CHAPTER 5

THE PHYSICAL SELF

Prepared by:
Ms. Fatima Grace D. Fabillar
Faculty, Social Science Unit
Activity
“Body positivity is as simple as
making the choice to love yourself
despite your shortcomings – to
embrace your whole self and not
let others dictate how you feel about
your body.” – Paige Fieldsted
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. identify and reflect on the different forces and institutions that
impact the development of the physical self;
2. explain the role and impact of culture on body image and self-
esteem;
3. discuss the influence of media on understanding beauty and
developing self-esteem; and
4. identify the ways to develop positive and healthy body image and
self-esteem.
 2. The Role and
1. The Self as 3. The Influence
Impact of 4. Self-esteem
Influenced by of Media on
Culture on Body and Its
the Physical Beauty and Self-
Image and Self- Significance
Body esteem
esteem
The Self as Influenced by the
Physical Body
The physical body is the way through which
we make sense of the world and our
environment. We experience life through
our bodies and senses (e.g. sight, smell,
touch) allowing us to interpret the world
around us.
However, the body is not merely an object in the world but
we are also our bodies in that the body is the vehicle for our
expression in the world. The body is the sight for the
articulation of all our identifications of gender, class,
sexuality, race, ethnicity and religion.
For example, studies show
that one of the visible and
deeper changes in relation
to the modern body
concerns the dress reform
and the appearance of the
naked body.
The change of appreciated body
color reversed the social-bodily
distinctions between people and
classes, and nudism became a
radical expression of this body-
cultural change.
The Role and Impact of
Culture on Body Image
and Self-esteem
Pop culture or popular culture is a
culture widely accepted and patronized
by the public. It provides benchmarks
which become the basis of their self-
definition. The predominance of pop
culture in today's society definitely has
some effects such as the way teenagers
think of themselves, how they associate
with others, and how they express
characteristics of their maturation.
Self-definition refers to
the way a person sees
himself or herself. Teens’
self-image is influenced
to a large extent by the
personal choices and
associations they glean
from pop culture.
Self-definition can be intrinsically
tied to self-esteem and confidence.
In Psychology, the term self-esteem
is used to describe a person's overall
sense of self-worth or personal value.
Body image refers to the person's perception of the level of
attractiveness of his or her body. These include how we perceive
our bodies visually, how we feel about our physical appearance,
how we think and talk to ourselves about our bodies.
It may also refer to how other
people view our bodies. In this
sense, body image can be seen
as both internal (personal)
and external (social). One's
perception of his or her body
elicits either pleasing or
satisfying or unpleasing or
unsatisfying feelings.
Along with the concept of body
image is the concept of beauty.
Beauty is of two types – the
inner beauty which refers to the
inner qualities of the person
and the external beauty which
refers to the physical
characteristics of the person.
In this modern time, physical appearance is
dealt with great importance. Much effort is
exerted to reach the ideal body called ‘body
beautiful’ by men which is the admired muscular
‘adonis’ body built, while the ‘coca-cola’
contoured figure for women is equally desired.
The pursuit of perfection puts a huge strain on
both genders who strive to acquire the body of
their dreams. We are indeed in a culture where
beauty is judged based on physical appearance.
The media creates ideals in the form of
celebrities and models, for men and
women to admire. These gives us
pressure to conform to expectations.
Images in the media often make us
worry about our own appearance,
defining what body is attractive and
which one is not, seeing being fat as
unattractive.
Pop culture icons tend to extend their visibility beyond
culture and into brands, which they sell via
advertisements or products carrying their name. Beyond
fostering a certain degree of
commercialism, these brands have
associations in and of themselves
that tie into self-definition or social
groups within a teenager's life.
Through media, campaign on the use of certain beauty
products has the goal of improving the look of the model in
order to improve his or her appearance to perfection using
those cosmetics. As a result, most women are dissatisfied
with their appearance which for Annie
Lennox believed that:
“It is the stuff that fuels the
fashion and beauty industries”
This results in women feeling insecure about their own
appearance and then conforming to the media's perception
of beauty by buying beauty products. Beauty has become a
currency system and it assigns hierarchical value to women,
encouraging escalating consumerism.
Our bodies are not only biological but
also cultural in that we say, we all shape
and manipulate our bodies. We are all
body-builders as we build and style our
bodies on a daily basis. The body is
enthralled to cultural regimes, telling us
how we should look – especially how we
