Unrealistic body standards still impact young people
A glance into body dysmorphia in South Australia
This article will discuss topics of body dysmorphia, sexual harassment, and suicide.
Within a couple taps, I can see what any celebrity, influencer or model is wearing or doing, and whatever product they are trying to sell. It is no surprise that young people who frequent Instagram or TikTok experience higher body dissatisfaction.
For adolescents, body dysmorphia presents an additional toxic challenge in the chaotic journey of exploring one’s identity, high school, and balancing the pressures of life.
Worse, this challenge is particularly unfair to young people, whose brains are still developing, and are more likely to be addicted to social media. It’s no surprise that as many as three quarters of young people experience body pressures.
Unfortunately, in South Australia data on this issue is hard to come by. Fortunately, the Stereotypes and Sexism in Schools, a report by the Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP) provides important insight to learning how this problem affects South Australian youth.
Causation
Many factors contribute to the development of body dysmorphia in young people.
It has been understood that gender stereotypes and socioeconomic conditions will inhibit a young person’s ability to understand realistic and unrealistic body expectations. Gender stereotypes, influenced by upbringing, environment, and cultural factors limit the capacity of both boys and girls in developing their personal abilities, careers, and life choices. Likewise, disrespectful personal relationships, gendered poverty, educational development, and family financial decisions limit young people’s ability to be cognisant of unrealistic expectations.
“While it is always said and advertised that everyone is equal, there is still a culture of inequality between males and females that exists now.”
Male, 17.
With universal access to social media by young people, this has created a new set of expectations and social norms which contribute to body dysmorphia in young people.
As previously mentioned, just by tapping Instagram or TikTok, the user is immediately exposed to content which, dependent on the user’s own algorithm, can include graphic material of unrealistic body expectations. A common but exhausted example is the Kardashian effect on a generation of young people, primarily girls, who aim to replicate the Kardashians own beauty standards, which they themselves admitted to being unrealistic.
Worse, young people are being frequently exposed to a range of sexually harassing behaviours, including image-based abuse of ‘sexts’. This escalates within school environments where verbal discussions are on topic are considered normal.
“We have so much further to go to address behaviours that enable girls to be ‘catcalled’ in the playground, coerced into sending ‘nudes’ of themselves, or bullied in ways that sexualise and degrade them. Not to mention the behaviour that put pressure on young men to repress their emotions, so that they don’t risk being seen as ‘weak’ or ‘feminine’.”
Commissioner for Children and Young People, Helen Conolly.
Finally, another major contributing effect has been the rise of influencer marketing, particularly of weight loss products such as ‘Ozempic’ and fast fashion. Young people want to be influencers, and whilst this notion is not problematic, many idols such as Charli Di’amelio, Anna Paul, and others again contribute to the Kardashian effect.
“Even with the body positivity movement, companies sue new ways to make women conscious of their appearance…It’s like influencers are finding new ways to subtly shame women and subverting the true meaning of the body positivity movement.”
Female, 17.
Now this article does not intend to bag social media companies or diminish the nature of the social causes taken by influencers or celebrities, but simply state general factors that create body dysmorphia in young people.
With unprecedentedly high rates of body dysmorphia, this has contributed to many health issues that arise with Gen Z. The development of ‘Body Dysmorphic Disorder’ causes its sufferers to feel socially isolated from the world, increased anxiety within situations, higher likelihood of depression, suicidal tendencies, and distorted body images of society at large.
Understanding Body Dysmorphia
The report conducted a consultation with 365 young people within school-based environments. It aimed to understand gender stereotypes within high schools, and how this affects young people’s development. It found:
Girls felt pressure to ‘fit the beauty standards’ of the day. This included matching a certain body shape and restricting their food intake to be desirable to certain stereotypes.
Boys felt pressure to appeal to a certain physical strength. They felt expected to be tall and muscular. This included having to be physically active beyond normal circumstances and being susceptible to products that promised muscular gain.
Girls’ confidence and wellbeing is deeply connected to how they are perceived by society, while males focused to how they perceived their own physical appearance. Interestingly, boys often compete against themselves, rather than girls.
Solutions?
In blunt terms, there is no click of a button approach to resolving this issue, but steps can be taken to gradually ease the pressures for young people.
The report found five primary findings in relation to gender stereotypes and body dysmorphia, including:
Sexism, gendered norms, and stereotyping impact on the wellbeing, participation, and experience of schooling for all children and young people.
Identity and gender underpin significant peer to peer bullying in high school.
Sexism is considered a normal part of school culture and is not generally reported due to a belief that nothing can or will be done about it.
School based anti-sexism strategies that involve student input and active participation are rare.
Sexist language and gender stereotypes in the classroom and school grounds are not.
It recommended that the South Australian Government:
Ensure all schools review existing relationship and sexual health education and bullying materials to address sexism, sexual harassment and gendered based bullying.
Pre-service and practising teachers are supported through access to ongoing training in relation to the prevention of sexism, sexual harassment, and stereotyping in the classroom.
All schools review existing procedures for reporting and resolving sexism and gender based bullying and sexual harassment against the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
The Path Now
This report focuses on a larger topic of gender stereotypes and sexism in schools, including body dysmorphia.
Whilst there is national data to evidence many discussions regarding body dysmorphia and its effect on young people, there is little research or study conducted in South Australia alone. This lack of information must be addressed. Governments, schools, and organisations, even social media companies, need to provide systems that inform young people on realistic expectations body standards that can take precedence over the unrealistic.
Tackling body dysmorphia is not an easy task. But steps taken now, even small, will make a major difference to the lives of young people, now and in the future, who are impacted by a plague of unrealistic body expectations.