College of Teacher

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CHAPTER II. UNPACKING THE SELF
A. PHYSICAL SELF

The Self as Impacted by the Body

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Define physical self;

2. Analyze the relationship between physical self and self-esteem;
3. Appreciate and respect one’s cultural standard of physical bodies; and
4. Understand the Importance of beauty and how to preserve a beautiful self.

Physical Self

- refers to the body, a concrete dimension, and a tangible aspect of the person that
can be directly observed and examined.

-the body is a marvelous container and a complex, finely tuned machine

that we use to interface with our environment and fellow beings.

-is defined by physical characteristics that are visible.

Take note:

The physical aspect of the self DOES NOT include characteristics that are internal to
the self such as kindness, generosity,loyalty, obedience, and other similar qualities.

-According to Freud, the body is the core of human experience and the ego is
foremost a body ego.

-for Reich, the body is highly dynamic in all psychological functioning, and it plays a
critical role in storing and challenging the bio-energy which is the basis of human
existence and experience.

 Eastern tradition gives importance to the harmony of the body as the vehicle for
spiritual growth and self-realization.

Our physical self is fundamental in answering the most difficult question,

“WHO AM I ?”

-We are sometimes guilty of the fact that our first assessment of people is based on
how they look, or worse, we let our physical appearance define who we are.

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-We have created a culture of how we do and should look.The brand of our dress,
our skin tone, our coca-cola shape, our height, and even the makeup we use to make
us appear “beautiful”greatly affects how our self-esteem is formed.

SELF ESTEEM - is all about how much we feel we are worth and how much we feel
other people value us. If we have a positive BODY IMAGE, we like and accept
ourselves the way we are even if we do not fit in which media “ideals”.

On the other hand, feeling badly about the way we look can be devastating to our
overall self-confidence, affecting multiple aspects of our lives.

Consider the pressing issue of bullying, which is generally a cause of low-self esteem,
not to mention a dose of ridicule, thrown into the physically challenged people.

Consider the negative way of thinking. How body image, self-esteem,and mental
health are interrelated.
Don’t let your mind bully your body.

BODY IMAGE
I don't like the way
I look. I wished I looked
more like these other
people. There's
something wrong
with me.

SELF-ESTEEM
MENTAL HEALTH I don't think I'm good
Nothing ever works out if I enough. Other people
can't handle this problem.I are better than me. I
must be a failure. If this
should be able to do
isn't
perfect, it's a total disaster I these things - there
feel overwhelmed and low. must be something
I don't take time out to wrong with me if I
take care of myself. can't.

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Many people have an obsession to have a beautiful face and body. This is so because
the body heavily influences our self-identity. “We are what we eat” we even claim.
The demand for skin whiteners, cosmetic surgery, slimming pills that may even cause
severe diseases and even tragic death are much in demand in the market. For may,
as their body changes, so does their image of themselves.

It is very important to reframe the way we view, think, and talk about our physical
selves. Here are some tips:

1. Recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape or size it comes in.
Try to focus on how strong and healthy your body is and the things it can do, not
what's wrong with it or what you feel you want to change about it. No one's business
but your own what your body is like-ultimately, you have to be happy with yourself.

2. Identify which aspects of your appearance you can realistically change and
which you cannot.Humans by definition imperfect. It's what makes each of us
unique and original. Everyone has things he/she cannot change for instance,height,
and shoe size. “Real people are not perfect
and perfect people are not real.”

3. If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can, do this by
making goals for yourself. For example, if you want to lose weight, get fit, make a
plan to exercise every day and eat healthy. Meeting a challenge you set for yourself
is a great way to boost self-esteem.

4.When you hear negative comments coming from within, tell yourself to stop.
Appreciate that each person is more than just how he or she looks on a given day.
We are complex and constantly changing. Try to focus on what is unique and
interesting about yourself.

5.Try building your self-esteem by giving yourself three compliments every day. By
focusing on the good things you do and the positive aspects of your life, you can
change how you feel about yourself.

