NationStates Jolt Archive

Body image is a term which may refer to the perceptions of a human's own physical appearance, or the internal sense of having a body which is interpreted by the brain. Essentially a person's body image is how they perceive their exterior to look, and in many cases this can be dramatically different from how they actually appear to others. - Wiki, of course.

How would you rate your body image? Do you feel great or poorly about your appearance? And do you think your image of yourself reflects they way you really look?

Meh. I've gotten used to it.

The people that yell "fag" from cars haven't got used to my hair, apparently.

How can I tell what your body image is if you don't post a pic?

How can I tell what your body image is if you don't post a pic?

I have relatively poor body image. Now you know.

I have the body of someone half my age




I keep it in the freezer

I'm quite average, and I'm fine with it.

Fairly good, but as it's nearing Christmas, it's about to go down the pan.

- Wiki, of course.

How would you rate your body image? Do you feel great or poorly about your appearance? And do you think your image of yourself reflects they way you really look?

I'm way overweight, so from a pure health perspective I know I need to lose a good bit of weight. I'm trying to do that without dieting, just by watching what I'm eating really. Dieting with it's famous yo-yo effect is responsible for a good few of those additional kilos I'm carrying around.

That said, I like my body. I like the way it looks, and most importantly I love the way it feels. :)

i swing between not caring and feeling alright about how i look and perceive myself, to hating the way i look mostly due to my weight. overall, since that latter part crops up quite often, i want to do something about myself so i'm happy with my body image all the time... hence i've lost a stone in the last couple of months, which is quite a turn around considering for the last few years i've just been gaining weight slowly but steadily. i haven't done that much - i just cut back in the areas that mattered... i wanted to change my eating habits in ways that were sustainable, healthy and that i knew i could keep up. i'm on track at the moment to be in my ideal BMI range by this time next year or so.... though that will probably not happen as it'll probably get harder to keep up the same pace.

sometimes i look in the mirror and don't recognise the person looking back at me. literally. its quite scary. what's looking at me doesn't look like what i think i look like, not just in terms of weight but.... everything. not sure what to do about that. i feel better when wearing smart clothes (like a suit, minus the tie, and a cromby)

I carry a little extra weight, which I really don't mind about, I'd rather be a little fat than a lot sweaty.

Oh, I'm quite good, and for my demographic category (female, early twenties) probably exceptionally good.

Of course I know I ain't perfect (and right now, while still looking very good, I could stand to lose about three kilos to reach my optimal weight), but I definitely like my body. I guess I'd fuck myself pretty readily, so to speak.

Which, of course, does not prevent me to walk by a mirror in that one pair of pants or the other some day and think "WTF is that? Jeez, we better go do something about it!", but "doing something about it" then usually amounts to declaring the mirror to be a particularly unflattering specimen and reassuring myself that it just distorts the gorgeous reality.

Oh then usually amounts to declaring the mirror to be a particularly unflattering specimen and reassuring myself that it just distorts the gorgeous reality.

Its the mirror conspiracy !!

<goes amok with a hammer>

Well, I know I could stand to lose between 5 and 10 pounds. More importantly, I need to get in shape. However, given my current amount of free time, the best I can do is eat right and get extra sleep at night, which should be good enough for now.

So I'm okay with my body, but that doesn't mean there aren't still a few things I'd improve.

I could lose some weight, only problem I got with me.

You forgot the poll option "I'm ugly, but I don't give a fapping hoot!"

I'm a SEXY, SHOELESS, GOD OF WAR!![/Belkar]

IMPROVING
right now i'd say ok i love meeeeeee n___n but not as much in a mirror

- Wiki, of course.

How would you rate your body image? Do you feel great or poorly about your appearance? And do you think your image of yourself reflects they way you really look?

