PHYSICAL SELF - understanding the self s

it's all about unpacking the self

1. UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Unpacking the Self

2. CONTENTS: Part 1: The Physical Self Part 2: The Sexual Self Part 3: The Material/Economic Self Part 4: The Spiritual Self Part 5: The Political Self Part 6: The Digital Self

3. PART 1: PHYSICAL SELF “Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” – Leonardo da Vinci

4. " I am not who I think I am. I am not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am."

5. Physical Self - is the concrete dimension, the tangible aspect of the person that can be directly observed and examined.

6. The physical self is defined by physical characteristics that are visible. These characteristics are the defining traits and features of the body. Sex Height Weight Complexion Facial Features Tall Short Fat Thin Average Light Dark Brown Hair White Hair Curly Hair Frizzy Hair Bald Almond-shaped eye Chinky eye

7. What is heredity? Heredity is the sum of all the traits passed on through genes from parents to children. It is the transmission of characteristics from parents to their offspring through the genes (Feldman, 2007) Heredity causes both similarities and differences in people.

8. – is defined as the transmission of traits from parents to offspring . The traits are made up of specific information embedded within one’s gene, the basic unit of heredity. Each individual carries 23 pairs of chromosomes. The 23 rd pair is the sex chromosomes, determines the sex of an individual. MATURATION is known as the completion of growth of a genetic character within an organism. It enables man to walk, run and talk which are evident in the adolescent stage. HEREDITY

9. What can we inherit from our parents? Your skin, hair, and eye color are inherited traits, as are your facial features, body build, and height. Bodily structures such as length and proportion of the limbs, the shape of the nose, color blindness, shortness of fingers, curly or straight hairs, texture of the skin, etc …(Feldman, 2007) Mental and physical abilities are also inherited. You have little, if any, control over your inherited traits.

10. Physical Self/Body is an initial source of sensation and necessary for the origin and maintenance of personality – William James

11. In Psychoanalytical school, Sigmund Freud's construction of self and personality makes the physical body the core of human experience.

12. Erik Erikson the role of bodily organs is especially important in early developmental stages of a persons life. Later in life, the development of physical as well as intellectual skills help determine whether the individual will achieve a sense of competence and ability to choose demanding roles in a complex society.

13. Periods of Development: Prenatal Period (conception – birth) Germinal stage Embryonic stage Fetal stage Infancy Period (birth – 24 months) Time of extreme dependence Development of language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination and social learning

14. Early Childhood (end of infancy – 6 yrs. old) Preschool years – self-sufficient and care for one’s self. School readiness skill – following instructions, identifying letters. Playing stage Middle and Late Childhood (6 yrs. – 11 yrs. old) Elementary school years Fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are mastered Self- control increases. Periods of Development:

15. Adolescence (12 years – 22 years of age) Rapid physical changes – height, weight, body contour, and development of sexual characteristics Puberty stage – sexual maturity Cognitive – logical, abstract, and idealistic Peer pressure Adulthood (late teens – senescence stage) Early adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood Periods of Development:

16. Early adulthood (late teens – 30 years old) Time of establishing personal and economic independence Time of career development Time of reflection for family life Middle Adulthood (35 years – 60 yrs. old) Time of expanding personal and social involvement and responsibility Reaching and maintaining satisfaction in one’s career. Responsibility in assisting the next generation in becoming competent, mature individuals. Periods of Development:

17. How they view themselves How they view others How they think others view them

18. The sociology of the body become an established discipline in the 1990’s. Bryan Turner, coined the term “ somatic society” which means the new found importance of the body in contemporary society.

19. •Our attraction to another person’s body increases if that body is symmetrical and in proportion •If a face is in proportion, we are more likely to notice it and find it beautiful. We perceive proportional bodies to be more healthy BEAUTY BY NUMBERS

20. What is attractive? We share a set of criteria for defining beauty (Fink & Penton- Voak, 2002; Tseëlon, 1995).

21. The obsession to have a beautiful face & body

22. Eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia

23. The demand for cosmetic surgery and skin whiteners

24. Body Dysmorphic

25. Body Shaming

26. Many people especially women spend tremendous expenditure of time, effort and money to alter their appearances to resemble an ideal image.

27. What is your ideal physique of a man and a woman?

28. “Mirror ..mirror on the wall Who’s the fairest of them all”

29. When is a person considered to be beautiful? What is the socially accepted standard of beauty?

30. Cultural Standards of Beauty people from a wide range of cultures agree on what is physically attractive in the human face SYMMETRY where the placement and size of the features on one side of the face match those on the other

31. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

32. We are NOT our bodies. We live in our bodies, but our bodies do not make up WHO we are. We are NOT our bodies. We live in our bodies, but our bodies do not make up WHO we are.

33. Critical Thinking Questions After puberty, what were the major changes you encountered? Focusing on the physical changes, which ones were the most difficult to deal with?

