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Literature Review
Magdalen Paredes
University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract
Body shaming was researched with four research questions to explore the concern and possible
solutions to the issue. Research shows that the media is either negatively or positively influential
to the view of body image and self-esteem. A primary interview was conducted to further
explore the populations view on personal looks. Data suggest that implementing body positive
programs into schools and in the media may improve body image.

Introduction
Body shaming is a problem that can affect many different type of people. It involves any
person who is victim to another making them feel self-conscious about their body image. The
effects of body shaming can lead to depression, eating disorders and in some cases, suicide. It is
a form of bullying that attacks personal looks and can be highly damaging to those who
experience it. The following research questions are aimed to add a depth of understanding to the
concern of body shaming:

What is body shaming and why/how is it spread?

Do people in society today identify themselves as self-conscious about body image?

Do schools or the media try to help and promote healthy body image?

What programs can be implemented to help those struggling with negative body image?

The purpose of this paper is to inform about the issue of body shaming. Also, the purpose is
to explore the research questions above and investigate which possible solutions could help the
problem of body shaming in the future. It is to explore whether or not the implementation of
body positive programs in the media and school would help the issue of body shaming.
What is body shaming and why/how is it spread?
In order to understand body shaming and how it affects others, the definition and why it
is spread must be understood first. According to a web page titled Body-Shaming: What Is It &
Why Do We Do It? by Erika Vargas of Walden Behavioral Care, body shaming is criticizing
yourself or others because of some aspect of physical appearance. She also states that it is
everywhere. Body shaming is seen is many aspects of life that have become the norm. This
includes magazines giving tips on how to look thinner, television shows making fun of

overweight or underweight people, and the media only using thin models for promoting
products.
This type of criticism can be spread in many ways. Vargas provides three examples. One
being: Criticizing your own appearance, through a judgment or comparison to another person.
This could be comparisons like She is so much prettier than me, or Hes the perfect height,
better than mine. The second one is criticizing anothers appearance in front of them. An
example of this could be saying If you lost a little weight, you could find more dates. This one
is a personal and direct attack on someone. The last one is criticizing anothers appearance
without their knowledge. An example of this last criticism could be Wow, at least youre not
that skinny like her. This could also include thinking negatively about somebody in personal
thoughts rather than speaking about it to a friend or family member.
Vargas then brings up the most important part of her online article: why is body shaming
spread? She focuses on her Braintree Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program and how the
patients deal with conflict. During these conflicts, adolescents will insult physical appearances
during their argument. Vargas says the reason behind this is it feels easier to shoot for
something that will hurt, like targeting physical appearance, rather than expressing what is really
going on emotionally. She infers that human beings have a hard time dealing with raw emotions
deep within themselves, so they bring up a defense mechanism to harm others instead of seeming
weak themselves. Other reasons why it could be spread is a need to point out flaws in others in
order to avoid the flaws going on within themselves. If a person is insecure about, for example,
their nose, they may point out another persons nose in order to boost their self-esteem. (Vargas,
2014.)

Do people in society today identify themselves as self-conscious about body image?

According to statistics about at dosomething.org, approximately 91% of women are
unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to try and get a perfect body which only 5% of
women have according to modern day standards. Body shaming could be so that influential 91%
of women are unhappy with their looks and diet trying reaching a body type which only 5% of
women in the world naturally have without surgery or dieting.
Another statistic is more than one-third of the people who admit to normal dieting will
merge into pathological dieting. Following that, one-fourth of those will suffer from a partial
or full-on eating disorder. Some of those on diets to try and look better become obsessed with
their weight to the point that they will force themselves into an eating disorder. Lastly, more
than 40% of women and about 20% of men would take cosmetic surgery into thought for their
future.
In order to better understand the research question and obtain knowledge on whether the
population finds themselves self-conscious about body image, a primary source interview was
taken a local El Paso arcade named Adventure Zone. The location was chosen in order to target
all ages, from the young coming to play games and the older generation ordering food from the
kitchen. The interviews were also meant to target if body shaming affects men or women. Fifteen
people were interviewed with the following questions:
1. What is your age?
2. Are you male or female?
3. Do you consider yourself self-conscious about your body image?

4. Have you ever been victim to body shaming?

5. Do you know of anyone personally who struggles with this issue?
6. Do you believe body shaming is an issue that needs to be better taken care of?
The data was made into a chart with the anonymous answers.
Column1
Person 1
Person 2
Person 3
Person 4
Person 5
Person 6
Person 7
Person 8
Person 9
Person 10
Person 11
Person 12
Person 13
Person 14
Person 15

Question #1
14
21
17
30
16
17
23
24
43
32
16
24
38
19
20

Question #2
Question #3
Question #4
Question #5
Question #6
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Male
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Male
No
Yes
No
No
Male
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Female
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Male
No
No
No
No
Female
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Female
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Female
No
No
Yes
Yes
Male
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Male
No
No
Yes
Yes
Male
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Female
No
Yes
No
No
Male
No
No
No
No

Table 1: Primary Body Image Interview, 2014

The ages from the interviewees ranged from 14 to 43 years of age with seven females and
eight males. When asked if they were self-conscious about their body image (#3), six out of
fifteen answered yes, with four being females and two being males. From this questions data, a
little less than half found themselves identifying as self-conscious, the majority being females.
When the interviewees were asked if they had ever been victim to body shaming (#4), nine out of
fifteen answered yes. In this response, five were females and four were males. This data was split
almost evenly between the two genders. When asked if the interviewees personally knew of
anyone struggling with body image (#5), eleven out of fifteen answered yes. Lastly, question #6
was answered yes by the same eleven people. The participants who said no to personally
knowing someone struggling with body image said no to the next question, as well.

