Image

[elfpirate]

[b]Ok- this thread is not to be confused with the self-esteem thread...[/b]

[b]Since I began the other one, I've read and heard a lot of people mentioning their body image (including everyone in my family--males, too) and their general opinions about how they look... and [i]no one[/i] seems to like the way that they look. [/b]

[b]Since the two topics are tied, but not necessarily dependent on one another, I thought the subject deserved its own thread. So here it is...[/b]

[b]How do you feel about your appearance and what would you want to change about it? [/b]

[b]And to what degree does your appearance effect your overall self-esteem?[/b]

[b]Usually, I don't think a lot about the way that I look, but then again, I'm usually clothed in layers, so I'm not really aware of it most of the time.[/b]

[b]When I [i]do[/i] give it some thought, however, I'd say that I typically despise the way that I look-- and it doesn't seem to matter whether other people find me attractive or not. In fact, I'm constantly being told that I'm cute, sexy, etc... but it doesn't make me feel any better because that's not what I see when I look in the mirror.[/b]

[b]I guess if I were to change something about my body, I'd add about 10 or 15 pounds of pudge... because right now, I'm bony and scrawny and my ribs are visible when I wear a tight shirt--yuk!--and it hurts to lay on my side because it's all bones and muscle... no padding.:animeshy: [/b]

[b](Think: scrawny like the chick from Fifth Element... but with slightly better muscle tone... eesh! Yeah, I definitely need a few more pounds on my carcass... *munches on a fistful of Little Debbies*)[/b]

[b]I've also got a lot of scars on my arms and my shins (from skateboarding and other aggressive activities) that I can't wait to tattoo over. I'm not sure why those scars bother me so much, because I've got a scar across my brow/eye that I really like--it's one of my favorite features... but the ones on the rest of my body make me cringe.[/b]

[b]Usually, my self esteem doesn't suffer too much from my (rather severe) hatred of my appearance, but on those rare occasions ([i]really rare[/i], mind you) when I want to appear cute or sexy-- I feel like I fail miserably at doing so and I end up feeling pretty crappy about myself.[/b]

[TheShinje]

[color=DimGray][size=1][b]The only [/b]thing that I would change about myself is my wieght issue, I'd lose quite a few pounds, and, in fact, I have mopst recently started a new diet and excercise regime.

But this is purely health related as opposed to cosmetic. I have been blessed by having such amazing friends that make mne feel comfortable with the way I am. My only concern about my weight issue is based on healt because my family has a history of heart disease and high cholestrol.


[/size][/color]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]I would like to be taller and have...a larger chest. I'm a guy, not a girl, so by that I mean more of a barrel chest. I work out regularly, and my muscle tone is coming along nicely, but I don't have that really strong look that some people naturally have, without having to work for it. Also, my hair does annoy me sometimes [it depends on the day as to whether I'm happy with it or not], and I wish my chin was maybe another centimeter forward. Just jutting my chin forward ever so slightly completely changes the appearance of my face, for the better.

Overall, I'm reasonably satisfied with my appearance. I take care of my self, and feel relatively at ease with my body. I think thats what is important.[/size]

[Lord Dante]

if i could change something..... i guess i'd increase my muscle mass. to lssj broly proportions (unrealistic i know, but this [I]is[/I] theoretically speaking)

other than this i'm perfectly happy with my appearance.

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1]Okay, let's see. I'm a girl, but for my age I think my breasts are too large. Maybe that's too much info, but whatever, I don't care. I don't mean I want to be flat chested, maybe just a size smaller. I'd like to be a bit taller; maybe about 5'5'' (I'm 5'3'' now) and I'd like my freckles to disappear. I'm pretty happy with my body, it's taken an age of not eating properly and exercise to get it the way it is now, and I?m not going to wish for a change. I'd also like for my hair to grow back out as I miss having it long.

Other than that, I guess I'm pretty happy with the way I look. Oh, I would like to have fuller lips; they're too thin and pale in my opinion.

Eek, edit-ness.

