Dr. Rose's School Counselor Blog

Have you ever wondered why some people turn heads when they enter a room? Because they arethe most beautiful or magnificent? Then, why don’t all people of the same category turn heads? And – a more difficult question – why do some people whom society would deem merely average also turn heads? The answer this time – it’s the presence. Attitude rules! It’s the confidence that counts. Their own perception of themselves breeds a positive attitude that is inviting and contagious.

My husband made a reply to me one day when I fell into the trap of comparing myself to another that has stuck with me. He said, “Don’t be so insecure. It doesn’t look good on you.” What he meant by this was to remember who I was. I was his wife, the mother of his children. Do not be so foolish as to think that he had chosen second best for himself. And, I am lucky because he reminds of this each and every time I fall into this line of thinking that I “so affectionately” call the Rudolph Syndrome.

If you remember correctly, Rudolph was given a special gift. He had the shiniest nose of all the reindeer. This could have made him feel “puffed up” or conceited, because he was special. But, instead, he allowed the other reindeer to cause him to feel ashamed of his gift. It wasn’t until the weather (the circumstances) caused a need for his gift that he truly felt special about it. The other reindeer “never let him play”, because he was different. They made fun of him! He allowed the others to make him feel less than the rest. When we begin comparing ourselves, we allow others to pull us down with them. What is your “Rudolph gift”? What is your teen’s “Rudolph gift? Is it the same or similar? It is our job as parents to find these gifts and make the most of them for yourself and your teen. Remember who you are! Whoever you are, you can count on being special to someone. 

One of my favorite stories is from my daughter. I am human and have all those other insecurities with which we all fight. But, one day, when she was about five, we were getting ready. She looked at me and said, “Mom, will I look like you when I grow up?” At that time, she looked so much like me that I had to be honest. I replied, “Yes, honey, I’m sorry, but you will.” She threw her hands up as if in a cheer and said, “Yes!” That was the biggest compliment I have ever received. She loved me enough to want to look just like me. 

This love is most important as Rudolph taught us. When Rudolph accepted his nose and loved himself, others did as well. Now, lest we forget, we know that Rudolph was a fictional character. Still, the moral of his story is so significant for us today. Because he accepted himself right down to what others considered his faults, he “went down in history”. We cannot love others fully if we do not first love ourselves.

As mentioned in Blog 4, “It’s easier to build a child than to repair an adult.” Yet, we are the children who become adults. To a great extent, our self-image comes from the physical and emotional input we received as children. Although media driven images and expectations certainly have an effect, messages from significant others have an even more dramatic impact on how we feel physically and emotionally about our bodies as adults. This is especially significant when we are spending so much more time with our families.

Our parents have the most profound effect on our self-image. If they like how we look and tell us so, we face the world with a head-start. If, on the other hand, our parents dislike our appearance, our body image will be tremendously influenced in a negative way. (Engel, 2006)

Barbara Streisand gave a good anecdote to support this idea as she recalled her childhood in an interview with Jay Carr (1996) in The Boston Globe. She tells him that “It’s actually my mother who never told me I was pretty. The words in the film The Mirror Has Two Faces are her words when I asked her what I looked like when I was a little girl. You know we play out the roles that our parents assign to us. I was the smart kid. I was the funny kid. My sister was the pretty kid. We play our roles until we come into a state of consciousness that says, ‘I will separate from my parents’ view of me’ once you get mature enough. That’s what’s wonderful about getting older. You’re not stuck in the mud of the pattern. You make your choices.” The final factor for this discussion is the major reason for beginning the blog with the topic of self-image and the associate self-care. That is, a major element that influences our self-image is whether our parents are satisfied with the way they look. Parents with a poor body image can pass on their negative attitudes and feelings to their children, causing them to dislike their own bodies. That’s why we need to address this issue before we can begin to help the children as our role as the school counselor places us in this position for many children in our care.

It’s up to the leaders in the school to instill enough confidence in each and every student so that they can have a positive self-image. It’s the messages that we receive that effect how we feel. The old quote, “Eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive” should be our mantra. That is, everyone has negative features and traits, but we have so many more positive one, so we need to concentrate on those. What we think we are, we are! Perception rules!

