Workshopping Body Image Issues Should Start in Primary
The version of celebrity that is presented to children is accompanied by an elevated consciousness of their appearance and that can often become a negative.
The body types presented in the media are unattainable for pretty much everyone but inevitably some will fall into the trap of comparing themselves to these images and falling into the spiral of self-loathing, crash diets and over exercise in an attempt to copy a stylised version of what is attractive and desirable.
Butterfly’s Prevention Team offers education and early intervention presentations, workshops and resources to young people, parents, educators and other professionals that address the modifiable risk factors for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Operating since 2006, Butterfly’s programs have reached over 1.5 million young people and over 15,000 professionals and parents across Australia.
Their workshops and presentations are updated annually, considering emerging research as well as the notable trends that young people are exposed to in western society. Sessions to young people are presented by highly trained facilitators who connect, relate and inspire young people by not only sharing the information and messages, but also by weaving aspects of their own lived experience into the sessions in a safe, relevant and considered way.
In 2021 Butterfly launched Australia’s very first whole of primary school body image program, Butterfly Body Bright.
Through its programs and initiatives, Butterfly aims to build resilience in young people, arming them with knowledge and skills to push back against societal pressures and expectations around appearance, breakdown stigma and encourage help-seeking.
The Prevention Team also drives the Body Kind initiative which aims to establish positive environments for young people – their schools, homes, sporting clubs.
Body Kind Schools is now in its 6th year engaging with over 1,500 schools and 200,000 young people, annually. Last year, with the support of nib foundation they were able to launch Body Kind Families, at a time when many were feeling isolated and desperately in need of support. It reached over 3,600 families of teenagers with positive body image information and tips for the home. And this year we have ambitions for Body Kind Clubs to support dance, gym, sporting and activity groups in promoting body kindness.
What Does the Program Look Like – What is Body Kind Schools?
Body Kind Schools is Butterfly’s annual awareness activity for schools and other youth settings. It provides an opportunity for school communities to come together to focus on the important issue of body image, and specifically being Body Kind – to our own bodies and to others; face-to-face and online. It is a strength based and positive health promotion initiative designed to foster positive environments for all young people, in all bodies.
It is an educator led initiative. Schools register and then are provided with a range of resources to run evidence-informed activities to address positive body image and promote body kindness. It’s totally flexible and free and schools choose the activities they would like to run. They can do a little or a lot and you can even fundraise for Butterfly. Having worked with thousands of schools and organisations over the years, they appreciate and respect that curriculum, budgets and time is tight and that each school/organisation is unique in its own way. The aim is to provide schools with an opportunity to work together on the topic of positive body image and raise awareness. It is designed to complement existing health and well-being programs and most importantly is free.
What Does Being Body Kind Mean?
Being Body Kind is shown in how we move and nourish our body and the language we use when speaking about our own body and others. It involves treating your body with kindness and respect, regardless of how it looks or what it can/can’t do and celebrates body diversity and appearance differences. It encourages people to see and be more than their body and appearance.
Who has Devised the Program and Why?
It is not always easy to like, love, feel comfortable or accepting of our bodies so this initiative focuses on a simpler call to action, to be kinder to our body and to others face-to-face and online.
Body Kind Schools resources have been developed by the Prevention Services Team at the Butterfly Foundation and also include a workshop produced by the Dove Self Esteem Project. Materials are evidence-informed, age and developmentally appropriate and designed for education settings. Activities can be educator or student-led and Butterfly offers a number of free live virtual workshops for students to participate in and learn how to become Body Kind Leaders for their schools.
Effects and Body Image in Schools
The demand for Butterfly’s prevention services has never been higher. They can now offer face to face and virtual sessions and can reach more young people. Their small core team is working hard to meet the increasing demand which has been brought about by the stressors of COVID and lockdowns.
Schools are reaching out because they are noticing a spike in body image and eating issues amongst their students – worrying about weight gain, not eating at school, students with eating disorders and their peers needing support.
There is a sense of urgency coming from schools and a real desire to tackle this from a whole school perspective. Schools don’t just want to respond when students are in crisis they want to proactively prevent and this is why Body Kind Schools is a welcome addition to the way in which schools can respond in a really positive and strength based way.
Gender/Age and Body Image
While research has traditionally focused on females, studies are becoming more inclusive of all genders and identities.
Negative body image starts young, as does weight stigma with children as young as three attributing negative qualities to images of children in larger bodies. (Spiel et al, 2012; Damiano et al, 2015a; Puhl et al, 2021; Damiano et al, 2015b; Rancano et al. 2021). Greater body image concerns from ages five to seven have been shown to predict dieting by age 9 (Evans et al., 2013; Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006) and restrictive dieting is a significant risk factor in the development of eating disorders.
In one study, 50% of pre-adolescent girls reported body dissatisfaction and pre-adolescent boys are increasingly reporting a desire for a more muscular body. Another study found that found that 54.8 per cent of boys aged 12 to 18 expressed a desire to alter their body in some way (Lawler and Nixon, 2011).
The Mission Australia study of 15–25-year-olds which consistently ranks body image in the top 3 personal concerns.
Butterfly is hoping to conduct research with young people aged 12–18 later this year to truly understand the prevalence and reality of body dissatisfaction in Australian youth (subject to ethics approval).