I've been through quite a few rough patches when I felt like I hate my appearance as a whole and I didn't even want to go to school. I'd be paranoid that people who went past me or even looked at me were laughing at me. I realise that was just a teenage hormonal thing and since I've had a boyfriend who's generally liked me, I've realised that I couldn't actually care less what others thought as long as, well, I'm with Trevor. I think I've come to realise that what people say is there opinion and it's boosted my confidence a lot. Not caring does the trick, I feel, though I know it doesn't always work.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[elfpirate]

[b]Any of you care to answer the part about how your self-image ties into your self-esteem?[/b]

[b]So far, the majority o' you have simply listed the things you'd change. [/b]

[b]I'm interested in the psychological effects that your perceived faults have on your overall self-esteem.[/b]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]Hmm... yeah, there are a few things I'd like to change.

First of all, I'd like to be taller. But not to the point where I'm above average... just around average height. That would mean getting another inch or so on my height to get me where I want to be. And I'd also like to make my face look... better? Hmm. Well, I mean, many girls have said I look "cute" and all, but I still don't always like my face. But I'm relatively lucky to not have [b]any[/b] acne. How blessed!

Anyway... this doesn't really make my self-esteem suffer too much. I'm comparatively speaking, short for my age. But I'm used to it, so when people try to make fun of me for it, it doesn't matter, really. And my face is strictly an obsessive thing. I guess just... a better face. Not sure exactly what do to do with it. =p

Yeah... I like my body. I'm thin and fit, partially because of my extremely fast metabolism, so no complaints there. But I can't wait to grow more![/SIZE]

[Japan]

[COLOR=Navy]One thing for sure that I'd like to change is get rid of my disability and also change my chest size. :animeshy:

I'm just sick of getting teased.

Other than that, I'm really happy with myself. I wouldn't want to be anyone else.

I am not fat and I don't look anorexic. My close friends think I'm pretty....who cares what others think? Their views don't really matter all that much.[/COLOR]

[elfpirate]

[QUOTE=Japan][color=navy]Other than that, I'm really happy with myself. I wouldn't want to be anyone else.
I am not fat and I don't look anorexic. [/color][/QUOTE]
[b]*heh*-- it kinda sux to look like you are on a strict diet of cocaine and ice cubes... you're lucky...[/b]

[IceWolfEyes]

Well, honestly, I don't think I'd change a thing about my looks. I'm used to the way my body looks now, and the few flaws are bearable.

In response to your question about how self-esteem may tie in to our perseved body image:

It used to affect me a great deal. I thought I was ugly, lol. And that made me feel bad when the "pretty" girls were walking around. As of this point in my life, I really don't give a damn about my looks. Unless I have to go to a job interveiw, then I fuss in front of the mirror for an hour or so. My hair didn't dry right, oh crap. lol.

Icyeyes

[Xanadu]

Frankly, the first thing I'd do to my body is take a wrecking ball to it. Start from scratch. There is preactically no parts about my body i like, especially the wieght issue. Mostly due to the crippling bordom of lving 30K from the nearest english-speaking people (Damn, if only I'd learned french...) leads too three mains things to do: Computer, TV, and eating. That's about it. So i'd make myself rather skinny. It's so depressing, how people (Shallow ones, mostly) just look at me and go "Hey look, it's that fat kid I hate" before even knowing me. Frankly, it's completly ruined my self-esteem.

Also, years of computer use hasn't done much for my eyes. Also, since jeans are in style, it really sucks because I find jeans to be the most uncomfertable and usless thing, pretty much ever, and the fact I opt not too wear them limits me in the loveing department. (But when sweatpants and moo-moos come back in style... whoa boy, dead sexy right thurr) It depressing. Ya, I'd just tear my body down and start again.

Whenever people tell judge me on my outward appearance, I explain to them where they can shove it and continue with my day.

[Sara]

[color=indigo]I looked in the mirror the other day and very nearly fell over at who I saw in the mirror. I don't look the way I remember looking six months ago. Since moving up to college, I've gotten taller, [i]lost[/i] weight, my hair's grown--I just look...[i]different.[/i] I look "like a college student," heh.

I love my body. Dry skin, ink-stained fingers, and all. There's nothing impossible about it that I would want to change--I should take better care of my hair (which I'm starting to do), I've been using lotion regularly (dry skin never used to bug me, but for some reason, moving six hours north and five stories up, it's really been a problem this winter), and I've been taking the stairs and eating more healthily. So I guess what I love most right now is that I [i]feel[/i] healthy. It's hard to look in the mirror and not like what I see when I actually, physically, feel so well.

