. Let s start there and we ll figure out the rest of it later.

34 How do you see this being implemented into the work you do with clients and families?

35 Feel free to for more information and pick up a handout on your way out.

36 Moving Toward a Theoretical Model for Change: The Outlook of Body Image in Women and Girls Presented by Lauren McLean, M.Ed., M.A., LPC-Intern and Amanda LaGuardia, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC Strategies for Change Family Support and Modeling o Educate families about body image issues and how families can support their child(ren) o Help clients identify positive role models o Seek out and educate clients about positive role models o Help clients and families/role models to build up on inherent strengths and selfworth of an individual rather than just focusing on looks alone Focusing on women s bodies for their strengths and power o Focus on health rather than body image o Learn to identify that fine line between being physically fit and developing unhealthy and restrictive behaviors o Help clients appreciate and celebrate the diversity found in all shapes, sizes, and colors o Educating and exploring with clients some coping strategies to assist with others negative perceptions Educating women on the effects of media exposure o Get involved in a love your body campaign o Educate clients about the unrealistic beauty standard set by the media o Explore thoughts and feelings associated with negative media exposure on clients o Be genuine with your clients

37 o Acknowledge the fact that this is a reality for many clients and will not go away easily; however, there is more to a person than just looks alone Focus on the inherent worth, dignity, and diversity of each individual and attempt to teach your client how to find this within themselves o Advocate for your clients on the effects that negative messaging has not just for women but how others perceive women as well Helping women to have a voice in order to challenge the traditional gender roles and thin ideal o Encourage your clients to speak out against forms of sexism, prejudice, discrimination, and negativity o Explore with your clients their views on their own gender roles and if this is working or not working for them o Challenge your clients to break through some of the barriers if they find these roles and ideals too restrictive o Explore with your clients what it means to them to identify as a woman o Assisting clients to begin to realize that taking care of themselves is not selfish and to explore with clients what choices she would like to make for herself And lastly, take individual responsibility and awareness of any negative biases and work towards changing those biases. No matter how small the action might seem it can have a larger impact on the community. Feel free to add your own thoughts to this list

38 For Further Information: Calogero, R. M., & Pina, A. (2011). Body guilt: Preliminary evidence for a further subjective experience of self-objectification. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(3), doi: / Carey, R. N., Donaghue, N., & Broderick, P. (2011). 'What you look like is such a big factor': Girls' own reflections about the appearance culture in an all-girls' school. Feminism & Psychology, 21(3), doi: / Choate, L. H. (2005). Toward a theoretical model of women's body image resilience. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83, Engeln-Maddox, R., Salk, R. H., & Miller, S. A. (2012). Assessing women's negative commentary on their own bodies: A psychometric investigation of the negative body talk scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(2), doi: / Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Reynard, K., Skouteris, H., & McCabe, M. (2012). An examination of the contextual determinants of self-objectification. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(1), doi: / Moradi, B. (2010). Addressing gender and cultural diversity in body image: Objectification theory as a fraemwork for integrating theories and grounding research. Sex Roles, 63, doi: /s Overstreet, N. M., & Quinn, D. M. (2012). Contingencies of self-worth and appearance concerns: Do domains of self-worth matter? Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(3), doi: /

39 Pipher, M. (1994). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York: NY: Riverhead Books. Tiggemann, M., & Williams, E. (2012). The role of self-objectification in disordered eating, depressed mood, and sexual functioning among women: A comprehensive test of objectification theory. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(1), doi: /