PHYSICAL

SELF

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Physical Self
 Important component in the study of the
person’s self and identity
 “the SELF is the sum total of all that man
call his, which includes his body, family, and
reputation, his clothes and his house” –
W. James (Extended Self by Russell Welk)

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Physical Self
 The concrete or tangible aspect or
dimension of the person which is primarily
observed and examined through the body
 W.James- body is the source of sensation
 E.Erikson- experience is anchored on the
ground plan of the body
 S. Freud- physical body=core of human
existence
 M. Ponty- body is the center of human
existence

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 The Impact of Culture on Body
Image and Self Esteem: The
Importance of Beauty

 Standards of beauty and appearance are

product of diverse mix of cultural and
historical influences

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 Body image
It is the person’s perception of the level
of attractiveness of his/her body or
somebody’s own impression of how his/
her body looks.
It is the sense of how other people view
our bodies.
Internal (personal) and external (social)

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Beauty
 2 types:
1. Inner Beauty- inner qualities of the
person
2. External Beauty- physical characteristics
of the person (ideal body-“body
beautiful”)

Aesthetic capital- this covers the privileges

and wealth people receive from aesthetic
traits s
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The Role of Culture in our
Understanding of Body Image and
Self Esteem
 Culture- shared patterns of thoughts,
beliefs, behaviors and habits
 “drawing on contemporary culture, our
bodies are not only biological but also
cultural in that we say, we all shape and
manipulate our bodies…”- Kenny and
Nichols

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 “All cultures everywhere have attempted to
change their body in an attempt to meet
their cultural standards of beauty, as well as
their religious and/or social obligations. In
addition, people modify and adorn their
bodies as part of the complex process of
creating and recreating their personal and
social identities. Body Adornment refers to
the practice of physically enhancing the body
by styling and decorating the hair, painting
and embellishing the fingernails, wearing
make up….”

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 Body Modification, on the other hand,
refers to the physical alteration of the
body through the use of surgery, tattoing,
piercing, genital mutilation, implants and
other practices.

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Body shame
 Culturally conditioned reaction to a
commercially fabric fantasy of physical
perfection
 POP-CULTURE= culture widely accepted
and patronized by the public
 SELF DEFINITION= refers to the way a
person sees himself
 Hyper-mediated society

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The Influence of Media on the
Adolescent’s Understanding of
Beauty
Genesis Javellana (2014)
Findings:
- Internet is the most frequently used
media
- Teenagers imagine themselves being the
actor/ actress in the movie they have
watched
- They feel upset seeing handsome/
beautiful personalities on TV or internet
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Impact of Media on Self Esteem of
the Adolescent
 Body image dissatisfaction to be a strong
predictor of depression, exercise dependence,
eating disorders and steroid use among young
people in the US
 Cultural Ideal Hypothesis (Simmons and Blyth)-
puberty brings boys closer to their ideal body
while girls shifts further from theirs
 Caufmann and Steinberg say that girls in western
culture are more concerned about appearance
and express more worry and concern about how
people respond to them than in other cultures

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 Croll: body image is the dynamic
perception of one’s body- how it looks,
feels and moves.
: 88% of adolescent girls feel negatively
about their body, shape or size; 49% of
teenage girls say they know someone
with an eating disorder; 58% want to lose
weight, 9% want to gain weight. 85% of
young women worry “a lot” about how
they look.

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Self Esteem and its Significance
 Self Esteem= Self Worth or Self Respect
= describe a person’s over all
sense of self worth or personal value
IMPORTANCE: Motivation and success
- Inner thinking, age, illness, disabilities,
physical limitations, jobs
- Little self regard= depression
- Too much self love= inability to learn
from failures; narcissistic PD

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ACTIVITY

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“If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships,
then celebrities should have the best
marriages. B ut for those who live simply,
walk humbly and love genuinely, all good
will come back to you! That’s life. Enjoy
yours!”
- Dr. Ben Carson

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