When compared to the previous statistics from dosomething.org of this research question,
the interview showed that 57% of women and 25% of males were self-conscious with body
image, 60% of participants had been victim to body shaming, and 73% of participants personally
know someone struggling with this issue and think something needs to be done about it.
(Paredes, M, personal communication, November 2, 2014.)
Do schools or the media try to help and promote healthy body image?
In a journal titled Promoting Healthy Body Image in Middle School written in 2002 by
Danna Levitt and Patrick Akos, the authors state that Part of personal and social development in
middle school is the development and continued evolution of one's body image. They also
report that In some schools, the discussion of body image is often limited solely to didactic
instruction from physical education and health teachers. (Akos, Levitt 2002). They continue
with the article saying that school counselors and other subject teachers should take a bigger role
in the development of young students self-esteem and body image. The journal emphasizes how
healthy development should not be learned from only health and physical education teachers but
from the entire staff as well, mainly school counselors since they have more confidential and
influencing power over students.
An example from an online YouTube video titled Media & The Distortion of Body
Image, the video creator begins the video by the definition of body image: a picture of ones
own physical look established by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others. The
video then restates the similar statistic from dosomething.org that 92% of girls are displeased
with their body image. In the video, the reason for this statistic is the because of the media
presenting beauty with unrealistic standards. The also video presents the idea of the Ideal

Female Predominantly thin, yet impossibly toned and curvaceous, accompanied by perfect skin,
teeth and hair. The overall message from the video is that the media plays negatively into the
perception of body image with unrealistic advertisements. This could lead to peoples warped
perception of how a women or man should look.
Although the video shows how the media negatively plays into body image, it can also
play a positive role if given with a positive message. One example of a positive body image in
the media is in Colbie Caillats song titled Try. The song has lyrics like:
Put your makeup on, get your nails done, curl your hair, run the extra mile, keep it slim so they
like you. Do they like you? (Caillat, 2013) In this part of the song, Colbie Caillat, a popular pop
artist sings about how much the subject of the song is influenced to be liked by others by doing
their makeup, nails, hair and by being thin. Later in the song she sings, Wait a second, why
should you care what they think of you? When youre all alone by yourself, do you like you?
You dont have to try so hard. She is enforcing the idea of liking yourself above everything,
especially above what the media or others may think of you. She sings for the idea that people
dont have to put so much effort into being something that they are not. This song shows that the
media can influence perception of body image, either negatively or positively.
What programs can be implemented to help those struggling with negative body image?
In a book titled Body Wars: Making Peace with Womens Bodies by Margo Maine, the
author explains several reasons why societys view on body image is so distorted. These reasons
range from the media marketing pills/diets to the targeting of the younger generation into dieting
and comparing one another. She says anyone who is a victim to low self-esteem is in the body
war. Maine also points out that men are part of the war, too because of the shift of power

between genders. She says it is time to fight back. Until now, Body Wars have been a one-way
battle. (23.) Maine writes about how to fight back, the first step being with changing ourselves.
This one step can be achieved by looking to the reasons why our body image is so low and once
we cultivate our internal resources, beauty, and values, the less Body Wars can infiltrate our
world. The next step is to develop a value system that puts appearance in its place and honors
our bodies as wonderful gifts regardless of the external packaging. (24.) The author then has a
twenty five numbered list in the book about how to love your body. The list extensively explores
every aspect of enjoying life and the wondrous functions of the human body.
If this list were to be printed everywhere within the media, it could greatly influence the
way body image is perceived in society today. With previous research showing how the media
can be so influential on body image and how schools are not doing much, lists like this could
decrease the number of those who are struggling. Similar programs and ads could be
implemented into commercials and magazine articles seen every day by society. Repeated
viewings and exposure with positivity can wash away old negative marketing with new and
loving system that spreads healthy body image.
Counselors could also imply these lists and ads into their discussions with students.
Since counselors are seen to be a trusted part of the school system that students can go to for
advice and venting, the promotion of health body image would help the younger generation.
With teenagers and children being in school for so long during the day for a majority of their
lives, the school system would be a good place to target the issue.

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Conclusion
According to research from different sources, the media and school upbringing can have
a major impact on the view of body image. Whether positive or negative, a number of people
have been statistically influenced by societys perception of bodies. A way to change the
negativity with positivity is to help students understand the importance of loving themselves and
also implementing this into the media.

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Citations
Caillat, Colbie. (2013.) Try. Gypsy Heart. Republic.
Levitt, D., & Akos, P. (2002). Promoting Healthy Body Image in Middle School, 6(2).
Maine, M. (2000). Body Wars: Making Peace with Women's Bodies. Carslbad, CA: Gurze
Books.
Media & The Distortion of Body Image. [Motion picture]. (2012). YouTube.
Paredes, M. Personal Communication. Nov. 2, 2014.
Vargas, Erika. (2014.) Body-Shaming: What Is It & Why Do We Do It? Walden Behavioral
Care. Retrieved from: http://www.waldenbehavioralcare.com/body-shaming-what-is-itwhy-do-we-do-it/
11 Facts About Body Image. Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-aboutbody-image

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