The Impact of Culture on Body Image and Self-Esteem

Female ratio
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This is the golden ratio perfect image by Stephen Marquardt. If you have this golden
ration, you are considered beautiful. Of course you may disagree and argue that
beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but as long as the fashion industry dictates who
and what is beautiful many countless men and women will never be satisfied with
their physical bodies.

Beauty

-- “Beauty is not ones's own but a reflection of one's culture,” once author once said.

Neck stretching Bagobo with black- Muscular man with Muslim Beauty
culture filled teeth culture tattoo
https://
https:// www.google.com https:// https://
www.google.com www.google.com www.google.com

You might be considered beautiful in a certain place and ugly in some other place.
Why? There are culturally defined attitudes concerning male and female
attractiveness. Different cultures have different definitions of what is beautiful and
what is not.

Some tribes in Africa - would consider a chubby, and plump body of women in
middle age beautiful, and they find skinny and slim women unattractive.

For the Westeners - sexy, skinny, and men with a six packs abs re considered
beautiful.

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But because culture changes, our definition of beauty changes as well. Because of
some universal metrics of beauty the surgical and nonsurgical methods of altering
physical appearance are now widespread and routine, and is now a kind of
entertainment.

Alternation of our physical bodies is shown through body piercing, tattooing,

scarification,and body painting. These are physical symbols,that widely reflect our
self-identity.

No culture has remained completely static, because of these changes we develop a

multicultural self as well.

- a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic
senses, especially the sight.

-anything that makes you look and feel good about yourself. The freedom to be who
you truly are. Feeling great about yourself; being happy and confident with you.

When is a person considered to be beautiful ? What is the socially accepted standard

of beauty? Usually, only the physical features such as the face and body figure are
considered as bases for beauty.

One is considered to be beautiful if she has light and glowing skin, kissable red lips,
rosy cheeks, sharp and pointed nose, white and healthy teeth, and tantalizing eyes.
These are the physical qualities that society prescribes as standards of beauty.

The appearance of a person can be an asset or a liability.A person with a beautiful

face is likely to receive accolades and enjoy being described as angelic or having a
face that could launch a thousand ships.

To be beautiful means to enjoy a lot of privileges and advantages in society such as

gaining more attention from people, winning in beauty pageants, becoming an
actress or actor, model, or endorser, or as simple as having many friends.

On the other hand, some people who are not endowed and blessed with a a
beautiful face according to society's standards may be prone to bullying. They may
be ridiculed or called names such as “ Oyy, Josefa na bulag”.

In this imperfect world, inequality exists in various contexts, including in the physical
appearance of people. While the physical appearance is attributed to both genetics
and the environment, an individual has no control over or choice as to how he or she
looks like.

However, being beautiful is sometimes a liability. People perceived as beautiful may

find it difficult to get rid of many stalkers; their privacy and security may be at risk.

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Women are also subjected to catcalling and verbal harassment, acts of
lasciviousness, rape, and other crimes for being perceived s beautiful (although these
crimes happen with or without basis on beauty).

Most prominently, present culture prescribes that being beautiful is a necessity, an

obligation in order to be liked and loved. Many products are created just to change
or improve one's appearance such as beauty soaps, whitening lotions, vitamins for
fairer and whiter skin, cosmetics, and many more. Some opt to undergo medical
procedures such as plastic surgery, liposuction, breast augmentation, among others
just to change their physical characteristics.

These procedures can sometimes be risky as there are many cases of unsuccessful
surgery leading to unfortunate unintended results. The quest for beauty is
sometimes dangerous but for those who believe that beauty is a capital, the will
always pursue it no matter what.

It is true that beauty is important. Caring for one's beauty is very different from
altering or modifying it.

The Importance of Beauty (Different definitions of beauty across cultures):

Korea - Korean men and women like to be pale because historically, if you are
tanned, it means that you are a pleasant working outdoors as compared to people
who have a pale skin, which represents luxury, wealth,and lack of wrinkles. Another
thing is to have double eyelids. This type of surgery is one of the most important
surgeries in Korea, and it is done for men and women to look more western.
And lastly is to have a V-line face, and you need to have much money to avail
yourself of the different kinds of of surgery just to be “beautiful”.

