GEC 2 – Understanding the Self

Module 4
Unpacking the Self: The Physical Self
Name: ______________________________ Rating: ___________
Course: __________________ Date: _____________

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Analyze the different cultural standards of beauty;

2. Analyze the impact of culture on body image and self-esteem; and
3. Celebrate beauty in diversity by embracing one’s physical self.

ENGAGE

What is your perception of a beautiful person? Your answer may generally characterize
a male, female, and those that are part of the LGBTQIA+ Community.

EXPLORE

Introduction

There is always a pressure in our

society to look good, and to seek a visually
better version of ourselves, We often get so
caught up with the ways we can make sure
that we look beautiful and nice, that
sometimes, we frown at our natural looks,
our dark complexion perhaps, or even our
short stature.

The social pressure of looking perfect gave rise to the many beauty products
and enhancement procedures, being patronized by a large portion of our population,
no matter how expensive they might be, just to fit in, to be accepted, and be beautiful.
In the global society where fairer skin and a size zero for women are deemed attractive
if not stunning, we can only expect ourselves to follow and abide by the mantra,
“Beauty is Power”, no matter how destructive it might be for us.

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Our physical selves have become so dependent on the judgment of our

appearance, and not with the celebration of it. In this chapter, we will look at the work
of nature and nurture, and how it greatly influences the features of our physical selves,
particularly how we look, and how standards of beauty, both in local and global
contexts have affected our self-acceptance. We will also look into the different cultural
standards of beauty and how it has affected our self-concept, our self-esteem and
body image, and realize that beauty, in all shapes and sizes, is meant to be celebrated.

Why Do I Look Like Myself?

Have you ever faced the mirror and asked yourself, “Why do I look like me?”
Science explains that our parents are very much instrumental in understanding why we
look how we look. Gregor Mendel first figured out how genes are passed from parents
to offspring in plants, including humans. His experiments on pea plants showed that
genes are passed intact from generation to generation and that traits are not blended.
Mendel’s discovery was that it is through the genes that traits were passed from parent
to off spring through several generations (Cummings, 2016).

Genetics definitely has a hand on our physical appearance. Our biology

dictates that our looks are a result of the genes transferred to us by our parents. From
our skin tone, hair color, to our height, our physical features are evidence that we are
our parents’ children. When heredity is actually at work, we find ourselves being the
mirrors of our parents, which were the result of their DNAs (deoxyribonucleic acid) at
work in us, and for some, even looking like carbon copies of them.

Cultural Standards of Beauty

See Attachment: The Perception of Beauty in Different Cultures

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Those who are suffering from BDD are so obsessed about their appearance, thus
think about their flaws, real or not, incessantly and uncontrollably (Body Dysmorphic
Disorder: A Quest for Perfection, 2012). Those who are diagnosed with this disorder are
very much preoccupied by a perceived physical flaw that is either absent or so trivial
that only the one suffering from it sees it as a problem, being so much distressed about
it that daily routines are affected (Wilhelm, 2006).

Those who are suffering from this disorder are so self-anxious that they seek
cosmetic surgeries to finally solve their body issues. Dr. Yapchangco explains this
obsession of millennials with plastic surgery, in the case of millennials saying, “They want
to be more pleasing, to be more beautiful. They consider that having a beautiful face
and body is always an edge in most aspects of life, especially in getting into their
chosen career,” (Sallan, 2017).

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A Healthy Body Image and Self-Esteem in Peril

Perhaps, at one point in our lives, we have been implicitly or explicitly criticized,
or even ridiculed for how we look. Our standards have become so unbearable that our
society mocks us for looking imperfect. This has caused many of us to lose confidence in
ourselves and break that one last strand of self-esteem that we do have. When women
in particular get called out for being heavy, if not obese, they are not called as such.
by people to remind them to get healthy for their own good, but to just vilify their looks,
and magnify their imperfections. This, in turn, ’results to, not only having a strong desire
for the bullied to get thin, but with it also comes that fear of gaining weight, thus,
restricting themselves from food intake.

Anorexia is defined as a serious

mental illness where people are of low
weight due to limiting their energy
intake. It can affect anyone of any
age, gender, or background. As well
as restricting the amount of food
eaten, they may do lots of-exercise to
get rid of food eaten. Some people
with anorexia may experience cycles
of bingeing (eating large amounts of
food at once and then purging
(Anorexia, 2017).

This is not the only suffering of

those who have been criticized for
their weight. Body Shaming, which is
criticizing yourself or others because of
some aspect of physical appearance
(Vargas, 2014) has resulted in the loss of self-confidence of those who have been thin-
shamed or fat-shamed. Body image disturbance (BID) is an important aspect of several
pathologies in psychology, particularly eating disorders. It has two components: The
perceptual component which refers to how we accurately perceive our body size, also
known as body size estimation, and the attitudinal component which refers to how we
think and feel about the size and/or shape of our body, which if not correctly
processed, will result to body dissatisfaction (Greene, 2011).

