Gender literacy: enhancing female self-concept and contributing to the prevention of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Alpert Sigall ◽  
Mary Strouse Pabst
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Female Self ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Troubles Alimentaires ◽  
And Gender

English This article examines the effect of gender inequity in education and gender identity development on self-concept, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in females and considers the potential impact of the limited access to information about women's lives, history and contributions, and the concomitant focus on culturally defined attractiveness as a basis for self-worth for females. The authors propose a Corrective Education Model to facilitate the achievement of 'gender literacy': an awareness and understanding of those gender-related issues that affect the context and possibilities of girls' and women's lives. The object of this work is to help women and girls feel more powerful and enhance their sense of self beyond the limits of their body size and shape. French Cette étude examine l'impact de l'inégalité des sexes dans l'éducation, de même que l'incidence du développement de l'identité sexuelle sur l'idée de soi, le rejet de son propre corps, et les troubles alimentaires. Elle analyse aussi les conséquences éventuelles de l'accès limité à l'information sur la vie, l'histoire et l'apport des femmes, ainsi que l'importance accordée à l'étalon culturel de la beauté, étalon à l'aune duquel la femme mesure sa propre valeur. Les auteurs proposent un modèle orthopédagogique pour faciliter l'éveil des femmes à leur identité sexuelle: une prise de conscience et une compréhension de la dynamique sexuelle qui influe sur le milieu de vie des femmes et des filles et sur les possibilités qui leur sont offertes. L'objectif de ce travail est d'amener femmes et filles à prendre conscience de leur capacité accrue d'améliorer l'idée qu'elles ont d'elles-mêmes, indépendamment des contraintes de corps, de taille et de forme.

Kudumbashree

2020 ◽  
pp. 437-456
Author(s):  
Chacko Jose P.
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
Poverty Eradication ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Grass Root ◽  
Grass Root Level ◽  
And Gender

Kudumbashree, established in Kerala, India in the year of 1998 was perceived not merely as one SHG-based women empowerment programme in the narrow sense, but as a poverty eradication mission of Kerala. Kudumbashree is a multifaceted programme focusing primarily on microfinance and micro-enterprise development, but at the same time integrally linked to local self-government institutions. Kudumbashree enhances the civic participation in the development process in a grass root level, particularly, deepen democracy, strengthen social capital, facilitate efficiency sustained growth and gender mainstreaming. Kudumbashree has succeeded to empower women by boosting women's sense of self-worth; right to have and to determine choices; right to have access to opportunities and resources; right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; and ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just, social and economic order.

Part I Summary

2020 ◽  
pp. 99-100
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Cassidy Parker
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Home School ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Musical Identity ◽  
Important Others ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Over Time

Using a developmental frame, we focused thus far on the innermost circles of adolescent musical identity development. In the chapter exploring “who I am,” we viewed adolescent self-concept, or traits and attributes they ascribed to their musicking; self-esteem, or a feeling of musical self-worth; and self-representation, or how adolescents viewed themselves musicking over time. In close interaction, we saw the critical role of important others and closest contexts, such as home, school, and community. Examining “how I think,” we discussed the importance of relatedness, mindset, autonomy, and building a sense of competency. While looking at adolescent feelings, we explored agency, perseverance, and vulnerability. In ...

scholarly journals Brief Report: The Role of Psychological Language in Children’S Theory of Mind and Self-Concept Development

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Bosacki
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Social Understanding ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Self Worth

Abstract Children’s self-concept and theory of mind are both important factors in children’s social, cognitive and emotional development. Research on gender differences in children’s theory of mind understanding reveals contradictory findings such as higher degree of social understanding or theory of mind in girls (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, & Garcia Bacete 2000), boys score higher than girls (Russell et al., 2007), or no gender differences at all (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, & Garcia Bacete, 2000). This research study is part of a larger 3-year longitudinal study, investigating children’s social and emotional development during middle childhood. This study explores the gendered relations between self-concept and social understanding (including psychological language) in middle school aged children (n = 49, ages 11-13). Results suggest a negative correlation between boys’ sense of self-worth and psychological language. Implications for curriculum development that promotes socio-emotional literacy within middle school are discussed

scholarly journals Toward a new theory of gender transcendence: Insights from a qualitative study of gendered self-concept and self-expression in a sample of individuals assigned female at birth