should dress and what our bodies’
weight or fat levels should be.
Body adornment refers to the
practice of physically enhancing
the body by styling and
decorating the hair, painting and
embellishing the fingernails,
wearing makeup, painting the
body, wearing jewelry, and the
use of clothing. Body adornments
are by definition temporary.
Body modification refers to the
physical alteration of the body
through the use of surgery,
tattooing, piercing, scarification,
branding, genital mutilation,
implants, and other practices. It
can be permanent or temporary,
although most are permanent
and alter the body forever.
For the most part, people learn to live
with physical imperfections. But in
several cases, the individual is so
dissatisfied with his or her physical
attributes that he or she seeks to alter
them through surgical means. Plastic
surgery remains most popular among
women, maintaining beautiful bodies
through plastic surgery procedures.
The culture of physical improvement
trains us not only to believe that all
bodily processes are under our
control, but to feel ashamed about
those parts of our flesh that refuse to
comply with the cultural ideal. Body
shame is a culturally conditioned
reaction to a commercially-fabricated
fantasy of physical perfection.
Well-dressed, elegant, good-looking, attractive – these are the
words we usually associate with beauty. They are the determining
factors shaping beauty. Attractive children and adults are treated
more favorably by others in the
society. The term ‘aesthetic capital’
covers the privileges and wealth
people receive from aesthetic traits,
such as their face, hair, body,
clothes, grooming habits and other
markers of beauty.
It seems such attraction to body image and aesthetic capital is
increasingly becoming today's preoccupation, especially of young
people as it gradually becomes the basis upon which one's identity
and self-esteem are built. Human beauty can cause a great deal of
pain, especially from the
perspective of those who may
not measure up to the
standards of beauty.
The Influence of Media on
Beauty and Self-esteem
Mass media are an extremely
important source of information and
reinforcement in relation to the
nature of the beauty ideal and how
to attain it. Media plays a huge role
in how teenagers view themselves
by shaping images of what
teenagers are supposed to be or do.
 You copy the actor’s way of dressing,
hairstyles, fashion because it would make
you look cool or feel good.
You immediately try any new product that
you saw in a commercial. You use the
product endorsed by your favorite actors.
You follow a lot of beauty, fashion or fitness
advice that you read or see from the
internet or magazines.
 You spend time online searching for tips,
advice or procedures from the internet that
would improve your outward appearance.
You edit your solo pictures to make them look better
before posting them online. You feel handsome or
beautiful when your solo picture gets a lot of likes.
Body image is a dynamic perception
of one's body – how it looks, feels,
and moves. Boys' body image is
generally more positive than girls,
and boys are much more likely to
welcome weight gain. The cultural
ideal is that male bodies tend to be
big and strong while ideal female
bodies in Western and Asian
cultures is slim.
In Western culture, girls are more
concerned about appearance and express
more worry and concern about how other
people respond to them. If body shape is
far from the dominant cultural ideal of
slimness, teens are more likely to develop
low self-esteem and negative body image.
Western girls are socialized to constantly
think of whether their bodies and physical
appearance are pleasing to others or not.
The cultural ideal hypothesis predicts that
since the cultural ideal for the female body is
being slim, girls should more likely to express
body dissatisfaction and resort to dieting
practices which may lead to eating disorders
(e.g. anorexia, bulimia). The exposure to the
thin-ideal image posed a great impact on one’s
self-esteem. It increased body dissatisfaction,
negative mood states, and eating disorder
symptoms and decreased self-esteem.
Self-esteem and Its
Significance
Self-esteem can involve a
variety of beliefs about
yourself, such as appraisal of
your own appearance, beliefs,
emotions, and behaviors. It
can play a significant role in
one’s motivation and success
throughout life.
Low self-esteem may hold you back from
succeeding at school or work because you
don't believe yourself to be capable of
success. Possessing little self-regard can
leave people feeling defeated or depressed.
It can also lead people to make bad choices,
fall into destructive relationships, tolerate
abusive situations and relationships, or fail
to live up to their full potential.
In contrast, too much self-
esteem results in an irritating
sense of entitlement and an
inability to learn from failures. It
can even damage personal
relationships. It can also be a
sign of clinical narcissism which
is a personality disorder.
To overcome such adverse effects on the
issues of self-esteem, here are the best
insights on how to strike a balance
between accurate self-knowledge and
respect of who you are. You need to
develop a positive body image which
involves:
Understanding that healthy, attractive
bodies come in many shapes and sizes.

