The Metaphysics of Self-Image and Its Problems for Society

Now that my introductory series is completely and people have seen some of my presuppositions which affect my writing, it is time for the fun writing to begin. Today I'm going to talk about an issue which is near and dear to my heart and that is self-image in society. Let us start with a story.

Violet is walking around the store and she examines a magazine rack. She picks up a magazine and looks at the model on the cover. The model is a tall blond woman who wears lots of make-up, she also has a big chest and is really skinny. Violet looks at herself and sees nothing which is like that model. She's a girl who's average weight, moderate height and keeps herself clean but does not wear a lot of make-up. However, she starts to feel bad about herself because she cannot live up to the image in the magazine.

Also, there's a boy named Jim who acts differently from other people and guys in particular. Loud parties do not entertain him, he'd rather sit and read or have a quiet conversation with a good friend. He keeps few decorations in his room, no pictures of scantily-clad celebrities, and does not like to play too many sports. He likes writing and is a sensitive guy. However, he's often picked on by other people. People like to push him around and take his lunch money. Jim often feels lonely because he wants friends who understand him, but he's just a bit different, so he has trouble making friends. He starts to look down on himself and wonders why he cannot be like everyone else. (Keep in mind I know I am using some stereotypes but I am using these to make a point using tendencies which happen at times.)

Both of these situations are physical causes of self-image problems. People want to be accepted by others and also to feel like they are of worth to someone. However, in looking at these physical causes, one sees these problems of self-image are not formed in a vacuum. Self image problems have to have some metaphysical cause which takes place in human nature. To do this, one must examine the human person and what causes a person to look for something more than themselves.

In both of the situations listed above, Jill and Violet both see something (real or perceived) which is lacking in themselves, and this makes them feel bad about themselves. Because society creates images of perfect people, by displaying them through various media, all those who do not live up to that image are degraded. The next question one must ask becomes, "Are these images consistent in every age, or do the images change with the culture?" If the images change with the culture, then the perfect image which is presented in our culture is not the enduring image, so thus it is not perfect human nature in itself.

If we go back to the colonial period, "skinny was out" and "plump was in" so to say. Peasant women were skinny because they did not have enough food to eat, so if a woman was heavier, she had food. If she had enough food, she obviously had money. The image of past ages is not the same as the image now. (A good example of this is in the movie Pride and Prejudice. Simply observe the dresses the women are wearing to the ball around Mr. Darcy and notice how the dresses do not try to compress the women as the dresses and clothing today does.) Modern clothing for the most part barely fits people whereas clothing in the past was baggier (Victorian clothing is a good example of this (artwork of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, etc.) , which could talk about the values of the society. However, the importance of this is presenting a different image than the modern model, which in women's clothing focuses on revealing as much chest as possible.

Though not very scholarly, these images do show how a perfect image has not endured over time over the perfect physical person. This shows how society constructs an image of a person meaning it is not something in nature which endures through time. Therefore, there must be another metaphysical cause for self-image problems, and for the creation of a self-image which pervades society.

People look for something more than themselves because everyone sees a lack in their own existence. People are imperfect, and because of imperfections they become afraid. The response of people to this problem is to compare themselves to others and think/say/believe they are not as bad as that person, or better than the other person. To do this, people find flaws or differences in other people which conform with how the majority of people seem to act. Physical images present a different phenomenon. An image is presented, and then people compare themselves to that image. Even if people do not live up to that image, they look at other people and focus on how they do not live up to it. This phenomenon can affect any part of a person physical, mental, emotional, etc.

But who decides how the image is made? To answer this, one must determine who controls the culture. In our modern culture, most of our physical images come from magazines, the internet and television. However, to gain access to two of these three medium, one needs money and access. The internet has many free lanes of access for people to have some media which they control. However, this media is not primary for building image. Television tends to be more formative in image building because access to it is granted at a much earlier age. Images formed in modern culture are then controlled by those who have money and power, because these people can run the television stations. This means the elite control the images which come through.

