INTRODUCTION: UNPACKING THE SELF Through the years, the concept of physical

self has gained a considerable attention in the

In the previous modules, we tried explore how the fields of Psychology, Sociology, and
self is viewed in various perspectives. We Anthropology, including religious and biological or
explained how philosophy, psychology, sociology health studies. These disciplines agree on the
and anthropology explains the nature of human premise that the physical self is an important
persons and their identity. In the following component in the study of the person's self and
modules, we will be discussing various aspects of identity.
the self. We will be discussing the physical,
sexual, material, digital, spiritual and other Sanjay Singh, the physical self refers to
various aspects of the self. For this module, we the body, a marvelous container and complex,
will discuss the Physical Self. This will be good for finely timed machine with which we interface
two weeks. with our environment and fellow beings. The
Physical Self is the concrete dimension, the
INTRODUCTION TO THE PHYSICAL SELF tangible aspect of a person that can be directly
observed and examined.
Our physical self is mostly represented by our
face. It gives other people a first impression about
As with William James “The self is the
who we are and what we are. How we look give sum total of all that man call his, which
initial clues about our attitudes and the cosmetics includes his body, family and reputation, also
put onto our faces may give hints about our his clothes and his house….”
economic status in life. It is undeniable to most of
us that we give too much attention to our faces Such body, family, clothes, and the like
are also described by Russell W. Belk as part
than any other part of our body from the time we
of our Extended Self. But what do we mean by
wake up to the moment before we sleep. Our face
physical self? The concrete or tangible aspect
is the primary part of our body that we protect in or dimension of the person which is primarily
times of danger. We do not want any scars observed and examined through the body is
inflicted on any part of our face and admittedly, known as the physical self.
many of us are willing to spend money to make it
pleasing to other people. We maintain a face James considered body as the initial
source of sensation and necessary for the
value because we consider our face as our initial
origin and maintenance of
asset. Before other people can discover our true personality. However, James considered body
attitude and capabilities, they first rely on what as subservient to the mind e.g., mental
they can physically see. The way we take care of concentration can be so tightly focused… as
ourselves, especially our faces, represents the not only to banish ordinary sensations, but
kind of personality we have. It is no wonder that even the severest pain. (James, 1890, Vol. 1,
people spend significant amounts of money just p.49). A simple example could be the
to make themselves beautiful, numerous reports of soldiers in the battle or a
boxer in the ring who suffer severe wounds but
In this module, you are going to learn about how were not notice of them until the intensity of the
your physical self-play a role in defining who you fighting abates. For James, the body is an
are. This will also help you learn about the expressive tool of indwelling consciousness
physical self from various sources of information. and good physical health. It is an element of
We will talk about the physical self in a way that spiritual hygiene of supreme
we will see how our perception of our body affects significance (James, 1899. p. 103).
how we think of ourselves.
Now let’s begin by how taking a look at the  Sigmund Freud's construction of self
and personality makes the physical body the
different conceptualizations of the physical self:
core of human experience. Freud was of the
The Self as Impacted by the Body view that the ego is first and foremost a body
ego. However, in spite of Freud's recognition of
 sociologists, Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens,
the centrality of body, his own writings on agree in saying that the body is the only fix-point
therapy rarely discussed it. of “self-identity”.

Erikson, on the other hand, mentioned Studies also show that one of the visible and
that experience is anchored in the ground-plan deeper changes in relation to the modern body
of body. According to him the role of bodily concerns the dress reform and the appearance of
organs is especially important in early the naked body. The change from noble pale skin
developmental stages of a person's life. Later in to suntanned skin as a "sportive" distinction was
life, the development of physical as well as not only linked to sport, but had a strong impact
intellectual skills help determine whether an on society as a whole. The change of appreciated
individual will achieve a sense of competency body color reversed the social-bodily distinctions
and ability to choose demanding roles in a between people and classes, and nudism
complex society. became a radical expression of this body-cultural
change
For example, healthy children derive a
sense of competence as their bodies become The Impact of Culture on Body Image and Self-
larger, stronger, faster, and more capable of esteem: The Importance of Beauty
learning complex skills. However, as a stage Do you consider yourself beautiful?
theorist Erikson is aware of the constant
interaction of the body, psychological What is your concept of beauty?
processes and social forces. He acknowledges
What is the society's concept of beauty?
the classical Freudian view of fundamental
biological drives but insists that these drives Do these perceptions really matter?
are socially modifiable.
 
