Female role models, friends, media, and sports can all influence the body image of adolescent girls. Self-esteem of female role models is a primary factor in developing a healthy body image, while excessive teasing and exposure to unrealistic media images can have a negative impact. Sports can generally improve body image, but some sports that require a specific body type can be harmful.
Several factors influence the body image of adolescent girls in a negative or positive way. How female role models, including parents and caregivers, talk about themselves can influence how a young woman sees herself. A girl’s friends and peers also play a large role in her body image, as does how she is exposed to and interprets media images of other women. While many sports can positively affect adolescent girls’ body image, some have the potential for a negative effect.
One of the primary factors that determines whether a girl develops a healthy or poor body image is the self-esteem of the women she admires. A female parent or caregiver who constantly puts herself down and obsessed over her weight or how she looks can inadvertently make a girl feel the same way about herself. This can happen no matter how supportive the mother or caregiver is towards the girl herself. A teenage girl who is exposed to women, especially a parent or caregiver, who are confident and exude a positive self-image will likely adopt these same positive thinking skills.
While body image in adolescent girls begins with the exposure a girl receives to healthy body images from women close to her, her friends and peers can also have an effect. A girl who is confident enough to surround herself with loving and supportive friends will likely have a better body image than a girl who isn’t. Excessive teasing at school or in extracurricular activities by friends or peers can have a significant impact on a young woman’s body image. While parents or caregivers can’t closely control these factors, discussing teasing or body image in general with a young woman facing these daily challenges can help reverse the negativity.
The media, be it television, movies, or magazines, are often touted as being harmful to adolescent girls’ body image. Constant exposure to women who look perfect and seeing the same body type over and over in the media can cause a teenager to question whether or not she lives up to these supposed ideals. In many cases, this negative factor can be turned into a positive one when a parent, caregiver or role model discusses these images with the girl. Some media outlets are also taking care to promote “real” body types in their advertisements, which can also have a positive impact on a girl’s body image.
In most cases, sports can greatly improve a young woman’s body image. The fitness and sense of accomplishment many young women feel when they play sports can help them see their bodies as a tool for enjoying life rather than simply something to look at. Despite this, some sports can have a negative impact on adolescent girls’ body image in certain situations. When an ideal body type is required for a particular sport that does not suit an individual woman’s natural body type, attempting to achieve the required figure can have negative effects on her body image.
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