In a world inundated in unrealistic beauty standards, the University of Wyoming Wellness Center has a program dedicated to helping young girls embrace themselves and their bodies.
The Body Project, a nationwide health program that spans across more than 140 college campuses in the United States, has made its way to Laramie.
“We focus on the overall optimum state of health and not just being healthy,” said peer leader and Body Project coordinator Hope Martino. “I think body image is a huge component of that, especially in a gym. I really like the Body Project because it is so personalized and it is so different than any other type of prevention I have ever seen.”
Created in 2012, the Body Project has since grown to high school and college campuses while reaching more than 3.5 million young women in over 25 countries, according to the Body Project Collaborative website. The goal of the program is to allow young girls an open forum to discuss their bodies and the standards of society. Each session is lead by trained peers who are roughly the same age as those participating.
“The Body Project is a research-supported, peer-lead discussion,” said Martino. “The research is based on a cognitive dissonance model, so the belief is that if we have girls talk about what the ideal is in society for what our bodies should look like and the way we should conform to society then it’ll help them to understand and think about their actions in the cost of pursuing the ‘appearance ideal.’”
The project partners with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) to help reduce disordered eating symptoms with an early intervention and prevention program.
Studies have linked exposure to mass media ideals of beauty to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, according to the NEDA. Through a variety of verbal, written and behavioral exercises, the Body Project helps promote self-acceptance no matter the fluctuating societal norms of beauty.
“I hope that when the girls finish the two, two hour sessions that not only are they more positive about their body image but they are more willing to just combat things like fat talk, that they will be able to advocate for better body image just in their own lives and in the workplace and everywhere else,” said Martino.
This program has only been on campus for a short time, but those that have participated have been able to gain skills to help gain a better view of themselves without comparison to the social media standards set by society, Martino said. Even with the positive impacts, though, the Wellness Center has had difficulties in finding participants.
“I think it truly is a really good investment of your time, not just for the short term, but for the long term,” said Martino. Participants “come away with not only a better understanding of how to have a better body image but how to help others have a better body image.”
This program was brought to the Wellness Center in Half Acre by UW psychology professor Kyle De Young, because of the Wellness Center’s reach across campus. For more information on the Body Project contact the Wellness Center in Half Acre gym at wellness@uwyo.edu or 307-766-9355.
