Mechanisms, determinants and functions of body image and body (dis)satisfaction

Body (dis)satisfaction is a part of the subjective component of body image. The concept is of great relevance at present, given the numerous and prevalent psychological and somatic manifestations of a dysfunctional relationship with the own body. The phenomenon of body (dis)satisfaction is analyzed here from a sociocultural, cognitive-behavioral and feminist perspective. It is linked to the concepts of physical attractiveness and desirability, in ways that point out the complex intertwining between medical knowledge and aesthetic imperatives and underline the economic and political connotations of systems of production and decoding of meanings. An intersectional analysis in which the body functions as a symbol of belonging and ascription to the norms, privileges and restrictions is proposed. Psychological variables are also discussed and understood as products of complex interactions between psychobiological mechanisms and vital experiences which are key to the understanding of the genesis of body (dis)satisfaction in the individual subject. Body (dis)satisfaction is approached from a feminist perspective via concepts such as objectified body consciousness or heterodesignated identity. There is an emphasis of the link between aesthetic pressure and other types of male supremacist oppression, proposing the body as a metaphor of what happens in the public space. The experience of corporal satisfaction is conceptualized as one of fulfillment. The immense, crucial and tangential sociopolitical potential that emanates from the relationship with one’s own body and the bodies of others is underlined.