Over the past decades, researchers have demonstrated the negative effects of body shaming and self–objectification on our mental health. People who experience body shaming, for example through bullying, and people who self-objectify are statistically more likely to experience depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and other mental illnesses (Onwuka and colleagues, 2024; Tiggeman and Slater, 2019; Grabe and colleagues, 2007). Body shaming and self-objectification are well-known to occur through the media. We see someone we perceive as smarter, prettier, or better than us, and the media likely strengthens this idea by glorifying the person’s appearance and accomplishments. We start feeling that we are not good enough, that our bodies are ugly, deformed, or wrong. How much we expose ourselves to media content correlates with our propensity to self-objectify in both adolescents and adults (Tiggeman and Slater, 2019; Moradi and Huang, 2008).
What is less appreciated, and harder to accept, is that body shaming and self-objectification happen in our everyday life. Friends at school may point out parts of our bodies as different or “ugly,” or healthcare providers may put into question whether your body is “normal.” I recently interviewed dietitian Julie Cole about her experiences with body shame and the long-lasting consequences it has had on her mental health, and I believe that her story needs to be told.
In middle school, Julie was bitten in the face by a dog, landing her in a surgery room. During this traumatic medical ordeal, the doctor presented Julie with an additional proposition: "We can fix your nose while we are at it."
This was neither the first nor the last encounter Julie would have with society’s disapproval of her body.
It’s........