Self-image and body image can be forever changed after a disabling accident or injury. These views of yourself can also be skewed if you have been disabled your entire life.
The modern media is partially to blame for much of the self-image problems in society today. To prove this theory, Harvard Medical School did a study of teenage girls in Fiji before and after the introduction of Western television shows such as Friends and Melrose Place. At the onset of the study, only 3% of Fijian girls reported an eating disorder. Three years later, in Harvard’s follow-up survey, the rate of eating disorders on the tiny island nation had risen to 15% and 74% of girls reported feeling “too big or fat”) Harvard Medical School, May 1999).
It’s not only girls that are affected by this onslaught of unhealthy body images. Boys and men also feel the pressure of “looking perfect.” There is another group that is affected by this imagery, as well – a group that is often overlooked by the mainstream media in their marketing campaigns, television shows and magazines.
That group is the disability community – men, women and children alike.
The images we all see in the media are hard enough for a nondisabled teenager’s self-image to assimilate. Add a disability to the mix and it is almost impossible to live up to the unrealistic standards of beauty and perfection that the media tells us we must live up to in order to be accepted by society.
Children living with a disability often feel, whether consciously or unconsciously, somehow inadequate in a society that views any physical imperfection as a sign of unworthiness. These feelings can be seeded in a child’s mind with even the simplest of children’s stories. The Ugly Duckling is ostracized and put down because he does not look the same as the others; physical differences such as gigantism or dwarfism are used as traits of evil in a person. All of these things, no matter how innocent or unintentional, can plant the seeds of self-doubt that can grow over the years with a stranger’s casual remarks or the exclusion of almost any realistic portrayal of disability in the media.
There are very few positive portrayals of individuals with disabilities on television for disabled children to look up to. They may tune into the annual MDA telethon to look for a role model, but will learn that the children on the telethon are often portrayed as sad and pitiful. Even Ms. Wheelchair America, the pageant that claims to promote the accomplishments of women with disabilities over appearance, often looks like a “typical” beauty queen.
Spend as much television-free time with your child as possible to try to counteract the effects of this onslaught of unhealthy images. Encourage your child to pursue what they are good at and to try new things.
Above all, emphasize that their disability is just a part of who they are, not all of who they are.