I rated it as "Ok" I'm pretty much good with my body excepting tha tI wold like to have a much larger beard, for which I don't appear to have the capactiy to grow :(

I rated it as "Ok" I'm pretty much good with my body excepting tha tI wold like to have a much larger beard, for which I don't appear to have the capactiy to grow :(

I too prefer my larger beard, ahhh but the wife does not :(

"Bad: I would change a lot about myself and I think I'm unattractive."

I take issue with the idea that you have to think you are attractive to have a "good body image". I'm not attractive. I don't think it's important to be attractive. I don't know what's wrong with realizing you aren't attractive. Lying to yourself seems unhealthy.

I look good.

I take issue with the idea that you have to think you are attractive to have a "good body image". I'm not attractive. I don't think it's important to be attractive. I don't know what's wrong with realizing you aren't attractive. Lying to yourself seems unhealthy.

I think there's a difference between thinking of oneself as attractive (as in, many other people think you look good), and liking the way you look. Personally, I like the way I look, and f*** the people who don't like it.

I could do better, but from previous experience i know i have done everything i can to look good.
So there's a difference between how good you think you're capable of looking and
How good you look compared to other people.

This is an important distinction.

my nipples are ugly but...god dammit now you've depressed me

I'm in young, have a personality and I have some money thats all a guy needs :cool:

i feel better when wearing smart clothes (like a suit, minus the tie, and a cromby)

dressing up ftw

seriously I refuse to leave the house these days unless I'm at least cuddle worthy

You forgot the poll option "I'm ugly, but I don't give a fapping hoot!"

the money you save by not dealing with women can be spent on more happy happy alcohol :)

I'm not attractive.

post pics so we can leg hump you

from previous experience i know i have done everything i can to look good.

you should get one of those London beauty treatments (you basically walk around with a new face for the day which is a nice gift for your mom)

my nipples are ugly but...god dammit now you've depressed me
I'm in young, have a personality and I have some money thats all a guy needs :cool:
dressing up ftw
seriously I refuse to leave the house these days unless I'm at least cuddle worthy
the money you save by not dealing with women can be spent on more happy happy alcohol :)
post pics so we can leg hump you
you should get one of those London beauty treatments (you basically walk around with a new face for the day which is a nice gift for your mom)
Like a mud-mask.
wouldn't that scare people?
And it's MUM not MOM dammit, feckin americans and their fecking word messing abouts. (I wonder do Australians use Mum or Mom?)

On bad days, I would like to drop 25 pounds, get plastic surgery on my nose and chin, burn off my freckles and get a weave.

On good days, I would like to drop 10 pounds and lipo my hips and thighs.

I chose "bad".

weave?

weave?

My hair is too fine. :(

???

I hate how I look, but I went ahead and went with "bad" rather than "poor" because I still have about two features I like.

I hate how I look, but I went ahead and went with "bad" rather than "poor" because I still have about two features I like.

oh, what are THOSE? :p

oh, what are THOSE? :p

I have pretty eyes and my hair is fun to play with.

Oh, and I've been told that I have a "naturally perfect eyebrow shape." I don't even know what that means, but I guess I like my eyebrows because of it? :p

I have pretty eyes and my hair is fun to play with.

Oh...that wasn't what I was imagining...

I have pretty eyes and my hair is fun to play with.

Oh, and I've been told that I have a "naturally perfect eyebrow shape." I don't even know what that means, but I guess I like my eyebrows because of it? :p

*sexes eyebrows*

perfect eyebrow shape? buh?
and no ones' told me what weave is yet.

To be honest, anyone with more than 5000 posts on NS should be obvious.
:p

Oh...that wasn't what I was imagining...

....okay, well, there may be a couple of other features I don't object to, but those are less G-rated. ;)

My body image is kind of on the skids. I started out slender, so being this overweight's doing a number on me. And other than going vegan briefly after my daughter was born, my lifestyle hasn't changed enough to explain any of it. Gonna try to make something of a project out of my weight loss with the new year and see how well I do. Low-carbing seems to work; we'll see how well. (Type 2 diabetes runs in my family so yes, low-carbing is a good idea for me. Even if it doesn't prevent diabetes--which is debatable--there are two ways of dealing with the disease: increase insulin sensitivity with drugs, or decrease the glucose supply. I choose option B.)

