Download Essay on Physical Self and more Essays (high school) Ethics in PDF only on Docsity! THE PHYSICAL SELF What is physical self and how does it develop? Explain how we acquire physical appearance? Explain how our physical appearance affect our self-esteem? Our body image inevitably accompany thoughts about ourselves. Where do they come from, and how do they affect our attitudes and behavior? How do we develop positive body image and enhance self-esteem? Physical self refers to the physical body of a person, including external and internal organs which helps the body to function properly. As a person gets older, his body also ages and matures. Its ability to function also changes as it performs less from infancy, reaches its peak during early adulthood and declines once it reaches middle age. Additionally, not only our physical body changes but also our behaviors as we undergo puberty. The rapid changes on our body often affects our sensitivity too as we become more conscious of our body and appearance which creates new problems. Physical appearance, on the other hand, is how other people see us. It is the traits that others can observe such as our skin color, body type, hairstyle, height, and clothes. Our appearance can actually show others what kind of person we are. It is acquired through heredity; a biological process of inheriting the traits of our parents. As we age and our body develops, it could also be affected by environmental factors such as acquiring diseases, change of diet and nutrition which could change our appearance. As said in the first paragraph, our appearance actually influences or affects our body image, our sensitivity, and our confidence in ourselves. Especially to adolescents who're greatly pressured by the beauty standards set by the society in order to fit in the community. Additionally, media also played a big role in setting the beauty standards by creating and showing a seemingly "perfect" men and women through advertisements, movies, and other forms of media, thus, constructing the notion that one should be thin and has curves to be labeled sexy and appealing, and has a perfect face shape and features to be called pretty. These beauty standards has created a big problem for everyone which, some of these, are dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and self-doubt. These made people become less appreciative of others and question their self-worth to the point that some even underwent cosmetic surgery to modify their physical appearance just to fit in. What's more sad is that, cosmetic surgery, is now slowly being normalized.
