Body image obsession and a miserable public give concern.

Body image obsession has been slowly permeating every part of human society in recent decades. Even with universal acceptance that celebrities images on glossy magazines are airbrushed, people in front of film cameras wear heavy make-up or 18 – 80 year olds who ‘look great’ as they’ve had ‘something done’; we acknowledge that it is not natural and heavily manufactured ……. A recent Government report illustrates that too many people in significant population proportionsfeel inadequate in their appearance.

Although not necessarily targeted by advertising campaigns (deliberating what is the ‘human physical ideal’ specimen and what you will have to go out of pocket to achievethis unrealistic standard) the majority of the public in the richer countries are victim to media imagery, local group peer pressures and irrational assumption of why they are physically inadequate.

People should not attack aesthetic plastic/cosmetic surgery as it has saved many people fromserious physical disfigurement from for example accident/malicious scaring or burns damage.

When interviewing a lady of an oriental ethnicity they reflected that in their own country/culture they fulfilled the criteria of being a ‘dragon’ in that they were deemed ugly and would not find a suitable partner in their own homeland; so were encouraged to go abroad to find a man from a white or black background who would find them to be attractive.

The average rational man, woman and child from any country will find the above statement quite harsh yet sadly it is a reality in many cultures.

It’s all well and good making an overall statement like: “We must ignore the fact that we expose everyone to imagery, advertisement, social expectation and societal judgement that many will always feel inadequate.” Many already know this deep down, yet nonetheless we are affected by everything we view around us and make self-judgement ( or worse judgement of others) in the aftermath of the wayward social body beautiful social phenomenon.

Long Term Strategy is a fundamental requirement if we are to rid ourselves of this social apprehension that holds too many good people back on a global scale. Social inhibition will inevitably lead to social downfall. If you are too ashamed of your appearance you will stop to function as a normal productive member of society.

Further research is required; reflecting our cultural background, our genetical pools, our lifestyles/stress and how it impacts our appearance. Or should that read how these factors impact our health? Society gets lost and what we should be focused on health and wellbeing – we misguidedly look at beauty and vanity. The difference is clear.

Obesity, stresses and other social health problems have jumped in volume on a global scale in the last one hundred years. Chances are many of these physical self-doubters have little wrong with them physically; yet are scarred by bullying based on body image – this is a lifelong lasting trauma that understandably many find hard to escape.

Perhaps a sensible physical model should be developed by the Government as a guideline of what is good physical health and what borders on unnecessary vanity which damages so much of society. Developing such a model will highlight to people what is the difference between physically healthy and needless vanity.

Such a model should not dissuade us from something perfectly normal like grooming (why should the monkeys not clean each other? Why should birds not eat the insects off elephants? Why should peacocks lose their tail feathers?) We should utilise use grooming in an appropriate manner and not letting it sway from two extremes of outlandish slobbishness and outright vanity extremes.

As a global society we need to move back towards healthier regimes, when physically we are in good physical condition (through regular exercise, work and play) inevitably we will look better (without artificially bolstering ourselves with make-up, airbrushing and surgery) and this better physical health will contribute positively to our wellbeing and longevity (without vanity perverting our perceptions of what constitutes looking normal/attractive/good) and more importantly booster our mental positive wellbeing.