In 2024, when films, TV dramas, advertisements and variety shows all promote the single aesthetic of “white, young and thin”, we are also unknowingly involved in this sociocultural phenomenon.
Social media can have a detrimental effect on teenagers’ mental health, according to The Guardian. Algorithms on some social platforms, such as Instagram, tailor the photo and videos on the Explore page, where influencers show off their perfect body shape, which can lead to body anxiety and low self-esteem among users, especially teenage girls. In severe cases, eating disorders can occur, the leak of Facebook’s internal research verified this.
I sat down with Yimeng Wang who is currently studying photography at Goldsmiths, University of London. She discussed this topic and shared her experience of dieting to lose weight.
Tell me about your experiences of appearance anxiety?
I have a wide degree of weight fluctuation, about 30 kg. My height is medium, and I have a large skeleton, so I don’t look too fat overall. Pear-shaped body, thin upper body, but look a bit thick. There was a time when I was full of doubts about myself: tried to lose weight, the lightest was around 50kg, the upper body has reached the point where the bones in the chest are visible.
In order to lose weight, I chose to eat a little or no food. I would force myself to run even though I’m afraid of going to the gym. After this, I did lose a lot of weight, and the benefits were obvious: I looked better in clothes, and I didn’t need to use photoshop when I was on camera. The downsides were also obvious: I started to get extremely grumpy, and my sunken face made me look “older”.
It’s the look I like, but I also feel like I’m consuming my health. Until I had a problem with my stomach due to drinking alcohol, during that time, if I didn’t eat four full meals a day, my stomach would get uncomfortable. The weight naturally started to go up as well, but I suddenly realised that I had become happier, and I could be honest about my body shape.
Are you still concerned about losing weight?
I’ve only recently figured this out, but I’m no longer too secretive about my body shape. Fitness and body management are certainly the best, but not everyone is adapted to the boring exercises in the gym, so we just choose the exercise we enjoy, whether it’s hiking or swimming, if we can be healthy, the appearance, I think it’s not important. Now I don’t force myself to go to the gym. I pick up my racket that I haven’t used in a long time. Besides, I happily wear dresses that I previously refused to wear because I love myself enough now.
What do you want to say to the girls who are suffering from low self-esteem because of appearance anxiety?
I used to think that appearance is a very important thing, but I gradually found that everyone will have moments when they are not beautiful, and there will be a day when we are all old. Fresh, young, and beautiful faces will become more and more common, but there will always be someone to love you because you have an interesting soul.