*sexes eyebrows*

....ew, now they're all sticky. Dammit, Iffy! *shakes fist*

debatable diabetes?
debetes diabatable?

* Licks finger and places on manly, chiseled chest. It sizzles *

Its the mirror conspiracy !!

<goes amok with a hammer>

Yes. Yes, yes. People definitely need to learn to blame mirrors more. And the lightening conditions. And such.

On bad days, I would like to drop 25 pounds, get plastic surgery on my nose and chin, burn off my freckles and get a weave.


Save the polar bears; don't waste resources! Instead of burning them off, give your freckles to me!

I'm "meh". Most of the time I figure I look ok. Sometimes I think I look bad.

I'm working on it in general, though. I hope to be moved somewhere between Ok and good by Summer.

I'm so average people stare at me in the street because they just cannot comprehend just how average I am.

Meh, I've put on a few extra pounds over the last few years that I could spare to lose. Not fat by any means, but not what I'd like to look like. I also wish I had a strong jaw line from the side profile. And there are some slight asymmetries in my body that most others don't notice but I do because I see the damned thing every day and it bugs me. I gain slightly more weight on my left than on my right and my left is slightly squintier than my right, as well as my left ear hanging just barely lower; these are things that really really annoy you after years and years even if they are relatively unnoticable for anyone else.

I have the sexiest wings of all of NSG. :D

My middle names are Adonis and Humble.

why did I only now realize that I could post this vid here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

*has been waiting yonks to post this*

why did I only now realize that I could post this vid here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

*has been waiting yonks to post this*

lol, fitting vid

average is what average does

Oh, I'm quite good, and for my demographic category (female, early twenties) probably exceptionally good.

Of course I know I ain't perfect (and right now, while still looking very good, I could stand to lose about three kilos to reach my optimal weight), but I definitely like my body. I guess I'd fuck myself pretty readily, so to speak.

Which, of course, does not prevent me to walk by a mirror in that one pair of pants or the other some day and think "WTF is that? Jeez, we better go do something about it!", but "doing something about it" then usually amounts to declaring the mirror to be a particularly unflattering specimen and reassuring myself that it just distorts the gorgeous reality.

That's a really great outlook.

I take issue with the idea that you have to think you are attractive to have a "good body image". I'm not attractive. I don't think it's important to be attractive. I don't know what's wrong with realizing you aren't attractive. Lying to yourself seems unhealthy.

Actually, there is a poll option that says "I'm no model but I love the way I am". There is also an other option. I do not believe you have to be attractive to have good body image. There are plenty of people who are overweight, for example, who know they're overweight but LOVE their body, and that's great. I'm jealous, if anything. So, how do you think more people can realise it's not important to be attractive? Also, did you ever struggle with body image or have you always liked the way you are?

On bad days, I would like to drop 25 pounds, get plastic surgery on my nose and chin, burn off my freckles and get a weave.

On good days, I would like to drop 10 pounds and lipo my hips and thighs.

I chose "bad".

Oh honey. On bad days I'd like to drop fifteen kilograms, get liposuction on my thighs/stomach/love-handles, change my hair, change my face, change everything. :(

On good days, I like my curves and would like to be about 2 kilograms less than I am today, and I think my face and hair are pretty okay.

I chose "poor", but I probably should've chosen "bad" in hindsight.

I have pretty eyes and my hair is fun to play with.

Oh, and I've been told that I have a "naturally perfect eyebrow shape." I don't even know what that means, but I guess I like my eyebrows because of it? :p

Good eyebrows are pretty sexy.

In High School, I could pick up any girl I wanted. Then they all started carrying around pepper spray . . . .

