NDSU has a new project geared to help individuals feel comfortable in their own skin.
“In a culture where women can be inundated with unrealistic expectations and can equate their self-worth with their body image, The Body Project is necessary to challenge this mentality with a healthier perspective,” Karin Mortenson, a senior in the nursing program, said.
The project is “a dissonance-based body acceptance program designed to help college age women resist cultural pressures to conform to the thin ideal standard of female beauty and reduce their pursuit of unhealthy thinness,” Emily Hegg, Health and Wellness promotion coordinator, said.
Ian Penzel, psychology graduate student, said that by taking away the notion that students have look or act in a certain way in order to be cool or beautiful we are creating a safer environment for them to feel free to be themselves.
The pursuit is to show the major damaging effects and health concerns of young women due to the thin-ideal that society and media tell young women of what beautiful is.
“The conceptual basis for the Body Project is that if girls and young women voluntarily argue against the thin ideal, this will result in a reduced subscription to this ideal and to consequent decreases in eating disorder risk factors and eating disordered behaviors,” the project’s website said.
Mortenson and Penzel both said they believe that NDSU campus will respond positively to the project being implemented on campus because the aim is to help with self-image.
“There is a more profound message of supporting each other as women and recognizing that, despite the messages expressed on social media or in magazines, character of a person is much more important than outward appearance ever will be,” Mortenson said.
The Body Project is peer-lead and students are already registered to attend a full weekend training to serve as peer leaders. The student peer leaders will co-facilitate the program with groups of female students across campus in series of verbal, written and behavioral exercises to change participating students’ views on thin-ideal.
“This project is taking initiative to bring this problem to light, as well as the social factors that sometimes go unnoticed that are associated with it” Penzel said.
Hegg said, “The Body Project is supported by more research than any other body image program and has been found to reduce appearance ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative mood, unhealthy dieting and even the onset of eating disorders.”
Training for the project is taking place on Oct. 29 and 30. Hegg said the timing of this training fall into proximity with Halloween, and that it will hopefully serve as an empowering experience for young women as they encounter some of the negative cultural expectations associated with this holiday.
Registration for training as been closed due to all the available spaces has been filled. Students can make requests via the Wellness 2 Go program and the peer leaders will be able to assist them.
The Body Project Collaborative has been used by high schools and colleges for over 27 years, and has interacted with over 200,000 women in over 10 countries, the project’s website said.
Peer leaders will serve in this role for a one-year commitment and new students will be recruited to join the peer leader team each year.
Penzel said he “believes the campus is filled with students that are willing to promote change in many areas associate with” body image.
“This project will not only improve women’s perception of themselves but also assist in supporting one another, realizing there are many women who struggle with body image,” Mortenson said.
The Body Project is partially funded through the Eating Recovery Center.