A good image for these television producers then is one which is unattainable, or one that is close. When people see this image and it becomes an idol (in more ways than one, both the religious (see Exodus, and the philosophical (see Marion's In Excess). This idol captures people's attention and people strive to be like it. If a person were to match this image, then they would not go back to the media source, so the image must be difficult to attain. When people fall short, people begin to doubt their self-worth because they cannot be like the idols they see on television (either in looks, emotions or temperament.)

This is only one example, all one has to do is watch the behavior of people in order to see more. This is a common phenomenon in being and there are certain problems which this causes. Self-images issues are a contributor to eating disorders, cutting, suicide, depression, anxiety, just to list a few. When people do not feel worthy of the love they need, they need outlets in order to deal with the suffering. The symptoms listed above are outlets in order to deal with pain, especially that of not feeling worthy. Needless to say, these are things which we do not want in people, so one must think about what the solutions are.

First, we must value real people in our lives for the real people they are. One could think of the personalistic norm presented by Kant in his Metaphysics of Morals. (also represented in Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla). This means we treat people as ends in themselves and not as a means to an end (paraphrase). Basically, we are not supposed to use other people in order to make ourselves happy, we should be looking out for their interest. This principle invites us to see other people as real people, and not as images which are either better or worse than us. The principle in this way can help us to deal with pride and see value in others. This first step does not address self-image problems in the self, but rather the source of self-image problems as a whole. One cannot fix a problem in society without first fixing the urge in ourselves which causes the problem.

Step 2 is to learn two things, a) no one even an image/idol on television is perfect, b) everyone has gifts to give to the world, a person just has to find those gifts. Every person on television wears some sort of stage make-up, and some are doctored up more. What we see on television is not real; however, because of how people view visual images they seem more real, and thus look more perfect. The idol occurs in visual images because we see more in an image than we do seeing something in front of us. When an object is present in our space, one can only see some of the sides of the object, in a visual image the whole object can be seen. (In television, this can also apply to people) (Marion In Excess). Images are powerful for this reason. To dispel this, one must understand how these images are not real and how they accentuate certain physical gifts in people.
Another important lesson is to show how every person has gifts (in this context meaning things for which people have an affinity). The struggle is to find the gifts in the self, and also to deal with having gifts which society deems unacceptable. Finding gifts in oneself takes discernment, time, and a good community of people around you. Encouragement is an aid because others can see truthful things in us which we cannot see in ourselves. (reflection as being half-in-being, half-not-in being) (Heidegger). After self-reflection and collaboration with a community of people, one begins to see what a person can do for the world. Is anyone perfect? No. This is the other myth one needs to dispel. No one person is perfect and has every gift. The gifts we all have are meant to complement each other.
This leads us to problem 2. Society as a whole sometimes does not accept certain gifts. This is seen with Jim. Jim has the gift of a brilliant mind. This causes people around him to make fun of him. However, in these situations, there is always an anti-society of people who do not act in accord with the majority. Jim can find people who have similar gifts to himself and this will help him have a group of friends. These anti-societies do exist, one must know where to look for them though, as they tend to be more hidden from the main groups of people. However, for change to occur in society as well, Jim must be willing to be kind even to those who make fun of him for his awkwardness. Without this, cycles of hatred continue to flourish, and the image problems for society as a whole do not resolve themselves.

This discussion on self-image is far from complete, and as with my partner's last entry on capitalism, I may return to this as desire and interest arises but for now there is enough possibilities to reflect upon, though this does not inspect every aspect of self-image which can occur in society (most notably the self-image problems which are not actually caused by what one actually sees, but what one sees in their own mind.) Remember: the gift of a person is something which can never be given back, never be revived and never repeated. It is in this light that we must cherish every opportunity we get to meet real people, who act in real love toward God and all creation. Only then will we "become the change we want to see" (Gandhi).