  Well dressed, elegant, good-looking, attractive!
These are the words we usually associate with
Furthermore, Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1945)
beauty. As Kenny and Nichols describe, they
placed the body at the center of human
are the determining factors shaping beauty.
existence, as a way of experiencing the world.
"Attractive children, and adults are treated
Such ideas make clear to us the fact that the
more favorably by others in the society.
body is the way through which we make sense
of the world and our environment. We
experience life through our bodies and senses  
(sight, smell, touch, etc.), allowing us to Some people as you would agree are lucky
interpret the world around us. However, the to possess features that stick to the standardized
body is not merely an object in the world but we ideals of beauty though nature bestows less-than-
are also our bodies in that the body is the perfect physical attributes upon others such as
vehicle for our expression in the world. The slightly misshapen noses, protuberant chins,
body is the sight for the articulation of all our breasts that appear too large or too small. For the
identifications of gender, class, sexuality, race, most part, people have learned to live with these
ethnicity and religion.   inadequacies. But in some cases, there are
people who are dissatisfied with their physical
  characteristics that they seek to alter them
through surgical means. The process appears
The emergence of "body culture".
trouble-free, yet there are many unseen pitfalls.
From the late 1970s to 1980s, Humanities
 
and Sociology developed a new and broader
interest in the body. Sociologists, historians, The Influence of Media on the Adolescent's
philosophers, and anthropologists, including Understanding of Beauty
scholars from sport studies and medical studies
spoke about this interest on the body which was Genesis M. Javellana (2014) mentions that
then called then called "body culure".  The the media plays a large role in how teenagers
 view themselves by shaping images or what The impact of Media on the Self-esteem of the
teenagers are supposed to be or do. Research Adolescent
findings revealed that:
 
Internet- is the most frequently used media In the concepts of physical changes in the
with the respondents using it often.   body and identity of the adolescent, Davies&
Furnham, found out that the average teenager is
Magazines-have the strongest negative sensitive to, and critical of, his/her physical self.
relationship with the weight of the respondents, Constant exposure to cultural standards of beauty
and, proposed that measures such as media in evaluating own body image (via media and
awareness seminars and screening and social networks) may produce non-normative shit
balancing or commercials and advertisements in the form of dieting practices which may lead to
on television and magazines are needed to eating disorders as a result of body image
balance the effects of media on adolescents. dissatisfaction, the feeling of discrepancy
between actual and ideal body image.
 
 
Findings from further studies, showed that
teenagers: Researchers have found body image
dissatisfaction to be a strong predictor of
 ü  Imagine themselves being the depression, exercise dependence, eating
actor/actress in a movie they have watched. disorders and steroid use among young people in
the US (Stice and Withenton, 2002).
 ü  They copy an actor's/actress' clothes,
hairstyle, and/or lines in the movie because it  
would make them look cool or feel good.
 
