It All Begins with the Body

Abstract

“What a beautiful baby!” “Oohs” and “Ahs” from family and friends (even when they don’t mean it) warm the cockles of parents’ hearts and increase their love for this new physical extension of themselves, and for their own bodies as well, which have produced this amazing new life. By the time the elementary school years roll around, physical beauty and capability have become major means of boosting self-esteem and social standing in the increasingly critical peer group. Then in adolescence, as the body transforms itself almost overnight, self-esteem is puffed up or ravaged by broad shoulders, big breasts, an unexpected pimple on the tip of the nose, or Ichabod Crane gangliness.