This brings us to an important realization. The pictures in the fashion magazines are to sell products, not images of less than adequate people. The pictures are manipulated by technology so that we will buy. The people behind the magazine do not seem to care how this makes us feel. So, don’t fall for it. Remember that no on is nearly as critical, or as noticing of our shortcomings as we are. If we don’t “notice” them or call attention to them, then others will not either. 

Our task is to be accepting of others, so that we can learn to accept ourselves and teach our children and teens to accept themselves! 

REFERENCES

Carr, J. (1996). Streisand looks in mirror, Sees a funny girl. The Courier Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. November 17, 1996.

Engel, B. (2006, February 24). Working together to create an abuse free future. Retrieved from http://www.beverlyengel.com/newsletter/2-24-2006.htm.

While we are doing this repair work for ourselves, we can help our teenagers do it right for the first time. It is much easier to build a child than to repair an adult!

Consider Marilyn Monroe for a minute. Today’s society would consider her “plus-size” as she was a size fourteen. But, in her day, she (along with a very good agent) was able to convince the rest of society that she was THE most beautiful. Everybody tried to look like Marilyn – right down to the bleached blonde hair and “full figure”. Here again, perception rules! The tragedy happens when we look deeper to see the personal perception that Marilyn had of herself. She did not think of herself as beautiful or successful. Whether you believe that she committed suicide or was murdered, the fact remains indisputable that she was unhappy. She was always reaching to fit into that “Beautiful People” group or the “Success Regime”. The sad fact was that she has already arrived. Still, she didn’t see it. She had reached the brass ring, but then she felt she need to gold-plate it. 

We can think of several such figures throughout history and within the modern day society. Princess Diana appeared as if she had the world by the tail when she married Prince Charles, but we watched her struggles within the media and the paparazzi. And, several movie stars have literally fallen apart right before our eyes as their stories are told within the press. The sad truth is that even if you have a near-perfect body, you may not be able to appreciate it. One example is from Figi. Ellen Goodman (1999) writes of the “Joy of Fat” in this remote country. The women greet each other with cheerful exchanges of ritual compliments of “You look wonderful! You’ve put on weight!” Sounds like dialogue from Fantasy Island? But, this Western fantasy was a South Pacific way of life. In Fiji, before 1995, big was beautiful and bigger was more beautiful – and people really did flatter each other with exclamations about weight gain. In this island paradise, food was not only love, it was a cultural imperative. Eating and overeating were rites of mutual hospitality. Everyone worried about losing weight – but not the way we do in America. “Going thin” was considered to be a sign of some social problem – a worrisome indication the person wasn’t getting enough to eat. But, something happened in 1995. A Western mirror was shoved into the face of the Fijian people. Television came to the island. 

Suddenly, the girls of rural coastal villages were watching the girls of “Melrose Place” and “Beverly Hills 90210”, not to mention “Seinfeld” and the soap operas. Within 38 months, the number of teens at risk for eating disorders more than doubled to 29 percent. The number of high school girls who vomited for weight control went up five times to 15 percent. Worse yet, 74 percent of the Fiji teens in the study said they felt “too big or fat” at least some of the time, and 62 percent said they had dieted in the past month. (Goodman, 1999) 

While a direct causal link between television, magazines, advertisements and eating disorder cannot be provem, this is certainly a good argument. The beautiful starlet does not cause anorexia. Nor does the pencil thin fashion magazine model cause bulimia. Nevertheless, you don’t get a much better lab experiment than this. In just 38 months, a television-free culture that defined a fat person as robust has become a television culture that sees robust as, well, repulsive. 

Think about the models from the sixteenth century. In their day, they were considered the ultimate of perfection beauty. Yet, they would have been a size sixteen in today’s society. Consider the ladies with their parasols at the turn of the 19th century. Fair skin was the rage. As tan face and body meant you had to work. Now, we all risk skin cancer for that same tan skin. Once again, perception rules!

References

Goodman, E. (May 1999).  The Joy of Fat.  The Courier Journal.  Louisville, Kentucky.

