how can we learn to love our bodies?
by Jenny Bryan
the body haters
White, heterosexual women in the higher social classes, living in westernised countries are most dissatisfied with their size and shape; income, it appears, is less of a factor. Most men have largely escaped the burden of body image, though gay men record significant problems with body satisfaction and self esteem.
Exposure to images of successful, thin female actresses, models and other celebrities from an early age is widely blamed for our growing dissatisfaction with our bodies.
'Western society idealises extreme thinness and this impacts on women's body image by becoming a source of comparison for making judgments about the body,' explains Dr Sarah Grogan, principal lecturer in health psychology at Staffordshire University.
Twelve-year-old Jung has a south-east Asian appearance, yet she yearns to look like German supermodel, Claudia Schiffer. She is 7 stone and trying to lose a stone in weight by dieting, skipping, and running around the block every night until her legs hurt. She even does facial exercises to try to take weight off her face.
'I know my face doesn't look anything like Claudia Schiffer but perhaps my body could look like Claudia Schiffer if I try,' she says.
