Joe Carter has a post summarizing 9 things that should be known about “female body issues.” Some of the points surprised me. I read them aloud to my wife; she was totally unsurprised, even when I told her women begin to be concerned about their “shape” at age 6.
Body image is the mental representation we create of what we think we look like; it may or may not bear a close relation to how others actually see us. Here are nine things you should know about female body image issues:
1. The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty hired a criminal sketch artist to draw women as they see themselves and as others see them. The social experiment revealed that women’s perceptions of themselves were very different than how others view them.
2. According to the CDC, for women ages 20 years old and older, the average height for women in America is 5’3″ and weight is 166.2 pounds. For fashion models the average is 5’10” and 120 pounds.
3. By age 6, girls start to express concerns about their own weight or shape. 40-60% of elementary school girls (ages 6-12) are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat. This concern endures through life.
This blog post and the Dove commercial pretty much sum up Cindie’s “self-image” for most of her life. I have always struggled with weight…and probably always will. In 5th grade, I stepped on the scale in my doctor’s office and learned that I tipped the scales at 200.5. It’s a day etched in my mind forever. Also lurking in my mind are the hurtful remarks made by strangers, playground bullies, classmates…even friends and family.
Recent efforts in the area of nutrition and exercise have helped with the weight problem, inching me closer to the average height and weight mentioned in your blog post. But the “weight problem” in my mind is much more difficult to battle and one that needs daily surrender to the realization of who I am in Christ.