Most of us have been watching others participate as well as participating ourselves in the “beauty war”. In our grief of “ugliness”, we compare ourselves to Barbie look-a-likes, the Marilyn Monroe ideal, or the current model of the day, and other such examples of beauty shoved at us from “perfect” models in the latest fashion magazines. But, we must remember that it is all in our perception. I have often said that I wish I could see myself through the eyes of those who love me. But, are we not to love ourselves as well? If we don’t take care of ourselves, then there is nothing left to give others, says the old adage.

Just as every little thing is beautiful in its own way, so are all of us. Each house with its unique structure is lived in and wanted by someone. Each flower with its special blossom smells sweet and appears beautiful to someone. (Even dandelions are enjoyed by children!) Each animal with its distinguished character and look is cherished by someone. (Even Pumba, the warthog, is cute in his own way. And, he teaches a wonderful lesson in “Akuna Matata”. Just listen to the words.) Each perfume, with its distinctive smell is purchased, worn and appreciated by someone. Each unique profession, career, or vocation is chosen and valued by someone. And so on …

We don’t want all of our houses looking the same. Some of us prefer a Cape Cod, while others prefer a two story, while others prefer a different architecture altogether. All structures have their own specific positive characteristic! And, so do we as human structures. We need to grab on to that positive characteristic, hold on tight, play it up as much as possible, and convince ourselves that what we have is beauty. The world believes the notions that we put out. If we love ourselves, the world loves us. If we hate ourselves, then we become insecure, angry people that the world has difficulty loving as well.

We need to accept ourselves so that our adolescents can accept themselves. I learned a valuable lesson one day from one of my students. I have fought a weight issue all my life, and usually use the defense mechanism of self-deprecation and humor to handle it. In my middle school English classroom one day, I made yet another off-hand comment about my weight. One of the girls came up to me after class and said, “Please don’t say those things about yourself. I’m about your size, and it makes me feel bad.” Wow! I had never thought about how my own personal feelings affected others. That was powerful for me. Then, I connected that back to my own children, who were still in elementary school at the time. They, of course, look like me. They carry my genes. I learned that day to try to remember to transmit positive vibes about myself, not only for me but especially for those that love me.

Self-Image is one of the most recognized problems in our pre-teenagers. They are going through many hormone changes that cause them to doubt their own physical acceptance. The best thing we can do to help them is to share in their identity crisis and identify with them through stories of our own, either past or present.

A good example of this occurred in the private Christian school where I taught. Each teacher brought in pictures of themselves from their middle school years to show at an assembly. As the pictures were shown, the teacher’s goals at that time in his/her life were announced along with some of other stories of his/her life. One of these stories was an embarrassing moment from adolescence. All of the pictures had an impact on the students, because they appreciated their teachers being willing to be so open with them. But, one picture gave a particular impression. The teacher is one of the prettiest teachers in the school with long, blonde hair and beautiful eyes. Yet, in middle school, she wore extra thick glasses and had short, seemingly unmanageable hair. The students were shocked. It encouraged them to see that we all go through an “awkward stage”.

In order to help them through this stage more effectively, we must first love and accept ourselves enough to open ourselves up to them. This is where the idea of removing the mote from our own eye comes in. We must first heal ourselves before we can help anyone else.

We will first begin with body image. Your body image and the way you feel and care about your body is an essential part of your overall sense of self worth and level of self-esteem, therefore, improving your body image can help you make lasting and meaningful improvements to your overall self-image and vice versa.

Body image is the picture you have of your body—what it looks like to you and what you think it looks like to others. In other words, it is the view or perception that you have of your physical appearance. For many people, low self-esteem is caused by a negative body image, while for others it is low self-esteem that comes first and the negative body image that follows from it. Often our bodies are mirrors—they reflect how we feel about ourselves. What does your body say about you? In what ways does it reflect your overall sense of self worth? Does your body say, “I feel really good about myself” or does it say, “I feel really crappy about myself?” (Engel, 2006)

REFERENCES

Engel, B. (2006, February 24).  Working together to create an abuse free future.  Retrieved January 31, 2008, from Beverly Engel’s Newsletter.  <http://www.beverlyengel.com/newsletter/2-24-2006.htm>.