“To all the girls that think you’re ugly because you’re not a size zero, you’re the beautiful one. It’s society who’s ugly.” Marilyn Monroe.
It is the basis of many teen-based movies. A young girl is trying on clothes in a shopping mall, only to say that she doesn’t feel “pretty” in them. This is usually a comedic scene but the idea of not looking or feeling good in clothes is not a new thing for many girls and women.
A YouGov survey from 2020 found that as many as one in six women are extremely dissatisfied with how they look and around 35% of all women surveyed feel unhappy with their body shape.
This is a complex issue which, with the rise in social media usage, seems to be growing. Indeed, studies from 2023 and 2024 have found that unrealistic beauty standards portrayed on platforms like TikTok can negatively impact body image, especially in women aged 18-25. (Blackburn and Hogg 2024, Knight 2023).
Of course, it must be asked if the downward trend of women’s self-perception is really due to social media usage. Or are there other factors at play as well?
What is Body Image?
Starting with a definition from Psychology Today, body image is a person’s perceptions, thoughts and feelings about their physical appearance. A person may, and often does, see themselves differently from how they look in third person, as body image is more about perception.
In many body image studies, like Liu et al (2025), the following four components are used to assess how a person perceives themselves-
- Perceptual- this is how a person sees their body, which may differ from reality.
- Affective- this is how someone feels about their body and appearance.
- Cognitive- these are the thoughts and beliefs that are held about a body, such as “I’m too heavy” or “I look ugly.”
- Behavioural- these are the actions that a person takes due to their bodily perceptions, such as excessive exercising, dieting or avoiding mirrors.
If a person has a balanced and realistic view of their body, based on value beyond appearance alone, this is seen as a healthy body image. A person with a negative body image will be persistently unhappy about their body, which can play into low self-esteem, anxiety, as well as eating and intimacy disorders, which is often when such issues lead women to seek therapy, often without noting that issues with bodily image are occurring.
Where Does Body Image Come From?
A core question that has to be asked when looking at body image is where does each person’s perception come from?
A book that was released in 2011 by Cash and Smolak called Body Image: A Handbook of Science, Practice, and Prevention, determined that both positive and negative body image develop through a combination of individual, social and cultural influences, which include familial attitudes, peer comparisons, media portrayal and social media exposure.
In more recent times, social media has taken multiple hits when exploring self-esteem related to looks. Thai et al (2023) explored the role that social media played in the body image of young women and teens who suffered from emotional distress, such as anxiety and depression. This study used a randomised design to see if reducing time spent on social media also helped to minimise body-image issues. The group that had their time on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram cut to one hour per day showed significant improvement in how they perceived their appearance and weight. The other group, who were allowed to continue using these platforms as regularly as they wished to, reported high levels of social comparison and a persistent negative body image.
Unsurprisingly, issues with women’s self-perception and bodily image were around a few years before the first influencer took to TikTok. A study from Hughes et al (2024) used a longitudinal data set, which was started in the 1990s and carried on until 2023, starting when the participants were aged 10 or under. It was determined that children who experienced pressure from their family to lose weight, or felt pressure from the media, have higher rates of body image issues relating to weight, even if they had a healthy body mass index (BMI). Women and girls were noted as having higher incidents of body image distortion in this study, even when they were in their late 30s. So, that messaging from childhood had a detrimental impact decades later, without the use of anything related to social media.
So, unsurprisingly, issues relating to self-worth, weight and appearance in women and young girls predate TikTok by at least two decades.
Dangers of Poor Body Image
Psychological research has been looking at issues around body image since 1935, pioneered by Paul Schilder, who laid the groundwork for the following signs of poor body image being explored in the 1960s to the 1980s.
Some of the signs of poor body image include-
- Frequent negative self-talk
- Low self-esteem
- Preoccupation with appearance
- Body dissatisfaction
- Social comparison
- Shame and embarrassment
- Anxiety and depression
Of course, all of these symptoms or signs have inherent dangers but this can extend far beyond simply feeling down about oneself. Rodgers et al (2023) conducted a comprehensive review which showed that body image disturbance is common among women, linked to poorer mental health and is also associated with disordered eating, such as bulimia, binge eating and calorie counting.
Kilpela et al (2023) looked at data across longitudinal studies. This study found that higher body dissatisfaction at earlier points in life was linked to poorer mental health outcomes later, thus showcasing a directional relationship between poorer body image and worsening psychological harm in midlife, such as extreme depression and anxiety. Worryingly, a link has also been found between having a higher BMI and depression overall, via research conducted by Blundell (2024), or having a negative bodily image early in life can almost be a pathway to psychological illness later in life.