One of the things I like least about myself (in general) is my hair. It's long, it's [i]thick[/i], it's brown, and it's somewhere between "straight" and "wavy." I honestly feel like I can't do [i]anything[/i] with it (which is very untrue.) People ask me why I keep my hair long if I don't like it--but I like having short hair even less. When it's short, I feel like I'm constantly waiting for it to get long again. When it does get long, I get frustrated and cut it off--it's a vicious cycle. ;)

The way I look doesn't really affect my self-esteem negatively. When I'm upset, I tend to hate how I look...but that's the other way around. Dressing up and taking care to look nice (which I don't do often) tends to transform me into quite the young swan--I pay so little attention to the way I look (it's kind of sad) that when I do, the difference is [i]really[/i] noticeable. I do enjoy "dressing up," though--it's fun to look nice. But I'm just as comfortable with myself in jeans and a T-shirt (actually, dressing up sometimes involves nothing more than jeans and a "cute" T-shirt, heh). [/color]

[Semjaza]

I would like to lose some weight. I'm not fat at all, I'm just definitely above where I'd like to be at at this point. Obviously not being where you'd like to be affects your attitude in that regard negatively for anyone. I don't dwell on it, really, but it's definitely something I'd feel a lot better about once it is taken care of.

I don't really feel "bad" about myself in any other way really. I certainly could look far worse.

[Pumpkin]

[QUOTE=Retribution][SIZE=1]Hmm... yeah, there are a few things I'd like to change.

First of all, I'd like to be taller. But not to the point where I'm above average... just around average height. That would mean getting another inch or so on my height to get me where I want to be. And I'd also like to make my face look... better? Hmm. Well, I mean, many girls have said I look "cute" and all, but I still don't always like my face. But I'm relatively lucky to not have [b]any[/b] acne. How blessed!
[/SIZE][/QUOTE]


[SIZE=1] I guess that pretty much sums it up for me. Honestly, I wish I didn't care so much about my looks, but lately, its like I've become obsessed with changing myself. Maybe because shallow people point things out to you that you become engrossed into trying to change yourself, its an awful feeling. I know I want to be tanner (Which I've tried tanning, and got an alergic reaction from it great and it takes a long time for me to tan) since I'm really pale. I'd love to change my hair, I just recently got bangs which I thought would make me look better but I can never style them right so they just hang on the sides of my face. Great. I'd also like to be taller, I'm like 5'4". I don't like how my face looks like, even though I've never had serious acne problems. I've been told I'm cute but to me it just feels like they say that to be nice. As far as how it affects me, yes I can get paranoid sometimes. (I go to school with shallow people so its kinda hard not too, darn independent study) I'd also like to lose a few pounds, I'm not fat, but I want to be about 115lbs and have a nice flat stomache.

It can affect anyone's self-esteem, mine included. IF I feel I look good (Which it happens sometimes, sometimes I can feel attractive.) I'm alot more socialable and act way more confident. If I feel like I look as good as I can be, then I'm probably the most confident I've ever been. It seems to be a cycle with me, one week I feel extremely confident and think everything is going great and next week, who knows bad hair day. I guess you just gotta wait things out. Hopefully I'll have a great hair day soon, heck I need one. [/SIZE]

[drive_monster]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]hmm... the only thing I would change about myself is I would like to be a little shorter. I am about 3-4 inches taller than a whole lot of people my age that I know. Sometimes I just feel like I stick out a lot, and it sometimes affect my self esteem negatively. On a good day, though, I'm fine with it. Otherwise, I don't have a problem with my appearance.[/COLOR]

[tainted_blood]

[COLOR=Purple]Well i'd start by changing my hair. It really annoys me in that it always goes into these ringlets and curls. :animeangr euch!It does nothing else. i can't get it to go straight :nope: Also my hair is light brown, so i'd want to change that too. My nose is messed up too, but i wouldn't really want to change that, i don't really care about it. My friend (jokingly) asked me if i would get plastic surgery on it if i was older. I said no. Thats most of what i would want to change about my image.
It doesn't really effect my selfesteem though. I'm used to having messy hair and a mucked up nose. It doesn't matter if people don't like it, it's who i am so they will just have to put up with it i guess. I never give it a second thought.[/COLOR]

