Women's self image

Background

Morris Rosenberg, a sociologist known for her work in this area, viewed the self as having two elements. One element is categorized as identity, which represents cognitive variables; the other is self-esteem, which is made of affective variables. The cognitive variable, or identity, involves perceiving and interpreting the meaning of an idea. Rosenberg believed self-esteem dealt with the subjective perspective of an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Rosenberg studied differences in self-image between adolescent boys and girls and found girls become much more self-conscious and show greater self-image instability and somewhat lower self-esteem. A later study in 2004 by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) study found that between elementary and high school girls’ self-esteem drops significantly each year. By high school, girls' aspirations, confidence and life goals are lower than that of boys'.

Development

Another factor believed to contribute to women's low self-image and low self-esteem is the superficial, objectifying and unreal portrayal of women in the media. Jean Kilbourne, in her book Killing us Softly (also made into a documentary), argues that sexualized images of women are used to sell all kinds of goods, and that these types of images degrade women, encourage abuse and reinforce patriarchy. Research has shown a link between adolescent media use, body image and eating disorders.

Because of the decline in self-esteem amongst young girls, adulthood can be filled with doubts about one's self. This doubt leads to a different reaction to society and overall socialization as a young girl and as an adult. If a woman has gone through life feeling ugly, her behaviors will reflect that. Often, more than in earlier years, women decide to make changes to boost the self-esteem they always had the potential to obtain.

Research has found that women's self-image remains fairly constant throughout her lifespan. For example, Webster & Tiggeman (2003) found that body dissatisfaction and body importance did not differ among the groups of women who were younger, middle aged, and older. Although body dissatisfaction was related to self-concept and self-esteem for the entire sample, the strength of that relationship reduced with increasing age and increasing perceptions of cognitive control. The authors concluded that the cognitive strategies of women who were older protect their self-concept and self-esteem from the influence of body dissatisfaction.

Most women decide that they want to look like people we idolize in America, such as models in the magazine, women we see on TV (Kardashian girls), etc. Majority of the time the ad's we see in magazines are photo shopped.

Effects of beauty pageants

In the article, Darling Divas or Damaged Daughters, Wolfe discusses the emotional problems that beauty pageants inflict on toddlers and young girls. She includes the thoughts from psychologists, registered dietitians, and bloggers. One blogger states, “pumping your young daughter full of uppers, teaching her that self-worth is tied to what other people think of her and turning her into a total [expletive] monster". Starred in the reality television show Toddlers & Tiaras, Mia, a two-year-old girl, participated in a pageant wearing a cone-shaped Madonna bra, along with a mini-halter dress, which led some viewers to make the statement “these children [are] being trained to act like hookers, pole dancers and/or strippers". Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman believes that young beauty queens are victims because of their mother’s own insecurities, believing that some mothers are trying to live through their daughters. Social workers and parenting experts also have their disapprovals toward beauty pageants, particularly toward the way some participants are presented on stage. A three-year-old toddler participated in a pageant dressed as Julia Roberts, from the movie Pretty Woman and a four-year-old appeared on stage wearing breast enhancements to appear as Dolly Parton.

Wolfe then begins to describe the emotional harm that beauty pageants inflict on toddlers and young girls. The girls receive spray tans, fake nails, permanent eyelashes, and even fake teeth to measure up to societies beauty, problems associated with this are discussed. They grow up believing that they are supposed to have flawless skin, with no blemishes, perfect hair and body, and if not they are supposed to use products for enhancement. Psychologist and registered dietician Martina Cartwright argues that beauty pageants cause young participants to believe that the love and approval of their parents hinges on their beauty and continued success in pageants. After five-year-old Mia’s act gets cut short, her mother gets extremely upset yelling, “They hate her!”. leaving Mia feeling uneasy and sad. Seven-year- old Morghan adds, "When I don't win, I feel guilty”. The feelings expressed by these toddlers demonstrates what Cartwright argues which is that the young girls want to make their parents proud and when they feel as though they haven't they feel guilty and ashamed.

Wolfe also argues that beauty pageants lead to Princess Syndrome, a condition linked to extreme insecurities and eating disorders. Wolfe argues that beauty pageants put an emphasis on thinness by using the word “Little Miss”, also leading to a dissatisfaction of one's body and eating disorders. She argues that beauty pageants present toddlers and young girls as sexual objects, putting them at risk in encountering sexual predators. Some young contestants are seen on stage hip and booty gyrating, which leads some scholars to argue that overly sexual pageant behavior pushes disturbed individuals toward child pornography and pedophilic acts, Wolfe states that this can lead to sexual predators posing as fake agents and managers. Wolfe concludes by saying how the legal system should get involved and enforce laws and policies to protect toddlers and young girls from emotional and societal harm caused by beauty pageants.

Self-objectification

The term self objectification was coined in 1997 at the University of Michigan by psychology professor Barbara Fredrickson and the Colorado College psychology professor Tomi-Ann Roberts. The term defines the number of women that develop self image through double consciousness and judge themselves through the eyes of others. In addition, social scientists continue to study this term and have noticed the increased influence of media on self objectification over the decades. Caroline Heldman found that about seventy percent of women ages 15 to 34 are now using social networking cites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Instagram. Furthermore, Fredrickson and Kristen Harrison argue that self-objectification has been proven to put women at risk for depression and anxiety; it can impair a woman's motor skills. In order to come to this conclusion, the scholars conducted an experiment with two hundred and two girls, ages 10 to 17. They found that self-objectification conformed the girls’ capability to throw a softball even after differences in age and prior experience were ruled out. Self-objectification caused the girls to divert their attention to how their bodies were seen and away from the task they had to do; the girls' distraction resulted in weaker throws and worse aim. Self-objectification studies have also shown the increased dramatic impact on sex with the introduction of media. Due to this increase, some young women have described sex as an out-of-body experience. This represents how women's self image has impacted a new idea of sex; women see their sexual experience more through the eyes of their partner than their own. The out-of-body experience results in women focusing an excessive amount on their body image rather than their own sexual pleasure.

Furthermore, self-objectification has been shown to have an effect on women diagnosed with depression and low self-esteem. The effects on a woman's life can vary from declined motor skills to habitual body monitoring. According to these studies, negative self image can also put women at higher risk for eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Binge-eating disorder is the rapid consumption of food on an irregular meal schedule; this disorder is linked to obesity and is also associated with the emotional factors caused by the media’s depiction of a woman. These disorders are proved to have negative effects on women that can be short or long-term.

Plastic and cosmetic surgery

The article, "Attitudes About Cosmetic Surgery: Gender and Body Experience," describes the ways in which individuals are bombarded with advertisements and other images on a daily basis; the author states the advertisements either set the standard of how individuals want to look or how one criticizes themselves. Plastic surgery has become a popular way of fitting the ideal image. Plastic surgery is the process of reconstructing or repairing parts of the body, especially by the transfer of tissue, either in the treatment of injury or for cosmetic reasons. Because of the perfected figures in the media, About-Face states it has set higher standards that seem difficult to achieve for young women developing a sense of self. Before the 1980s the percentages for plastic surgery performances demonstrate to be significantly lower compared to the most recently reported statistics. Jennifer Bazner found that from 1992 to 2000, eyelid surgery increased by 190%, liposuction increased by 386%, and breast augmentation increased by 476%. Furthermore, many researchers were not surprised to find that 91% of cosmetic surgery procedures are performed on women.