India - are known for their gorgeous long, and soft hair. India is one of the best
countries when it comes to hair and oil products. In India you find not only colorful
clothes, street food, and historical monuments but also a variety of fairness creams
because of India's colonial past, the British Empire. Being fair means having wealth,
luxury, and most importantly a status that commoners do not achieve in their
lifetime. Furthermore, if you are dark-skinned, it means life is tough unlike having
fair skin, which means more success in life.

United States of America -in terms of of ethnicity and race , American culture is
quite intercultural. One physical appearance that displays American beauty is having
big butts, as always shown in their hip-hop music videos. Many celebrities and
television personas have been fans of the plastic-surgery industry. If you have bigger
lips, bigger breasts and bigger butts, sexy, skinny and flawless body you are beautiful.

England - The United Kingdom is the land of kings and queens. Basically, an ideal
British beauty is the beauty of the princesses. Beautiful women are sexy and slim,
and well-toned bodies these are clearly what the common women do not

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appreciate. Big butts and breasts have also been added to the physical appearance
of beautiful women influenced by American culture. UK women according to
research,speed about 474 days of their lives applying makeup. UK is said to be the
highest consumer of makeup products.

The Arab World - it consists of about 25 arabic - speaking countries. Most women in
the Arab countries focus on being attractive through their eyes. The say that the eyes
are the mirror of the soul. Arab women tend to spend a lot of money on expensive
makeup because they believe in keeping their skin flawless over a long period of
time. Arab women are fond of enhancing their eyes with black kohl to make them
look more appealing and exotic. The also use natural baths and products, such as
“Hamman Maghrabi”, a homemade bath that slays off all the dead skin and helps
reveal gorgeous, glowing skin, which is what women aim for. Another is “Halawa” a
homemade natural wax meant for removing body hair.

Philippines - most Filipinos adore women who have fair skin, that is why whiteners
are very much in demand in the market. The colonial mentality of Filipinos dictates
that black is equivalent to being poor. Another is having long, straight black hair,
high bridge nose, and slanted eyes, to look more Chinitas and Mestizos. Because of
the influence of Korean dramas and Hollywood celebrities, many Filipinos are trying
to copy what is considered beautiful and handsome through modifying their physical
appearance.

Implications of beauty are prominent in every culture and have a tremendous

influence on the way women and even men are perceived.

Mostly these perceptions that uphold an ideal of beauty are linked to sexual appeal
and social status. That is why in the world of the multicultural self we can but also
want to go with the flow; hence our physical bodies greatly influence how we
develop and define our self-concept.

Our physical beauty will fade as we aged, but not our inner beauty. All we need is a
strong self-esteem and a re - affirmation that we are beautiful and handsome no
matter what corner of the globe we are in, and that we can be beautiful forever.

Will there be beauty, If there is no sight ?

If beauty is referred to as something that is seen through the naked eye, then what is
beauty for the blind ? Total blindness incapacitates a person to see.

The blind - arguably, may not be able to determine what is beautiful and what is
ugly. In many love stories, in literature and in film, beauty is described or projected
as purity of heart or goodness of heart, something that is within a person and cannot
be judged based on one's physical appearance.

With these, beauty is contextualized into 2 categories:

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1. One that is seen by the eye.
2. One that is felt by the heart.

Beauty denotes something that is appealing to the eye, ear, and mind. Beauty is NOT
ONLY seen but may also be heard.

A voice or a melody that is pleasurable to hear is something beautiful.

Also, stories or personal experiences relayed or narrated by another person that

invoke positive feelings are also considered to be beautiful. Aesthetics may have laid
down the laws and principles of determining beauty as seen by the naked eye but
the very essence of beauty transcends the sight-it can be heard, felt, and
understood.

Achieving Physical Well-Being

To achieve and maintain a good and balanced physical well-being, consider the
following tips:

1. Eat healthy foods.

2. Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
3. Follow proper hygiene.
4. Engage in daily exercise.
5. Take vitamins and drink fruit juices.
6. Avoid stress.
7. Spend less time in front of computers and gadgets.

How can you have a physical appearance

that others would be reminded of the love and face
of God
upon seeing you?

To God be the Glory. . .