誰告訴你身體美不美?

蔡凱琳(特約撰稿員)

上回和大家玩玩心理測驗,由Franzoi & Shields在1984年提出—男女對自己身體的自信程度(Body Esteem)。

每個人對自己不同的身體特徵,都抱有不同程度的正面或負面感受。你有沒有想過,這些感受從何而來?又有誰告訴你美不美麗?又有誰代替了你的思想,決定你的美麗?

流行文化、家長和朋輩告訴你身體不夠美麗。

流行文化為你創造完美面貌和身材

Marita 和Line(2001)發現媒體對女性青少年有顯著的影響。無論是時裝雜誌、電視劇集、電影、音樂影片、網絡世界,都充斥著不現實的理想身形,特別是為女生塑造的「瘦」的身體形象(unrealistic thin ideal)。女生們經過內化,產生感知壓力,對自己的身體產生不滿。

Levine,Smolak和Hayden(2013)留意到因為時裝雜誌塑造吸引人的身材,令女生不滿自己身體,促使女生利用飲食控制體重。

Yamamiya(2005)做了一個實驗,對理想身形有高度內化的女生,看5分鐘的理想身材相片,比起看普通物件相片的女生,對自己的身體形象有更負面的看法。

Sarwer、Crerand和Magee(2011)察覺到,當媒體充斥更多有關整容影片時,女生們更想追求理想樣貌(ideal appearance)。女生們會與影片中的角色做比較,被告知市場上或商家希望女生「應該擁有甚麼的樣貌」、「不應該擁有甚麼的樣貌」,這些謊言讓人恐慌,對自己感到沒有價值,令人患上飲食失調和抑鬱症。

Photo by Raphael Lovaski on Unsplash

家長為你帶來模仿對象

McCabe 和Ricciardelli(2003)留意到,家長會為女生帶來直接的言語影響和簡接的模仿對象。當家長在生活中,表達自己對外表的期望和信念時,同時表達對飲食、運動的看法。家長由兒童時期,已作為小孩子的榜樣、批評者和倡導者。

Jones(2011)發現,如果家長有節食習慣,他們的女兒傾向都是有節食習慣。如果家長直接利用言語告知女生應該減重或應該達至理想身型,女生會受到感知壓力和對身體形象感到負面。

無論是父或母,都會影響青少年的身體滿意程度(Helfert & Warschburger,2011)。對女性青少年來說,父親對他們的外表有重要的影響,因為從父親對減肥的重視程度和言語,會傳達「個人價值與外貌」的關係。

父母的影響,會從小時候形成一種「既定規則」,延續至青少年和長大成人。

朋輩為你增加壓力

朋輩加強媒體和家長傳達理想身型的信息。女生們會從朋輩中感受到壓力,認為需要達至文化塑造的理想形象(Jone & Crawford,2006)。

體型決定女生們的社會接受度。超重的女生會被嘲笑外表,最能感受到朋輩中的感知壓力。理想的身體形象會幫助女生們提高同輩中的人氣程度(Wang,Houshyar & Prinstein,2006)。

朋友對節食的認知,會令女生們追求不健康的減肥方法。當朋友們傾談的內容是有關樣貌和社會上的比較時,女生們對自己產生強烈的身體不滿(Jones,2004)。當朋友們肥胖對話(Fat talk)抱怨自己身材或別人身材時,是漸漸認為抱怨身材是「正常的」(Lauren et al,2006)。自我價值低落會伴隨負面自我形象和與女性朋友關係差(Tanya & McCabe,2006)。與朋輩比較身材,無論是正面或負面,都會影響對自我身體形象的看法。

參考資料:
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