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The Filtered Self

Question: When was the last time you posted an unfiltered photo of yourself in any of
your social media accounts? Why? What do you think this is saying about your idea of
beauty and your self-esteem?

Celebrating Beauty in Diversity

Cultural concepts of beauty should be celebrated. However, practices that

enhance attractiveness, yet, are severely harmful to our health, should be stopped. In
her book, Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the West, Sheila Jeffreys
(2005) explained that it is not enough to know that there are a lot of beauty
enhancement practices that are detrimental to women’s health. For her, women
should stand against the cultural requirement on what they should do with their bodies.
Thus, a celebration of beauty in diversity requires, as she calls it, a culture of resistance.
This is a culture that veers away from the dictates of what women in society should look
like to be called beautiful.

We are challenged at this time to speak up against body shaming particularly

that we are living in an image-driven virtual society. Embracing our physical selves
entails affirming each other regardless of our skin color, stature, and body mass index.
There is a need to defend those who do not fall under the idyllic image of thin and
beautiful (Fat Shaming and Body Shaming, n.d.) We should never allow ourselves to be
victims of this since we are supposed to celebrate the authentic us, where we do not
need to hide our physical flaws and to resist the demands of a deprecating image
driven society.

You Are Who You Look! Embracing Your Physical Self

In a society that worships perfection, embracing our physical selves is not going
to be easy. In the book of Psalms in the sacred Scriptures, we are deemed as the
masterpiece of the Creator of the universe, carefully, precisely, and worthily created
(Psalm, 139:14, NIV). This idea of embracing one’s value is also seen in sacred texts of
other religious beliefs.

The significance of self-acceptance is necessary in embracing our physical

selves. We need not fret if the way we look does not live up to the standards set by our
society. We have to be reminded that our health is foremost in all these. Remember
that body size, shape, skin color, and stature are never correct indicators of a healthy
life. There is nothing more important than to learn to accept and embrace who we are,
with all the beauty, flaws and imperfections, because this is the only way that we can
live in peace and at peace with our selves.

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EXPLAIN

Answer the following questions using 5 to 7 sentences only.

1. Are you happy with how your society defines beauty?

2. What can you say about men and women who go through cosmetic surgeries?
3. Have you ever been body shamed? How did it make you feel and how did you
handle it.
4. How would you help other people who are suffering from body image
disturbance embrace their physical selves?

EXTEND

Write a letter to your unfiltered self. Open up about your struggles at fitting in with your
society’s standard of beauty. End your letter by encouraging your unfiltered self.

4 3 2 1
Writing demonstrates Writing demonstrates Writing demonstrates
an in-depth reflection a general reflection a minimal reflection Writing demonstrates
on the selected on the selected on the selected lack of reflection on
Depth of reflection
topic, including topic, including some topic, including a few the selected topic,
supporting details supporting details supporting details with no details.
and examples. and examples. and examples.
Writing does not
Writing surpasses the Writing includes the Writing includes the a
Required include the required
required components required components few components of
components components of the
of the selected topic. of the selected topic. the selected topic.
selected topic.
Information clearly
Information clearly Information clearly
relates to the main
relates to the main relates to the main Information has little
topic. It includes
Quality of Information topic. It provides 1-2 topic. No details to do with the main
several supporting
supporting details and/or examples are topic.
details and/or
and/or examples. given.
examples.
Writing is clear, Writing is mostly clear,
concise, and well concise, and Writing is unclear,
organized with the organized with the and thoughts are not Writing unclear,
Structure & use of excellent use of excellent well organized. disorganized.
Organization sentence/paragraph sentence/paragraph Thoughts are not Thoughts make little
structure. Thoughts structure. Thoughts expressed in a logical to no sense.
are expressed in a are expressed in a manner.
logical manner. logical manner.
There are no more There are no more There are more than
There are numerous
than three spelling or than five spelling or five spelling or
spelling or grammar
Grammar grammar errors per grammar errors per grammar errors per
errors per page of
page of writing page of writing page of writing
writing reflection.
reflection. reflection. reflection.

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References

Ackerman, C. E. (2019). What Is Self-Awareness and Why Is It Important? [+5 Ways to

Increase It]. Retrieved from: https://positivepsychology.com/self-awareness-
matters-how-you-can-be-more-self-aware/

Alata, E. J. P., Caslib, B. N. Jr., Serafica, J. P. J., Pawilen, R. A. (2018). Understanding the
Self. First Edition. Rex Book Store.

Ariola, M. M. (2018). Understanding the Self. New General Education Curriculum

Compliant. Unlimited Books Library Services & Publishing Inc.

Brawner, D. G. & Arcega, A. F. (2018). UNDERSTANDING the SELF. C & E Publishing, Inc.

Cherry, K. (2021). Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved from

https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-
development-2795740

Gutierrez-Ang, J. (2018). Understanding the Self. A Text Manual for the 21 st Century
Filipino Student. Mindshapers Co., Inc.

Palean, E. D., Nazario, M. B. D., Valero, J. B. G., & Descartin, I. K.L. (2018).
INTROSPECTION: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF. Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

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