ISSUES
: Body Confidence
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Glossary
Glossary
Airbrushing
A technique used to edit photos. Airbrushing may
involve the removal of blemishes or spots, changing the
shape or size of a person’s features, and may lighten a
person’s skin tone. These digital edits are usually done
in a way to make the final effect appear natural.
BMI (body mass index)
An abbreviation which stands for ‘body mass index’
and is used to determine whether an individual’s weight
is in proportion to their height. If a person’s BMI is
below 18.5 they are usually seen as being underweight.
If a person has a BMI greater than or equal to 25, they
are classed as overweight and a BMI of 30 and over is
obese. As BMI is the same for both sexes and adults
of all ages, it provides the most useful population-
level measure of overweight and obesity. However, it
should be considered a rough guide because it may not
correspond to the same degree of ‘fatness’ in different
individuals (e.g. a body builder could have a BMI of 30
but would not be obese because his weight would be
primarily muscle rather than fat).
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
A mental health condition where a person has an
excessive concern over their body image and what they
perceive as their ‘flaws’.
Body image
Body image is the subjective sense we have of our
appearance and the experience of our physical
embodiment. It is an individual’s perception of what
they look like or how they should look like. It can be
influenced by personal memory along with external
sources such as the media and comments made by
other people
Cosmetic surgery
A medical procedure which changes a person’s
appearance and can be performed on most parts of the
human body. Cosmetic surgery can involve procedures
such as inputting breast implants, bum lifts, Botox and
lip fillers as well as changing bone structure.
Eating disorder
A term used to describe a range of psychological
disorders that involve disturbed eating habits such as
anorexia or bulimia nervosa.
Objectify/Objectification
To turn something into an object in relation to sight,
touch or another physical sense. To ‘objectify’ a person
means to turn them into an object, meaning that they
do not possess the same human rights as another
individual. The person objectified is usually dominated
by another person, or group of people.
Photoshop
A term applied to photos which are edited using digital
software, and usually refers to editing which is done
using the computer programme Adobe Photoshop.
Airbrushing is one technique which may be used when
‘photoshopping’ an image.
Self-esteem
A term referring to how an individual feels about their
body. Relating to self-confidence, if a person has low
self-esteem they may feel unhappy with the way they
look. Alternatively, if a person has good/high self-
esteem then they may feel particularly confident about
their appearance.
Selfie
The selfie has become a huge part of modern life. A
selfie is a photograph that a person takes of themselves,
usually with a smartphone or digital camera, usually
with the intent of sharing it on social media. It has
transformed the simple self-portrait into something
more immediate and has grown in cultural importance
– it’s been linked to identity, self-exploration and
narcissism.
Size-zero
A term referring to U.S. clothing, size-zero is equivalent
to a UK size-four. In order to fit into size-zero clothing
an individual must have the waist measurement of 23
inches which is the average waist size of an eight-year-
old.