Physical appearance says very little

about our character or value as a person.

Stop comparing ourselves with others

and remember that each one is unique.
We need to appreciate, accept and embrace our
bodies in the uniqueness of what we have.

Spend time with people who have a healthy

relationship with food, activity, and their bodies.

Question the degree to which self-esteem depends on our

appearance because basing our happiness on how we look
is likely to lead us to failure and frustration.
Recognize that size prejudice is a form of discrimination, as
shape and size are not indicators of character, morality,
intelligence, or success.

Approach health and well-being from a firm and socially

engaging perspective and put importance on a healthy
lifestyle.

Keep in mind that the body, in whatever shape or size, is

good and sacred, having been created in the image and
likeness of God. Such body deserves love and respect.
We will have a positive body image when
we have a realistic perception of our
bodies, when we enjoy, accept and
celebrate who or what and how we are,
and let go of negative societal or media
perpetuated conditioning.
ASSESSMENT
1. List and briefly discuss five (5) things that make
you beautiful. Answer in a numbered list format.

2. Access the link below and listen to the song

“Kayumanggi” by Ben and Ben. Reflect on the
message of the song and discuss some
challenges encountered in preserving Filipino
identity and beauty (e.g. influence of Korean
pop culture) and the ways to uphold it.

• Kayumanggi by Ben and Ben |

https://bit.ly/3y18P27
 REFERENCES
• Anderson, T. L., Grunert, C., Katz, A., & Lovascio, S. (2010). Aesthetic
capital: A research review on beauty perks and penalties. Sociology
Compass, 4(8), 564-575.
• DeMello, M. (2013). Body studies: An introduction. Routledge.
• Goffman, E. (2002). The presentation of self in everyday life.
1959. Garden City, NY, 259.
• Hawkins, N., Richards, P. S., Granley, H. M., & Stein, D. M. (2004). The
impact of exposure to the thin-ideal media image on women. Eating
Disorders, 12(1), 35-50.
• Javellana, G. M. (2014). Influence of media on body image satisfaction
among adolescents. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and
Sciences, 1(1), 95-101.
• Kenny, E., & Nichols, E. G. (2017). Beauty around the world: A cultural
encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
 REFERENCES
• López-Guimerà, G., Levine, M. P., Sánchez-Carracedo, D., & Fauquet, J.
(2010). Influence of mass media on body image and eating disordered
attitudes and behaviors in females: A review of effects and
processes. Media Psychology, 13(4), 387-416.
• Simmons, R. G., & Blyth, D. (1987). Moving into adolescence: The impact
of pubertal change and school context. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
• Tramel, A. (2018). The effects of pop culture on teenagers. Retrieved
from https://howtoadult.com/the-effects-of-pop-culture-on-teenagers-
8102954.html
• Villafuerte, S. L., Quillope, A. F., Tunac, R. C., & Borja, E. I. (2018).
Understanding the self. Quezon City, Philippines: Nieme Publishing
House Co. Ltd.
• Activity worksheet – Things that make me beautiful. Retrieved from
http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/pdf/beauty-on-inside-worksheet.PDF