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Body Modification ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Gender Nonconforming ◽  
Transgender Identity ◽  
North Americans ◽  
The Difference ◽  
And Gender

Sex and gender are two concepts that are often conflated in popular culture. However, those who experience dissonance between their assigned sex and gender identity intimately understand the difference between sex, a biologicallybased distinction, and gender, a confluence of social and behavioral factors that contribute to understanding who one is as well as how one is seen by others. The gendered self-understanding and self-expression of 170 North Americans who self-identified as gender nonconforming and who were assigned female at birth were explored using a transpersonal lens and thematic analysis. Data suggested a range and variety of gendered self-concepts that aligned across two broad themes: binary (female/woman; male/man) and non-binary (gender nonbinary; trans masculine) gender core identities. Themes of gendered self-concept, expression in behavior, dress style and appearance, and surgical body modification are discussed. These data support the application of transpersonal theory to transgender identity development, and they underscore the need for more research to test the validity of a new theoretical model of gender transcendence discussed herein.

scholarly journals Do Individuals with Eating Disorders See Their Own External and/or Internal Beauty?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Peaslee Levine
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Self Worth

It has been well documented that individuals struggling with eating disorders don’t have clear perceptions of their own bodies. Yet they overly rely on their body image as their sense of self. Even the criteria of certain eating disorders recognize that individuals are strongly affected by their body weight and shape, which is often seen through a distorted lens. Individuals with eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa, struggle not only with recognizing their external beauty but also their internal positive qualities. Their perfectionism and critical sense of self leads them to have negative views of their beauty and self-worth. This chapter will look at some of the reasons individuals with eating disorders struggle to appreciate their own beauty, internally as well as externally, and will offer some tools to help with these struggles. Many individuals, even those without disordered eating, struggle with critical self-perception. Perhaps this chapter can help us all become more compassionate to ourselves as we consider our external and internal aspects of beauty.

Ableism and Body Image: Conceptualizing How Individuals Are Marginalized

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine J. Reel ◽  
Robert A. Bucciere
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Standards Of Beauty ◽  
Poor Body Image ◽  
Stigma Theory

According to stigma theory, individuals with disabilities possess “discrediting attributes” that prevent them from meeting culturally constructed standards of beauty. An individual with a disability may find that his or her body is viewed as being somehow defective, deviant, or grotesque. Persons with disabilities feel that they are unable to achieve the societal ideal and that their masculinity or femininity may be questioned (Bucciere & Reel, 2009). As a result, individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities face a decreased sense of self worth, poor body image, and in some cases may be vulnerable to eating disorders.

scholarly journals Music Therapy Programming for Persons With Eating Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Varvara Pasiali ◽  
Jessica Hassall ◽  
Hailey A Park ◽  
Dean Quick
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Guided Imagery And Music ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Bonny Method

Eating disorders are serious disturbances in eating habits, body image attitudes, and weight that affect overall well-being and can have life-threatening consequences. Participation in music therapy sessions may allow for healing of anxiety, self-worth, and body-image challenges that each person may face. In this manuscript we examined the music therapy literature pertaining to clinical work with persons who have eating disorders. We describe six techniques (clinical improvisation, song autobiography, song discussion, songwriting, music assisted relaxation/imagery, and Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music) and their reported uses in the literature. While the evidence supports that these techniques are effective, we acknowledge that what works in one context may not be culturally relevant or effective in another. The overview of the evidence in the literature corroborates how therapists who work with persons who have eating disorders tend to use music therapy techniques as pathways for contributing to sense of self. For each technique, we provide clinical examples with a strong element of the need to redevelop or discover identity.

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