[Gelgoog Pilot]

Hmmm...Well...I'd like to be taller...not that it directly effects my self image or anything...I just feel as if I should be entitled to reach higher stuff. Also, I wouldn't mind getting rid of this little beer gut...sitting at a computer and runing design and coding programs does NOT burn fat let me tell you. Im not fat and I know that. But for some reason at 150 lbs, I still feel like I could look a little leaner....oh well. That's my input. :animesigh

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Thoughts on my self image tend to vary day to day. Realistically I have a healthy (though slightly vain) view of myself. I know I am a good looking guy in that ?boy next door? type of way, and I workout quite a bit so I am always pretty healthy and fit looking. There are times when I wish my abs were more defined or my chest was bigger or my hair looked different, but nothing that I couldn?t work on or change if I really wanted to.

My self doubt stems from my unrealistic views about how I want to look. I guess I watch too much pro wrestling because I often get it into my head that I should look more like a monstrous 6?4? brute whose muscular structure was carved out of granite. All of my disappointment comes from an image that I couldn?t possibly create.

I actually find it fortunate that I compare myself to such an impossible measuring stick though. It makes it easy for me to think to myself ?hey, it is impossible to look that way so why worry about it, focus on the positive, your shoulders fit between a bathroom partition?. [/color]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]I'm pretty indifferent. If people have problems with how I look, that's their opinion and not mine. I'm content with how I am, heh. Nothing really to change. I've been losing weight for the past year for health purposes [liver was sick] and that was the only aesthetic concern I had with myself, heh. Two birds with one stone.

Being tall is kind of irritating but I certainly wouldn't want to be short or shorter. Pros and cons with anything. It's nice to tower over most people, lol. You'd be surprised how many people *don't* notice you when you are tall o_O. Or, maybe my city is stricken with a plague of near-sightedness. Who knows.

Heh. I'll just keep eating "right", whatever that implies. Good luck to those who want to change themselves. I genuinely hope you get to feeling better about how you look/feel. [/color]

[Panda]

[b]How do you feel about your appearance and what would you want to change about it?[/b]
I am pretty much ok with my appearance. The only thing I would change is to lose the extra weight the medications I have to take packed on my body. I hate being as heavy as I am now. Other than that I am fine being short and I am fine with my other features. Even the large scar I have on the back of my right hand from when I had to have surgery to amputate a finger. Heck, even the finger being gone is fine. My RA hasn't caused any disfiguring joints yet so I don't have to worry about that just yet. I am sure when it happens I will just deal with it. Just need to less...round. The plus side to being pleasantly plump would be getting big bear hugs from me. No one likes to hug a bag of bones! I'm squishy. I really am shaped like a panda. (See banner below.)

[b]And to what degree does your appearance effect your overall self-esteem?[/b]
My appearance has little to do with my self-esteem. The biggest stress on my self-esteem has been my disability. Having an autoimmune disease that will cause my joints to disfigure and possibly loose function of those joints weighs heavily on my mind. Constant pain and fatique is also hard on my self-esteem since I am use to being very active. Not being able to do all the things I use to do has been hard on me.

Otherwise I think I am a fun person to be around. I like to make others laugh and I think I am a pretty groovy gal. If someone is just going to judge me because I am a bit on the chubby side or arthritic then that is their issue and not mine. I am not going to let them bring me down.

[elfpirate]

[QUOTE=Panda][b]How do you feel about your appearance and what would you want to change about it?[/b]
I am pretty much ok with my appearance. The only thing I would change is to lose the extra weight the medications I have to take packed on my body. I hate being as heavy as I am now. Other than that I am fine being short and I am fine with my other features. Even the large scar I have on the back of my right hand from when I had to have surgery to amputate a finger. Heck, even the finger being gone is fine. My RA hasn't caused any disfiguring joints yet so I don't have to worry about that just yet. I am sure when it happens I will just deal with it. Just need to less...round. The plus side to being pleasantly plump would be getting big bear hugs from me. No one likes to hug a bag of bones! I'm squishy. I really am shaped like a panda. (See banner below.)

