#BodyGoals: Exploring the Body Image of Filipino UPM CAS students

Abstract

Although the field of social sciences has created a whole repertoire of studies exploring the subject of body image during the last 20 years, there is still some wide gaps in the knowledge of the subject. In particular, in the Philippine context, many studies have sought to correlate body image with other variables. However, there has been none the specifically aims to describe the body image of Filipinos, particularly that of Filipino university students. This research explores the dimensions of the body image of students studying at the University of the Philippines Manila College of Arts and Sciences and how each of these dimensions relate to create their current body image. Specifically, 10 students aged 18 to 22 who are either in the third or fourth year level were randomly chosen. Among these 10 respondents, only one is a male and the rest are all females. The data were gathered by conducting one-on-one interviews. According to findings, the Self-image of UPM CAS students are characterized by experiences of looking good based on personal standards, feeling inadequate based on personal standards, feeling satisfied when comparing self with others, not feeling satisfied when comparing self with others, having concerns about health, having features that are socially desirable, looking attractive to potential partners, feeling unattractive due to not having suitors, having concerns about being fully functional, and not receiving compliments and praises from others. Meanwhile, respondents displayed both positive and negative attitudes in the perception of their self-image. Factors affecting the body image of Filipino UPM CAS students were categorized into three groups. Biological factors include conforming to the natural body structure, wanting to be healthy, and experiencing serious changes in daily life because of a loss of the functioning of a body part. Meanwhile, factors such as wanting to conform to social standards of beauty, wanting to follow current media portrayal of beauty, experiencing negative criticism from others, being pinpointed in social situations because of a perceived imperfection, feeling inadequate or different when comparing self with others, not receiving any kind of positive reinforcement from others, being encouraged to value physical fitness rather than physical attractiveness, receiving positive feedback from others, being surrounded by supportive people, and using others as a source of motivation towards achieving a personal goal fall under the Cultural and Social factors. The last set of factors, the Individual domain, indicate the influence of factors such as being positive about one’s own physical appearance, engaging in compensatory behaviors or thoughts, achieving success when engaging in simple and natural appearance-improving strategies, adopting positive and motivating thought processes, not being able to meet personal standards of what is ideal, failing to succeed in changing the appearance despite multiple attempts, and having negative feelings about one’s own appearance. In describing the Ideal Image of the respondents, themes that emerged include wanting to be in the normal range according to body structure, to be devoid of health problems, to have features that are promoted by the media, to look like someone that family and friends would approve of, to have a body that will be conducive to an activity, and to have a body that meets one’s own standards and not being teased. These themes, when compared with those that emerged in the Self-image dimension, showed an incongruence in the body image of Filipino UPM CAS students. In the last domain, which is Self-esteem, themes that emerged include confidence, awareness of personal strengths, and ability to accept limitations, which reflect a positive self-esteem. Meanwhile, factors such as fear of being ridiculed, optimism, need for control, pessimism indicate the respondents’ negative self-esteem resulting from the incongruence in their self-image and ideal image.