New research has found that the more time teenagers spend on social media, the more likely they are to be unhappy with their bodies, said Ho Kim-bo, a researcher on mental health and body image at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Ke Han, a psychologist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said Chinese media tended to highlight “skinny girls,” and the public favored bony female celebrities. “There’s a popular saying that means a good girl [weighs] no more than 100kg.”

I conducted a questionnaire and invited 64 women aged 17-35 who were confused about body image anxiety to participate

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xClkjH8We0e4y3fugnWNEXdL0fLA0QhMtDxlyksMY0lUQlRIUzNQQVZUWEw1VTRSVUg2RkVZVzVTRC4u

I carried out a questionnaire and invited 63 women with body image anxiety to take part. 55.9% chose a score of more than 5, with the highest number of 6 and 7, 20% and 19.1% respectively; 67.4% chose a score of more than 5 for the impact of women’s body image on their confidence; 71% looked in the mirror regularly; 70% would look at their body in the mirror. 90% believe that social media influences people’s standards of the ‘perfect body’; 30% of people believe that people should advocate the idea of a sound body and 40% of people think that people should not accept it; 30% of people believe that they are neutral and do not care; 45% of people search for information on social media platforms such as body improvement; 56% of people are not interested in the idea of a sound body. 45% would search for information about shape improvement etc. on social media platforms; 56% would actively follow bloggers or netizens who have a great body, or who are of the weight loss and fitness type; 40% of negative comments are influential, while 30% are positive; 85% would be concerned about what others see when posting photos of themselves on social media platforms; 92% believe that Chinese women are more sensitive to the pursuit of white, thin and young bodies and body anxiety because of the social environment (mainstream The influence of the social environment (dominant culture) was cited as the reason for 92% of Chinese women’s greater sensitivity to the pursuit of being white, thin and young and body image anxiety; 40% thought looking in the mirror for too long would cause fear and 42% thought it was a way to re-examine themselves; 81.4% of those who drew Mask: You are your mirror to re-examine yourself and share your story chose more than 3 out of 5 including 3 out of 5.

In my previous research, I found that people look in the mirror and first notice what they think is ‘unattractive’ about themselves and exaggerate these ‘flaws.’ Still, when they look at others, they prioritize what is beautiful. Thus the desire to explore the desires and imaginations of the human heart from a different perspective by painting on mirrors. They communicate the body in a completely artificial form, empowering women while making them the decision-makers. I found that women are more interested in the idea of self-portraiture as a means of expression. On the one hand, because looking in the mirror makes many people feel anxious is a priority, and this anxiety is somehow a kind of gaze, a projection of self-consciousness; on the other hand, the promotion of body positivity leads to some people being anxious because they cannot achieve the same level of confidence, which is the exact opposite of what I had in mind, especially in the current Chinese social environment where women’s rights and status are constantly improving. But because of some mainstream and traditional ideas have subconsciously influenced many people. Even though we know that beauty is diverse, can’t people accept their imperfections?

ballet dancer

I contacted the ballet dancer for an interview; Lauren is a ballet dancer. It is a profession that is closely associated with body image. A dancer’s body lines and contours are strictly required to achieve a stretched and stretched body physique. During the epidemic, her career came to a halt, and she stopped to think about what constitutes a ballet body, does a good dancer means thinner and more defined. And why, instead, the quest for size made female dancers a source of pain rather than strength. Whereas before the 1950s, ballet women dancers had a rich and varied body, in the New York Ballet, the woman broke the freedom of the female dancer’s figure because of the choreographer’s aesthetic. Those ballet dancers with small heads and long bodies undoubtedly shaped the ideal balletic temperament, a thin, tall woman with pale skin and a slender bone structure. This fixed aesthetic standard perpetuated the female dancer’s need to be critical of her figure.

After retiring from the ballet, she began to rethink her career path, to choose a career that she focused on, rather than being limited to shaping her slim figure as a professional ballet dancer, “because that would be too costly.” Lauren is also considering becoming a choreographer to go for a different kind of ballet dancer. Whenever people dissuade her from who she should not be elected, she can firmly say, “No, I want her.”

Several implications for me in my subsequent intervention came from this interview.

1. body perfectionism started with technological developments. When we started buying standardized sizes, we diminished the uniqueness of our bodies, we were going to fit the clothes, and it was no longer the clothes that fit us.
2. I suspect that many people feel so badly about their bodies that no matter how hard we try, we can’t achieve “enough.”
3. You can block or unfollow anything that makes you feel negative, trusting that the feeling will pass and ensuring your peace of mind
4. I find that sitting down with your eyes closed and letting your brain take a break from processing images is enough.
5. try to make the screen not the first and last thing you see before you go to bed and when you wake up.

