Prepared by:

Joel J. Quilala
PRMSU, CAS, Instructor
At the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:
▪ Understand the biological concept of our physical selves
▪ Analyze the impact of culture on body image and self-esteem
▪ Understand the concept of diversity in beauty
▪ Also known as “biologism,” “biodeterminism,” and “biological essentialism”
▪ It is the idea that an individual’s characteristics and behaviors are dictated by some
aspect of biology such as genes
▪ Therefore, it is believed that environmental factors have no influence on a person
▪ According to biological determinists, social categories like gender, race, sexuality,
and disability are based on biology and this justifies the oppression and control of
specific groups of people
▪ The physical self is not just what can be seen with
the naked eye; beneath the skin is a dynamic
system of biological and chemical processes that
contribute to one's physical characteristics
▪ The development of body structure, weight,
height, skin color, hair color, and other physical
traits is not random
▪ Genetic alterations and biological development
through heredity cause this to occur
▪ Heredity refers to inborn traits or
characteristics inherited from the
biological parents
▪ Genotype refers to inherited genes
responsible for a particular trait
▪ Phenotype refers to observable or
measurable characteristics
▪ Genetic information containing these traits are
stored in the nuclei of cells called genes, which
are found in strands of DNA referred to as
chromosomes
▪ 46 of these chromosomes are found in each human
cell
▪ 22 pairs (autosomes) of the 23 pairs of human
chromosomes are similar in males and females
▪ The 23rd pair (sex chromosomes) determines the
sex of an individual
▪ Maturation is an essential process
that causes developmental changes
in the body or behavior brought
about by aging process rather than
from learning or some other life
experience
▪ As you grow up, you are exposed to environmental influences that shape
your physical self, including those from your social networks, societal
expectations, and cultural practices.
▪ Family, being your first social group, forms a crucial foundation of your
development, including that of your physical self.
▪ As you grow older, you get exposed to a larger social group with new
practices and standards. As a result, you may begin engaging in acts that
would make you attractive and acceptable to others.
▪ One aspect of physical beauty is a person’s body
type. Contemporary media has portrayed slim
bodies as the ideal body type for women and
muscular bodies for men. Thus, adolescents
indulge in activities that would enable them to
achieve these ideal body types.
▪ However, some adolescents may resort to
unhealthy habits just to achieve the ideal body
type. It is important to remember that physical
beauty is only skin-deep; that what matters is
feeling good about oneself and embracing a
healthy perception of one’s physical worth.
1. Healthy eating. Following a healthy diet results in healthy skin, ideal weight, and
better stamina.
2. Embracing a healthy lifestyle. Physical activities such as walking, running,
going to the gym, and engaging in sports also contribute to a healthier body.
3. Maintaining proper hygiene. Taking care of your body by consistently following
a hygiene regimen can also help you feel good about yourself.
4. Being confident. Be secure in yourself, embrace a positive outlook toward
various situations and problems, and love and accept who you are.
▪ Body dissatisfaction or feeling negatively about appearance or abilities is a
common experience across different racial and ethnic groups.
▪ Body image refers to how an individual sees their own body and how attractive
they feel themselves to be.
▪ It is a multi-dimensional construct; however, the tools used to assess body image in
research often focus on body weight or shape.
▪ This can be limiting when trying to understand body image and ethnicity, as
people from different groups have different body ideals.
▪ Concerns around body image may not always fall into the categories of body
weight and shape. For instance, some concerns may be around skin tone, hair
texture or size and shape of facial features.
▪ Ethnicity may have less of an influence on body image than factors like age,
gender or weight.
▪ Rather, the way in which ethnic minority groups experience body image and the
factors that can affect their own body image may be slightly different.
▪ As suggested, Asian American men and women tend to have lower body
satisfaction than their White American counterparts.
▪ Research also suggests that body dissatisfaction is more pronounced in affluent
countries where people lead a lifestyle more characterized by high levels of
individualism and consumption.
THE IMPACT OF THE MEDIA ON BODY IMAGE
MAY VARY ACROSS DIFFERENT ETHNIC
GROUPS

