I AM BEAUITFUL

Erna Amoah
0556229
TA: Rita
October 11, 2007

I Am Beautiful- The Positive & Negative Self Concept

Take a minute to ask yourself the following questions: Are you happy with your appearance? Are you honest and trustworthy? Are you fun to be around? Are you confident? Are you a good person? Do people like you?

These are all some of the questions that can detect your current level of self concept. In lecture four Dr. Sevigny defined the self concept as “who we are to ourselves- also known as our interior monologue.” (Sevigny-Lecture 4, Sept 21) This is important because it will determine how we act and communicate with others. If you answered yes to all of the questions above, it is a clear sign of possible high self-esteem, which is closely linked to the outcome of our self-concept. A high self esteem shows that you have a positive view of yourself, and that is portrayed in our personality. Our personality is a measurement of our outward perception. As human beings, Dr. Sevigny stated that “we view ourselves as we think people see us, and we do this all the time.”(Sevigny-Lecture 4, Sept 21) By having a negative self concept, we reflect to others a low self-esteem, and as such people will treat us as such. A negative self concept is usually a result of the fact that we focus on failures and insecurities. Therefore, the stronger you know who you are, the better your chances of gaining people’s respect.

The idea of the self concept is linked to body image issues found in females, particularly focusing on females at the adolescence stage. Every female, including myself, has been affected by media and culture. What we see on TV and in magazines eventually become our standard of reality and desire. “I’m so fat” or “I’m so ugly”, are comments we commonly hear people say to themselves. I have found that personally by putting myself down, I set myself up for failure in accepting my looks and who I am. From the pressure of society to look a certain way, we place pressures on ourselves. These negative views of our physical appearance can lead to bigger more problematic issues, like eating disorders. By improving our self concept and by having a positive outlook on ourselves will assist in improving several other aspects of our individual lives.



Bibliography
Sevigny, Alex. Communication Studies 1A03 Lecture 4. Friday Sept 21, 2007