Blogger

I asked Helen, a fitness blogger, why she became a fitness blogger because she suffered from body shame.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IDrRiTO9Wf-gjPtmCWxNyb12nDVzqm5Q/view?usp=sharing

（interview—Helen recording）

Helen: I lived in both Korea and the UK, and when I was in my 20s, people used to say I was too skinny, and at that time people used to tell me you should eat more, it was a horrible experience for me, and I hated that people said that about me and when I started to eat more to gain weight my body couldn’t take that much food and I ended up having digestive problems and also feeling nauseous. I started eating more than I ever had before to gain weight, but at the worst time, I never actually thought there was anything wrong with my body; I started gaining weight because people were talking about me, this was before social media came along because I was surrounded by people who made me feel like I needed to change my body, in my mid-20s I came to England and met different people from many other countries. I met a girl who called me skinny. She called me thin and even used her pinky to describe my weight; I was shocked, and she was making fun of me. In Korea, people would comment on her weight or body out of concern, but over here, it was clear that she wasn’t. In a group of girls from different countries, I realized that I was petite compared to the other girls, and I would feel too weak like the girl described. Then I started to gain weight in a more extreme way than ever because tall, fit girls surrounded me, and it made me feel bad that my university friends and even my best friend even described me as small. Because I was just the most minor compared to my British friends, and although I didn’t want people to think I was skinny when I was in Korea, I resented it even more in the UK, I didn’t want people to think I was thin and frail, so I was going to go to the gym to change my skinny body and try to make myself look less lean. I was also particularly fond of some of the body goals on ins at the time, my ideal body was to have full hips, strong arms, and the same for my abs, because I hadn’t studied fitness and was watching YouTube videos, I didn’t know how much more or how little to gain or what kind of exercise I was suited to when I gained too much weight at that time and had knee pain, it wasn’t healthy It wasn’t a healthy exercise. Still, I liked the change in my body because I looked more muscular. After I graduated, I went back to Korea, and we were home because of the epidemic; I gained weight, and I couldn’t go to the gym; I didn’t like my body at the time, after provide-19 unblocked me, I signed up for personal training and a scientific diet, and I learned how to train scientifically and correctly. At first, I found it particularly difficult, but then I adapted, and I felt very comfortable with my whole body, and it also had a positive impact on my mental health. Going to the gym made me feel confident about my body again. After two months, I saw a change in myself, but it also affected my periods, which started to be delayed, and I realized I wasn’t taking in enough nutrients, so I gave up extreme dieting and exercise. I am now almost 30, and I finally know how to get physically and mentally healthy; I have recently started working out because I wish I were more beneficial; working out has not only given me physical benefits but mental ones too.

Through these experiences, I have learned to love and accept my body.

The first thing to realize is that there is no perfect body in the world. Through my experiences in two countries I have found that their body standards are entirely different and no matter how much I change to fit the aesthetic criteria of one country, it won’t work if I move to another country, because of these reasons I have decided to focus on my natural body and think about how I should improve rather than change.

The second thing was that my mindset changed from dieting or exercising to diet and exercise; when I felt I had to diet, I would want to eat more junk food because I wouldn’t let myself. Instead, I stopped forcing myself to diet; I ate healthier on my own and would want to exercise more.

The last thing I learned was to choose content or clothes that you are comfortable in, which has brought great benefits. I didn’t feel confident about my breasts when I started wearing them. Still, they were so pleased with the end of the day, and I found that people don’t care if you’re wearing lingerie or not or if you’re wearing non-coil underwear or gathered underwear; people don’t care. So whether I wear comfortable underwear or no underwear, I will be more pleased.These experiences have given me the courage and confidence to accept my body.

In my previous research, I found that when people look in the mirror, they first notice what they think is ‘unattractive’ about themselves and exaggerate these ‘flaws.’ Still, when they look at others, they prioritize what is beautiful. But when I promote body positivity, it leads to some people being anxious about not being able to achieve the same level of confidence, which is the exact opposite of what I intended, like this blogger who, in the traditional aesthetics of East Asian culture, actually fits the ‘standard body’ perfectly, but still suffers from body shame. Eventually, She started to look at her body and make decisions for herself, taking a serious look at herself and accepting herself again.

update

I launched a call for women who suffer from body shame/body image on social media platforms and did the following interviews

1、22 years old, student, body anxiety, lack of confidence and chronic dieting

2、25 years old, media professional, used to have body shame anxiety problems, now in the process of self-liberation

3、25 year old, lawyer, severe anxiety symptoms when looking in the mirror

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Through these conversations, I realised that it might be possible to help alleviate women’s body image anxiety while at the same time designing ways to guide women to a calmer state of mind. As a result of this research, I came up with new ideas and added them to my intervention.