Prepared by:

MAILLEN GRACE G. QUILALA

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 ▪ In the US, the strongest sources of thinness pressures for
vary across White women are from the media, peers and family,
whereas, for Black women, peer attitudes and family
different ethnic pressures are more pronounced.
groups ▪ 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.
 ▪ 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
The impact of bodily ideals in contrast with their parents’
the media on preference for a fuller body size.
body image ▪ Individuals who had emigrated from Africa to
may vary Europe have greater body image dissatisfaction
across different compared to those who had not.

ethnic groups ▪ 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.
 ▪ 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
The impact of disorder symptoms among ethnic minority populations.

the media on ▪ Moreover, discrimination was found to be associated

body image may with greater eating disorder
symptomology via body shame.
and depressive

vary across
different ethnic
groups
 ▪ While the West has made conscious strides in
highlighting the vicious, self-perpetuating cycles that
Asia’s Beauty hamper body image and speak openly about dispelling

Standards 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 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.

The
Philippines
 “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
Blogger Alyanna Dela Positive Blogger), Cai Cortez (Actress), Ruby Rodriguez
Cruz, who used to work (Comedienne), and Andrea Aldeguer, who promote body
in the advertising positivity in both traditional media and on social platforms.
There also are a few brands who promote body positivity, and
industry, shared her
we need more of those! As a size 24 woman in the Philippines, I
opinion on her often get death stares when I’m out but do not pay attention to
homeland’s beauty them because I love my body. In my experience especially in
standards: 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 ▪ A World Health Organization survey found that nearly
About the 40% of women polled in nations including China,
Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea said they
Media 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.