34. •A self image problem happens when your looks doesn't match your beauty standards. For example if you believed that attractive people are slim ones and if you were not slim (but not obese) then you might believe that you are unattractive even though others might believe that you are attractive. The problem here is with your own beauty standards and not with your looks. In order to like your looks, you must fix your false beliefs about physical attractiveness. SELF- IMAGE

35. Society shapes us in many ways, possibly more than we realize – from our interactions, to our personal development through to others’ perception of our bodies as a reflection of self worth. We are social beings. Genetically, we rely on one another for the survival of humanity. That primal connection makes our interactions physiologically and psychologically important. So it’s not surprising that how society perceives us affect us on many levels. BODY IMAGE, SELF- ESTEEM AND THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIETY

36. This includes: How we perceive our bodies visually How we feel about our physical appearance How we think and talk to ourselves about our bodies Our sense of how other people view our bodies How we look has possibly never held as much societal importance or reflected so significantly on our perceived self worth. BODY IMAGE IS BOTH INTERNAL (PERSONAL) AND EXTERNAL (SOCIETY)

37. The media in particular, has increasingly become a platform that reinforces cultural beliefs and projects strong views on how we should look, that we as individuals often unknowingly or knowingly validate and perpetuate. The more we look at perfect images of others and then look to find those same idealized characteristics in ourselves and don’t find them, the worse we feel about ourselves. It’s a cycle that breeds discontent. With such strong societal scrutiny it’s easy to see how the focus on how we look can slide into the dark side – negative body image. BODY IMAGE IS BOTH INTERNAL (PERSONAL) AND EXTERNAL (SOCIETY)

38. The greater our discontent with how we measure up when compared to the societal or media supported norms, the more negative our body image, and the greater the risk for extreme weight or body control behaviours occurs. We’re taking… Extreme dieting Extreme exercise compulsion Eating disorders Extreme or unnecessary plastic surgery Using steroids for muscle building BODY IMAGE IS BOTH INTERNAL (PERSONAL) AND EXTERNAL (SOCIETY)

39. Intolerance of body diversity has a lot to do with prejudice of size and shape in our culture. Being thin, toned and muscular has become associated with the hard- working, successful, popular, beautiful, strong, and the disciplined. Being fat is associated with the lazy, ugly, weak, and lacking in will- power. With this prejudice, fat isn’t a description like tall or redhead – it’s an indication of moral character and we are conditioned to think that fat is bad. PREJUDICE - SIZE

40. We learn from other people, particularly those closest to us about the things that are considered important. Friendships are particularly important in body image development because we place high value on them, spend lots of time with our friends and develop shared experiences, values and beliefs. THOSE CLOSEST TO US – FAMILY AND FRIENDS

41. Theory of Developmental Tasks achieve emotional independence prepare for career and/or marriage accept body image R. Havighurst

42. Theory of Developmental Tasks After puberty, your body has gone through a lot of changes. What are its psychological effects on the boys? What about the girls? R. Havighurst

43. Positive body image involves understanding that healthy attractive bodies come in many shapes and sizes, and that physical appearance says very little about our character or value as a person. SO HOW CAN WE BUILD A STRONG AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE?

44. SO HOW CAN WE BUILD A STRONG AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE? How we get to this point of acceptance often depends on our individual development and self acceptance. To get to that all important point of balance there are a few steps we can take: Talk back to the media. All media and messages are developed or constructed and are not reflections of reality. So shout back. Speak our dissatisfaction with the focus on appearance and lack of size acceptance De- emphasize numbers. Kilograms on a scale don’t tell us anything meaningful about the body as a whole or our health. Eating habits and activity patterns are much more important Realize that we cannot change our body type: thin, large, short or tall, we need to appreciate the uniqueness of what we have – and work with it

45. Stop comparing ourselves to others. We are unique and we can’t get a sense of our own body’s needs and abilities by comparing it to someone else We need to move and enjoy our bodies not because we have to, but because it makes us feel good. Walking, swimming, biking, dancing – there is something for everyone Spend time with people who have a healthy relationship with food, activity, and their bodies Question the degree to which self- esteem depends on our appearance. If we base our happiness on how we look it is likely to lead to failure and frustration, and may prevent us from finding true happiness SO HOW CAN WE BUILD A STRONG AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE?

46. Broaden our perspective about health and beauty by reading about body image, cultural variances, or media influence. Check out a local art gallery paying particular attention to fine art collections that show a variety of body types throughout the ages and in different cultures Recognize that size prejudice is a form of discrimination similar to other forms of discrimination. Shape and size are not indicators of character, morality, intelligence, or success SO HOW CAN WE BUILD A STRONG AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE?

47. Each of us will have a positive body image when we have a realistic perception of our bodies, when we enjoy, accept and celebrate how we are and let go of negative societal or media perpetuated conditioning. But the media and society in general, are not all bad. As with most things, with the bad comes the potential for good and increasingly, people the world over are waking up to the negativity and conditioning that we are bombarded with daily. SO HOW CAN WE BUILD A STRONG AND POSITIVE BODY IMAGE?

48. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Eat Healthy Foods

49. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

50. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Follow proper hygiene

51. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Engage in daily exercise

52. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Take vitamins and drink fruit juices

53. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Avoid Stress

54. ACHIEVING PHYSICAL WELL-BEING Spend less time in front of computers and gadgets