 ü  They like a movie because the actor/s
 Boys body image is generally more
and or actress/ es clothes, in that movie look
positive than girls, and boys are much more likely
exceptionally good.
to welcome weight gain. Simmons and Blyth's
 ü  They immediately try any new product "Cultural ldeal Hypothesis" indicate that puberty
that they saw in a commercial. brings boys closer to their ideal body while girls
 ü  They use the product endorsed by shift further from theirs. A Cultural ideal is that
their favorite actor/actress. male bodies be big and strong while ideal female
bodies in Western (and Asian) culture is slim.
 ü  They feel upset after seeing
handsome/beautiful personalities on or internet. The Cultural Ideal Hypothesis predicts that,
 ü  They spend more than nine hours in a since the cultural ideal for the female body is
week online, searching tips, advice and/or being slim, adolescent girls should more likely to
procedures from the internet that would express body dissatisfaction and resort to dieting.
improve their outward appearance.  
 ü  They edit their solo pictures to make  Caufmann and Steinberg say that girls in
them look better before posting them online. western cultures are more concerned about
 ü  They feel handsome/beautiful when appearance and express more worry and concern
their solo picture gets a lot of likes. about how other people respond to them than in
 ü  Similarly, teenagers follow a lot of other cultures. If body shape is far from dominant
beauty, fashion and/or fitness advice that they cultural ideal of slimness, teens are more likely to
rea ad from magazines. develop low self-esteem and negative body
image.
 ü  They also feel unhappy about their
weight after seeing a model from a magazine.  Strikingly, today, girls exposed to images
of Barbie dolls reported lower body esteem and a
greater desire for a thinner body shape. Clearly,
the body-image expectations of pre-teens can be
distorted with their ‘If Barbie and Ken Were Real’
thinking. Barbie's neck would be too long and thin             Intolerance of body diversity has a lot to
to support the weight of her head, and her upper do with prejudice of size and shape in our
body proportions would make it difficult for her to culture. Being thin, toned, and muscular has
walk upright. In Ken's case, his huge barrel chest become associated with the hard-working,
and enormously thick neck would nearly preclude successful, popular, beautiful, strong, and the
him from wearing a shirt. Ken would be 7 feet 2 disciplined. Being fat is associated with lazy,
inches tall while Barbie would be 5 feet 2 inches. ugly, weak, and lacking in will-power.
(Brownell and Napolitano, 1995). With this prejudice, fat is not a
  description like tall or redhead - it's an
indication of moral character and we are
Certainly, the exposure to the thin-ideal conditioned to think that fat is bad.
media image on women posed a great impact on
their self-esteem. It increased body Those closest to us - family and friends
dissatisfaction, negative mood states, and eating
disorder symptoms and decreased self-esteem. We learn from other people, particularly
"Exposure to thin-ideal media images may those closest to us about the things that are
contribute to the development of eating disorders considered important. Friendships are
by causing body dissatisfaction, negative moods, particularly important in body image
low self-esteem, and eating disorders symptoms development because we place high value in
among women" (Hawkins, et. al., 2010). Miller them, spends lots of time with our friends and
also speaks of the disturbing problem of very develop shared experiences, values, and
young girls dieting and having negative thoughts beliefs.
about their body. Classrooms, university dorms, and
  common rooms are often filled with negative
body talk: "I wish I had her stomach" "I hate my
  thighs," "I feel fat." Listening to this tends to
Who's to blame for our body perceptions, be it reinforce the need to focus on appearance and
good or bad? make comparisons between us and other
people's bodies.
Society gives us a number of reference
points that shape our perceptions whether  
positive or negative. When it comes to our bodies
there are a number of sources that affect us more But the impact of media and society in
than the others. general, are not all bad.
As with most things, with the bad comes
The Media the potential for good. If not for this awakening,
The images of perfection we see in print, we would not have initiatives like Live Life, Get
film, and television projects an unrealistic Active; where awakening ourselves to a healthy
version of reality that we are continually told is and fulfilled life is at the core of what we do.
attainable - if we work out, eat less, and lather Live Life Get Active is a social initiative
our bodies in transformative, firming and built to create a fitter, healthier, and happier
tightening creams. lifestyle. We approach health and well-being from
The media are powerful tools that a fun and socially engaging perspective and the
reinforces cultural beliefs and values, and while importance we put on a healthy lifestyle. People
they may not be fully responsible for nowadays exposed themselves to biking, yoga,
determining the standards tor physical Zumba, sports and other wellness activities.
attractiveness, they make escaping the barrage Self-esteem and its Significance
of images and attitudes almost impossible.

