Body perception is defined as one’s personal perception and judgment of one’s size, shape, weight, and any other aspects of the human body that relates to body appearance, which includes hairstyle and skin tone. The etiology of this mode of perception is embedded in our genetic code or influenced by the culture we emerge from. Living in a world that fails to question the reason behind their mode of self-perception, it is crucial to understand if the way we perceive one another is influenced by our ethnicity, and places of habitation.
A country that places little concern on the definition of an ideal body would have inhabitants who would perceive themselves with the exact mental process. A country that promotes a particular body shape, tone, and hairstyle will have more distortion of self-perception amongst their inhabitants. Distortion in body image is subconsciously distributed via promotion of an ideal body by media outlets and the commercialization of a healthy lifestyle. It is necessary to raise awareness towards the acquisition and understanding of the reason serving as a foundation of how one perceives his or her body. Most importantly, this gives the individual an opportunity to access and question his feelings towards his present perception of his/her physical appearance. This would lead to definition of an ideal body based on a conception derived from a personalized perception.
Reaching this conclusive thought process initiated the concern for how a mass perception of body image is distributed in a multicultural society such as Ottawa. In the University of Ottawa, half of the student population consists of international students who have migrated to Canada to get a higher education. They are not just immersing in the educational system, but also the culture of the city and the country that the educational system emerged from. Values, ethics, moral standards, and self-perception are altered on a small or large scale when placed in a new environment for a certain period of time. Most students are not aware of the development of this distorted perception, and fail to question if they are comfortable with this mode of self-perception. To specify towards body image, it is necessary to discover if geographical migration and ethnicity affects the body perception. If this area should be explored, it would provide a deeper insight towards the impact of ethnicity and change in geographical location on an individual perception. Immersion of the two central criteria of influence of body image, this exploration would lead to a better understanding of the following; how does immersion in the Canadian culture impact body image? Does change in geographical location influence body image? What are the major factors highlighted as the main trigger of body perception? What is the common idea of the ideal body? Is it healthy, and mentally satisfying?
Providing accurate answers to these questions will pose psychological benefits of one’s self-perception, provide clarity on the factors influencing body distortion, and lead to a reformation of university policies that enhance a positive mental environment for their students to develop to a maximum level of self-fulfillment.
About the writer
Justina Ikwu is a student at the University of Ottawa, majoring in Health Sciences and a minor in Psychology. She is also the Event Coordinator for the Nigerian Students’ Association at the university. She says she is interested in the life situation of the average human, and also focus on self-empowerment of minds and enhance personal fulfillment. Nigerian-born Justina moderates her own blog themed “Scatteredthoughts”.