Case report
Is the Body the Self? Women and Body Image
Janet Polivy
Peter Herman
Abstract
This paper discusses how women’s body image or experience of the body influences their identity and self-image.
What are the implications of this tendency to equate the body and the self? For many women, being a dieter represents not
only something that they do, but also an important aspect of how they see themselves. We propose that choosing to become
a chronic dieter is a means of regulating not just one’s feelings, but also one’s identity and self-image when those central
aspects of the self feel threatened. Weight-loss dieting is often unsuccessful, however, and repeated dieting attempts may
increase weight as often as they reduce it, so using body shape to determine self-worth or identity is a maladaptive strategy
for most women.
Keywords
body image; self-image; obesity; woman
Hrčak ID:
27318
URI
Publication date:
4.1.2007.
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