At Pepperdine, many students feel the pressure to be perfect. Some students strive for that perfect 4.0, others want to land the perfect internship, and many try to perform perfectly in their athletic fields. While striving for perfection is not necessarily negative, it can be in certain situations. One example of this is the fixation on the “perfect” body. A group of women at Pepperdine are striving to change the “perfect” body mentality and promote positive body image on campus.
Pepperdine’s branch of the Body Project describes themselves on their Facebook page as “a peer-led body acceptance program designed to help college aged women resist cultural pressures to conform to the thin ideal standard of female beauty.” The group is part of a larger Body Project organization, which was formed by Dr. Eric Stice and Dr. Carolyn Becker in 2012. So far, Stice and Becker’s group has been able to reach over 200,000 women. Pepperdine’s branch is hoping to make a significant impact as well.
The Body Project was started at Pepperdine by Dr. Jennifer Harriger, a professor in the social science division. “I was motivated to bring this program to campus because it has been shown to reduce body dissatisfaction, body shame, and eating disorder symptoms in undergraduate females,” Harriger said. “I believe that body image is a common issue for college women, and I am passionate about implementing a program that will target this issue.”
In hopes to get students involved, Harriger sent an email to psychology majors about how to apply for a student leader position. Today, there are 12 student leaders. They lead small groups to discuss how to fight the pressure to look a certain way and how to improve self confidence.
The student leaders have also shared their message around campus. After posters were put up with required body measurements for a modeling agency casting call, the group took action. They posted signs with messages such as “You are more than a number” and “Your looks do not define you” over the casting call posters.
Student leader Haley St. Martin believes that casting call posters could potentially have had a negative impact. “We felt that those casting calls made many women feel uncomfortable and as if they weren’t good enough because they didn’t fit those measurements,” St. Martin said. “We wanted to tell them that they are more than that.”
The group has also taken to social media to encourage positive body image. The Body Project is active on their Facebook and Instagram, posting articles and pictures to inspire their followers. However, the group does not want their message to stop with those it reaches. “I hope that the participants in the program will feel empowered to go out in the community and to share the message with others,” Harriger said.
To learn more about the Body Project, visit their Facebook page The Body Project at Pepperdine University or their Instagram peppbodyproject.