▪ In the US, the strongest sources of thinness

pressures for White women are from the media,
peers and family, whereas, for Black women, peer
attitudes and family pressures are more
pronounced.
▪ Hispanic female undergraduates reported the
lowest score on media influence and the highest
score on self-esteem; the authors proposed that
high self-esteem could serve as a protective factor
against media influence in this group.
THE IMPACT OF THE MEDIA ON BODY IMAGE
MAY VARY ACROSS DIFFERENT ETHNIC
GROUPS
▪ Dutch children of non-Western ethnic minorities suggest that they had, to some
extent, internalized the ‘thin ideal’, as they expressed a preference for a thin body
size that corresponded with Western bodily ideals in contrast with their parents’
preference for a fuller body size.
▪ Individuals who had emigrated from Africa to Europe have greater body image
dissatisfaction compared to those who had not.
▪ In this way, the level of acculturation (i.e. the degree to which ethnic minorities
adopt Western customs and values) may negatively affect the way in which
individuals view their bodies.
THE IMPACT OF THE MEDIA ON BODY IMAGE
MAY VARY ACROSS DIFFERENT ETHNIC
GROUPS
▪ Body image in immigrant
communities may also be influenced
by the experience of adapting to a
new culture, which is something that
can be very stressful.
▪ Thus, stress and discrimination can
lead to such eating disorder
symptoms among ethnic minority
populations.
▪ Moreover, discrimination was found
to be associated with greater eating
disorder and depressive
symptomology via body shame.
ASIA’S BEAUTY STANDARDS
▪ While the West has made conscious strides in
highlighting the vicious, self-perpetuating cycles
that hamper body image and speak openly about
dispelling beauty standards, Asia is still coming
around to acknowledging the need for body
positivity.
▪ For most of Asia, the agency of embracing
ourselves is easier said than done.
▪ Taking a glance at how media, pop culture and
social media touch upon body image and body
positivity in Asian culture, you’ll notice the
conversation is quite small.
THE PHILIPPINES
▪ The Philippines tends to lend a
stronger voice to body positive
advocacy than most of their Asian
counterparts, even though it still
needs more substantial body
positive framework like the rest of
this region.
BLOGGER ALYANNA DELA CRUZ, WHO USED TO WORK IN THE ADVERTISING
INDUSTRY, SHARED HER OPINION ON HER HOMELAND’S BEAUTY STANDARDS:
“Working in Advertising made me see the ugliness of the industry. To start
with, women in these ads are beautiful. They don’t need to be edited in any
way but if they don’t do it, their consumers won’t care about the brand and
their products. We need more body positive individuals here in the
Philippines. There are a few famous people like the Plump Pinay (Body
Positive Blogger), Cai Cortez (Actress), Ruby Rodriguez (Comedienne), and
Andrea Aldeguer, who promote body positivity in both traditional media and
on social platforms. There also are a few brands who promote body
positivity, and we need more of those! As a size 24 woman in the Philippines,
I often get death stares when I’m out but do not pay attention to them
because I love my body. In my experience especially in conversations,
people are insistent that I should lose weight because they assume that I am
unhealthy or not physically fit. Some of my relatives often tease me that I will
not be able to find love if I stay this big. I think brands are only concerned
with pleasing the masses’ favored beauty standards. Advertising should be
about helping the consumers through the brand.”
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE
MEDIA
▪ A World Health Organization survey found that
nearly 40% of women polled in nations including
China, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea
said they regularly used whitening products.
➢ The multibillion-dollar skin-whitening market in
China, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea is
rooted in unrealistic beauty ideals.
➢ However, a push to embrace darker skin and more
Asian-seeming features over Eurocentric beauty
standards is picking up in the region.
▪ Diversity is everywhere, but the focus and understanding of what diversity
means varies across countries and regions.
▪ People need diversity in their communities as it inspires cultural growth
and makes society richer.
▪ When a community has people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and skills,
each person is able to contribute their unique story and gifts so as to make
a greater whole