Improving Body Image
It is fair to say that when it comes to bodily image, the research has found a clear link between unrealistic media depictions, perfectionist social media images and worse body image perceptions in women.
Of course, as much as social media can worsen such issues in vulnerable groups, it can also be used to improve bodily perceptions. Garcia et al (2025) conducted research into how body-positive content on social media could impact women’s perceptions of their bodies. Exposure to body-positive content led to improved body image, especially when it promoted diverse body representations, which challenged the more commonly seen unrealistic beauty standard.
Conboy et al (2024) explored the role of digital therapies for women who were dissatisfied with their bodies. This area of research was particularly interesting as it explored non-clinical body dissatisfaction, meaning it targeted women who did not have a diagnosed disorder. The research determined that online apps and therapy were beneficial, with women in this study noting significant improvements in how they perceived themselves, with self-esteem, confidence and rates of anxiety and depression dropping.
So, it seems that the proposed answer to helping women who have body image issues is to provide positive reinforcement and to stop comparisons to Instagram-perfect influencers. However, this research does not seek to answer the uncomfortable questions about why these beauty standards still exist and why, even in 2025, they are still being perpetuated by the media.
I hope you found this blog article an interesting read. If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to drop a comment. We appreciate all feedback and want to hear how you find our blogs. If you have concerns with your body image or are struggling with low self-esteem, please contact My Family Psychologist on 07801 079 555 or email luisa@myfamilypsychologist.com.
FAQs
What is Body Image?
Body image is how a person sees their body, relating to thoughts and feelings about their physical appearance. Body image can be positive or negative and has been linked to childhood perceptions as well as media pressures in women.
What Impacts Body Image?
Body image is influenced by cultural beauty standards, family attitudes, peer pressure as well as social media. However, studies have found that other things like self-esteem and mental health can also play a role.
What Can Help Women Who Have A Poor Body Image?
Research has found that body positivity messaging online, combined with chat therapies in the digital space can help improve body image perceptions. It has also been noted that reducing social media time can have a positive impact.
References
Blundell, E., De Stavola, B. L., Davies Kellock, M., Kelly, Y., Lewis, G., McMunn, A., Nicholls, D., Patalay, P., & Solmi, F. (2024). Longitudinal pathways between childhood BMI, body dissatisfaction, and adolescent depression: An observational study using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 11(1), 47-55.
Cash, T. F., & Smolak, L. (Eds.). (2011). Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Google Books. https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Body_Image.html?id=bxPuCP9nCZoC&redir_esc=y
Conboy, L. (2024). Digital body image interventions for adult women: A meta-analysis. Body Image, 47, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.04.001
Hughes, A. M., (et al.). (2024). Demographic, socioeconomic and life-course risk factors for internalized weight stigma in adulthood: Evidence from an English birth cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 15.
Jiménez-García, A. M., Arias, N., Picazo Hontanaya, E., Sanz, A., & García-Velasco, O. (2025). Impact of body-positive social media content on body image perception. Journal of Eating Disorders, 13(1), 153.
Kilpela, L. S., Hooper, S. C., Straud, C. L., Marshall, V. B., Verzijl, C. L., Stewart, T. M., Loera, T. T., & Becker, C. B. (2023). The longitudinal associations of body dissatisfaction with health and wellness behaviors in midlife and older women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(24), 7143.
Liu, Z., Hu, Y., Qian, H., & Gao, X. (2025). Perceptual regulation of ideal body shape in young women with body shame: An ERP study of cognitive reappraisal. Behavioural Brain Research, 493, Article 115690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2025.115690
Psychology Today Staff. (n.d.). Body image. Psychology Today. Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/body-image?msockid=15c1ae759da66bcf1527bd519c146a88
Rodgers, R. F., Laveway, K., Campos, P., & de Carvalho, P. H. B. (2023). Body image as a global mental health concern. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, 10, Article 2.
Thai, H., Davis, C. G., Mahboob, W., Perry, S., Adams, A., & Goldfield, G. S. (2023). Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress. Psychology of Popular Media. American Psychological Association+2News-Medical+2
YouGov. (2023, August 21). Nearly half of Brits are unhappy with their body. YouGov. https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/27483-nearly-half-brits-are-unhappy-their-body