[b]And to what degree does your appearance effect your overall self-esteem?[/b]
My appearance has little to do with my self-esteem. The biggest stress on my self-esteem has been my disability. Having an autoimmune disease that will cause my joints to disfigure and possibly loose function of those joints weighs heavily on my mind. Constant pain and fatique is also hard on my self-esteem since I am use to being very active. Not being able to do all the things I use to do has been hard on me.

Otherwise I think I am a fun person to be around. I like to make others laugh and I think I am a pretty groovy gal. If someone is just going to judge me because I am a bit on the chubby side or arthritic then that is their issue and not mine. I am not going to let them bring me down.[/QUOTE]
[b]
[b]Like I said on another post:
[quote name='elfpirate][b'] Do you have a seemingly endless supply of patience (Panda comes to mind...) [/b][/quote][/b][/b]

[Shinmaru]

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3]I would like to lose some weight. I'm not fat at all, I'm just definitely above where I'd like to be at at this point. Obviously not being where you'd like to be affects your attitude in that regard negatively for anyone. I don't dwell on it, really, but it's definitely something I'd feel a lot better about once it is taken care of.

I don't really feel "bad" about myself in any other way really. I certainly could look far worse.[/QUOTE]

That's pretty much were I stand, though I've lost a bit of weight over the past couple of months. When I visited a few old friends at my high school recently, they kept telling me that I looked a lot skinnier o_O; I honestly didn't think I looked that much different, but whatever lol.

My appearance doesn't really affect my self-esteem very much anymore. I have a bunch of physical quirks that I used to feel really insecure about, but I just poke fun at them now. When you really get down to it, skinny wrists, big feet, and bumps that run up and down your arms aren't really that much to get riled up about lol.

[r3vival]

I'm pretty okay with my appearance overall although there are a few slight adjustments I may want to make. The first one being that I wouldnt mind being just a little bit taller not much just 2 inches or so would be fine (5'8" currently). I'm pretty light well was but now that wrestling seasons over i packed on a few which is what i wanted but any building of muscle mass is more for the sake of being stronger then looking stronger so that isnt really for appearances sake. The final change I would make is my hair. I'm half japanese and so I do have that typically asian hair that just seems to grow out and theres just not much I can do with it other then shave most of it off every month or so haha. Even though I cant imagine myself doing anything else with my hair it would just be nice if it were a bit more manageable that is WHEN it grows out (it just goes out like DBZ or somethin haha)

I'd wouldn't say my appearance doesn't affect my self esteem or rather my personality as a whole. The fact that i'm, for lack of a better term, "chilled out" about my appearance (I dont like to put forth any really unnecessary effort unless its on a special occasion for appearances sake) I'm typically a chilled out guy too because I notice on days I'm dressed to impress I'm typically more edgy I don't know if thats what you were looking for but its typically the only way I can see it applying because this attitude in turn has its own specific effects on other matters such as socialism which is all good in the end I'm just typically slow to get to know people and shy on the spot but once i'm comfortable talking to somebody (have somewhat of an understanding of them) i open up a bit more conversationally I suppose this could also translate to my appearance being that I dont exactly see myself as the kind of person who can just automatically reel somebody in through charm alone

[James]

[color=#B0251E]I don't know if there is much I'd change about how I look - sure, I can wish for certain things. I can wish for a different eye colour (coloured contacts are nice but they aren't real, are they?) or I can wish to be taller or to have a different shaped nose or whatever.

But I really don't see any point in that. I can't change what I look like, so why bother? All I can do is make the best of what I have.

I think that objectively, I'm a reasonable looking sort of person. So I can be comfortable with that - I'm not worried about looking like a model or anything, but I'm also not worried about being considered horribly ugly or something.

My physical appearance certainly impacts myself esteem at times, but the circumstances are always different. Maybe my hair looks pretty bad on a certain day and it makes me feel a bit less confident or something. But that's about as far as it goes. My self esteem as it relates to appearance tends to relate more closely to my clothing than my actual looks. If I'm wearing torn-up jeans and an old t-shirt, I'm far less likely to be feeling attractive than if I'm a bit more dressed up. You know?

But generally my appearance doesn't bother me too much. As long as I'm clean (and I always am), and as long as I'm at least reasonably tidy and stuff...then I don't have much of a problem. There are days when I don't feel so good about my appearance, but again, that's usually more related to clothing or hair or something like that. It's not a huge deal for me.[/color]