Body Image

Practitioners should be aware of several body image-related issues when dealing with immigrants. One’s body image can be defined as the way an individual perceives himself or herself and is often complicated by the process of immigration insofar as immigrants may perceive themselves according to the cultural standards of both their native and receiving countries. It appears that the longer immigrants remain in their nonnative land, and the more immigrants absorb the culture’s attitudes toward body image, the more susceptible immigrants are to certain body ideals and pitfalls of the dominant culture. The major issues a practitioner should consider with respect to body image include unhealthy dieting, media images of thin and fit women, the impact of media on body image distortions and body dissatisfaction, eating unhealthy comfort foods, obesity, and, increasingly, eroticized White bodies.

In contrast with the numerous mental and physical health issues modern immigrants face as a result...