FAP 302 - Body Image

Feeling comfortable in our skin is important, however the Mass Media do not help us to feel that way, as they are believed to be a big influence on women in today’s society. They make the average person feel inadequate and extremely self conscious, striving for an unrealistic perfection because of the ‘thin ideal’ being displayed within the majority of advertisements today.
Because of this, Body Image is an ever present issue for both men and women no matter what age one is.

 

This body of work is centred on ‘middle aged women’ (women between the age of 40 – 60 ) and how they perceive their bodies as well as the changes there are going through regarding their physical appearance and how they feel about this.
Within this project, 4 middle aged women have participated throughout the process in order for them to perceive their bodies in a more positive way. These women have helped me explore the emotions they feel related to their body and the issues they have, as well as investigating the altering appearance of middle aged women.

 

My Research began by creating a survey which was passed out to some middle aged women whom I know, and also to 2 Slimming World dieting groups to interact with some middle aged women who are already trying to change their body.

 

The survey asked the women questions regarding their age, height and weight and also asked more personal questions regarding the part/parts of their body they are unhappy with and why, as well as would they do anything or have done anything to change this in the past, eg plastic surgery, a range of cosmetics or dieting.

Not only did I ask what they were unhappy with, I asked what parts of the body they are satisfied with, only a few responding in a positive way, with the majority of the women explaining they are not happy with any part of their body.

 

I have been really interested in this subject area for a while now as it is a problematic situation and in my opinion seems to be getting rather worse over time, with most middle aged women feeling slightly more conscious now than they did when they were younger. This is a main reason why I have chosen to work with this particular age group and to capture their true identity through my art practice.

 

I’m very much interested in how there is such a large mass of people with current body issues and I wanted to get to know some of these individuals to understand their concerns.