Ba Dum Tish...

Actually, there is a poll option that says "I'm no model but I love the way I am". There is also an other option. I do not believe you have to be attractive to have good body image. There are plenty of people who are overweight, for example, who know they're overweight but LOVE their body, and that's great. I'm jealous, if anything. So, how do you think more people can realise it's not important to be attractive? Also, did you ever struggle with body image or have you always liked the way you are?

I was more meaning the typical idea that goes around that if you say you're unattractive that it must mean that you hate your body. I'm overweight and most of the time, it's just a non-issue.

I did spend years and years and years struggling with my body image, back when I was thinner I would poke my self and lament my little fat pouch under my belly button and starve myself and binge and purge and whine and eat nothing but cabbage for three weeks and so on and so forth.

I've been dealing with health issues for a while now and so "staying alive" has become more important to me. I've accepted that I have problems and that I'm not going to be the media definition of beautiful......but that's okay, nearly nobody is. Most of the really really great people I know aren't thin or tall or smooth skinned.... but it doesn't change who they are, and it doesn't stop people from loving them just as much.

I think the big thing that's changed my attitude lately is I have a friend who is wondrously beautiful, like I can't find a flaw.....but talking to her once on MSN I found out she has things about herself that nag her. If she isn't perfect, nobody can be. If she can pick out so many flaws that nobody else cares about...maybe they don't matter.

I was talking to my oldest daughter one day and she said "mom, you're not that pretty, but it's okay because not everyone can be, and you are a lot of things most people never will be, so like they can have the pretty, but you can have the awesome". Really changes your perspective.

I have the body of someone half my age

Is that good or bad? I guess for males: bad, for females: good ? Depending on the age of course, I guess it would be fine to be 40 and have the body of a 20 y/o. But to be 20 and have the body of a 10 y/o?

I was more meaning the typical idea that goes around that if you say you're unattractive that it must mean that you hate your body. I'm overweight and most of the time, it's just a non-issue.

I did spend years and years and years struggling with my body image, back when I was thinner I would poke my self and lament my little fat pouch under my belly button and starve myself and binge and purge and whine and eat nothing but cabbage for three weeks and so on and so forth.

I've been dealing with health issues for a while now and so "staying alive" has become more important to me. I've accepted that I have problems and that I'm not going to be the media definition of beautiful......but that's okay, nearly nobody is. Most of the really really great people I know aren't thin or tall or smooth skinned.... but it doesn't change who they are, and it doesn't stop people from loving them just as much.

I think the big thing that's changed my attitude lately is I have a friend who is wondrously beautiful, like I can't find a flaw.....but talking to her once on MSN I found out she has things about herself that nag her. If she isn't perfect, nobody can be. If she can pick out so many flaws that nobody else cares about...maybe they don't matter.

I was talking to my oldest daughter one day and she said "mom, you're not that pretty, but it's okay because not everyone can be, and you are a lot of things most people never will be, so like they can have the pretty, but you can have the awesome". Really changes your perspective.

Well, it's good that you've recovered. I can imagine that at the time you had an ED, you couldn't imagine yourself mentally or physically where you are now. I know I'd have a hard time believing that I could be not perfect but perfectly happy with myself. That's an interesting thing for your daughter to say. Can I ask how old she is? I hope she grows up remembering that.

Meh. I'm certain I'm not unattractive, and that my university poundage has probably, through providing maturity, increased my aesthetic qualities. Appearance is subjective, however; I've a friend who regularly informs me I'm "pretty like a girl", and recieve enough female attention to assure me I'm attractive to most, but since I'm both spoken for, and socially awkward, it's immaterial.

I've never had anyone tell me I was either attractive or unattractive. It only concerns me to the degree that it might affect my employment situation. To that effect, I try to keep as well-groomed as possible, be polite and just hope for the best. No problems yet that I can tell.