Prejudice – Size
Self-esteem, sometimes referred to as self-  
worth or self-respect, is an important part of
 
success.
Those who consistently receive overly
critical or negative assessments from caregivers,
Too little self-esteem can leave people feeling family members, and friends, for example, will
defeated or depressed. It can also lead people to likely experience problems with low self-esteem.
make bad choices, fall into destructive Additionally, your inner thinking, age, any
relationships, or fail to live up to their full potential. potential illnesses, disabilities, or physical
limitations, and your job can affect your self-
Too much self-esteem, however, as exhibited in
esteem.
narcissistic personality disorder, can certainly be
irritating to others and can even damage personal  
relationships". (Kendra Cherry)
“Possessing little self-regard can lead people to
  become depressed, to fall short of their potential,
or to tolerate abusive situations and relationships.
The Concept of Self-esteem
Too much self-love, on the other hand, results in
  an irritating sense of entitlement and an inability
to learn from failures. It can also be a sign of
Self-esteem levels at the extreme high and clinical narcissism which is a personality
low ends of the spectrum can be harmful, so disorder.”
ideally, it's best to strike a balance somewhere in
the middle. A realistic yet positive view of yourself  
is generally considered the ideal. But what exactly
So how can we build a strong, positive body
is self-esteem? Where does it come from and
image?
what influence does it really have on our lives?
Positive body image involves
In Psychology, the term self-esteem is
understanding that healthy attractive bodies come
used to describe a person's overall sense of self-
in many shapes and sizes, and that physical
worth or personal value. In other words, it is how
appearance says very little about our character or
much you appreciate and like yourself. Self-
value as a person. How we get to this point of
esteem is often seen as a personality trait which
acceptance often depends on our individual
tends to be stable and enduring. Self-esteem can
development and self-acceptance. To get too that
involve a variety of beliefs about yourself, such as
all important point of balance, there are a few
the appraisal of your own appearance, beliefs,
steps we can take:
emotions, and behaviors.
Why is Self-esteem important? a.    Talk back to the media and speak our
dissatisfaction with the focus on appearance;
Self-esteem can play a significant role in
one’s motivation and success throughout life. Low b.    De-emphasize numbers as pounds, kilograms
self-esteem may hold you back from succeeding or inches, feet and meters on the scale; they
at school or work because you don't believe don't tell us anything meaningful about the body
yourself to be capable of success. By contrast, as a whole or our health;
having a healthy self-esteem can help you
achieve because you navigate life with a positive, c.    Stop comparing ourselves with others and
assertive attitude and believe you can accomplish remember that each one is unique;
your goals. d.    We need to appreciate and enjoy our bodies in
Maslow suggested that people need both the uniqueness of what we have;
esteem from other people as well as inner self- e.    Spend time with people who have a healthy
respect. Both of these needs must be fulfilled in relationship with food, activity, and their bodies;
order for an individual to grow as a person and
achieve self-actualization. Self-esteem is one of f.     Question the degree to which self-esteem
the basic human motivations. depends on our appearance because basing
 our happiness on how we look is likely to lead cognition "involves the co- occurrence of two
us to failure and frustration, and may therefore independent factors the symbolic meaning of
prevent us from finding true happiness; the clothes and the physical experience of
g.    Broaden our perspective about health and wearing them.”
beauty by reading about body image cultural It was further asserted that when we put
variances, or media influence and check out a on a piece of clothing we cannot help but adopt
local art gallery paying particular attention to some of the characteristics associated with it
fine art collections that show a variety of body unconsciously. The Business Insider says that
types throughout the ages and in different clothes don't just affect your confidence level,
cultures; they can affect your success, as clothing
h.    Recognize that size prejudice is a form of significantly influences how others perceive
discrimination, as shape and size are not you and how they respond to you.
indicators of character, morality, intelligence, or Understanding the psychological
success; dynamics of why the right-for-us clothing can
i.      Approach health and well-being from a firm contribute to our confidence, raise our self-
and socially engaging perspective; and put esteem, and help propel us in the workplace
importance on a healthy lifestyle and; has become big business. So the next time you
reach for those yoga pants or for that fiery red
j.      Keep in mind that the body, in whatever dress, ask yourself how will that clothing item
shape or size, is good and sacred, having been make you feel and what is it saying to the world
created in the image and likeness of god. Such around you today?
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 “If beauty and fame bring ideal
media perpetuated conditioning. relationships, then celebrities should have the
best marriages. But 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

IT PAYS TO READ!
Clothing and Self-Image
By: Jill L Ferguson

Your style and the clothes you choose

reflect and affect your mood, health, and
overall confidence. Scientists call this
phenomenon "enclothed cognition.” Adam Hajo
and Adam D. Galinsky, both professors at the
Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University wrote in the Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology that enclothed