I look exactly like a California condor. An incredibly attractive condor, but still...

Face, I'm a big fan of. Eyes, I personally love...though, I still haven't decided if they are brown or hazle.

Body, I vary between wanting to bulk up alot and being satisfied at the amount that I have added thusfar. Usually a mix of the two. Abs and shoulders need work though.

Overall, yeah...I'm cocky. I'm attractive.

This thread needs pics.

This thread needs pics.

http://i39.tinypic.com/14avqzc.gif

How's that?

I hate my body, too many scars, too many things don't look right on it. Hell I barely have any muscle mass on my legs past my knee caps. Don't even get me started on my face.

I hate mirrors. :(

http://i39.tinypic.com/14avqzc.gif

How's that?

What *is* that thing? :tongue:

???

A weave is when you get hair braided/tied/"woven" into yours very close to the root, so that it looks like your hair, only there's more of it. I have a lot of hair, but it's fine, and it doesn't do anything I tell it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_weave

Whatever. I'm not a model. I'm not perfect. I don't have that sweet little heart-shaped face. But I have a nice ass, I've got nice tits, and I love life. I've always known my beauty comes from somewhere other than my face. I'm the 'cute' as opposed to 'beautiful' girl, and that doesn't bother me all that much...cuz I know too many 'beautiful' people who are sad, and fucked up. You're not guaranteed anything in this life, it is what you make of it.

My hair is too fine. :(
Just tryin' to keep up with how fine the rest of ya is. :p

Whatever. I'm not a model. I'm not perfect. I don't have that sweet little heart-shaped face. But I have a nice ass, I've got nice tits, and I love life. I've always known my beauty comes from somewhere other than my face. I'm the 'cute' as opposed to 'beautiful' girl, and that doesn't bother me all that much...cuz I know too many 'beautiful' people who are sad, and fucked up. You're not guaranteed anything in this life, it is what you make of it.Actually, i've seen the photos you've allowed the surly lot of us to see, and that coupled with certain posts of titillating candor, i can easily and unabashedly say you're sexy as hell.
But, what do i know?

Do you feel great or poorly about your appearance?

what if you think you look fine, but you also wish you looked different? and not like minor changes, but would prefer a totally different body type...

I have relatively poor body image. Now you know.:fluffle:
You stop that.

To be honest, anyone with more than 5000 posts on NS should be obvious.
:p
How's that?

I don't usually think I look that good. I've been told I am fairly good looking, but most of the time I think that the people who say that are just trying to be nice or something.

I dunno, though; I don't think about it too much. There's worse things than not being physically attractive.

Well... I like my skin tone, eye color, hair color, hair style, and I love my face. That being said, I am overweight which I am far less than fond of, and for me that kind of null&voids the positive.

So I chose okay and bad, because it really depends on the day.

Just tryin' to keep up with how fine the rest of ya is. :p

He'll be here all night, ladies! :p

He'll be here all night, ladies! :pNo, i really won't. There's blood-curdling screams i'll need to tend to, sporadically.

There's worse things than not being physically attractive.
Like, as is amply demonstrated here on NS, not being psychologically attractive.
<.<
>.>
Present company excluded of course. Well, more specifically, i don't mean you.

why did I only now realize that I could post this vid here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

*has been waiting yonks to post this*

That was so great. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm old, I'm fat, gravity is not my friend.

All in all, I feel ok about my body image. There are something I would like to change, but I won't go out of my way nor lose sleep for it. If someone's gonna like me, they will love me regardless of what I don't like about myself.

When I was a teenager, I had real bad issues. I tried to throw up on several ocassions. Thankfully I dessisted. Vomiting is one of the things I don't think I could put my body through (and this is not meant to make less of people with serious, eating disorders). When I reached college and started growing accustomed to myself, when I really grew into the woman I am today, the quirks and dislikes vanished.

As I already wrote, there are a few things I would like to change still, but the desire does not consume my life.