Body Obsessions
Body Dismorphia
Body image obsession: Excessive concern about one's appearance. Some concern about one's appearance is normal. But an obsession with one's appearance is not. Body image obsession is also called body dysmorphic disorder.
Body dysmorphic disorder definition: (BDD) is an anxiety disorder that causes a person to have a distorted view of how they look and to spend a lot of time worrying about their appearance.
For example, they may be convinced that a barely visible scar is a major flaw that everyone is staring at, or that their nose looks abnormal.
We all can have concerns about the way we look, what makes it different for someone with BDD is the obsession with it. It is the stress it causes to someone and the impact on their day to day life. They believe their flaw to be of complete disgust and grotesque.
Examples of body obessions that I want to look into in more depth: Anorexia, Body Building, and Plastic Surgery. I will focus on what happens to the individual physically when they strive to alter their body. For example how the skin reacts when it is stretched with growing muscles beneath it, when it is malnourished from foods, or when it is cut open to be stretched.
Body building and the physical changes in the body
Body Builders are always extremely tanned when on stage, the tan helps to define their muscles a lot more
Their mucles are very large and defined, you can see all the veins going through the body
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From the film Gallowwalkers, makeup by Paul Hyett
This special effect makeup is so Effective. I love how you can see every muscle, as well as the fibres that compose the muscle.
Paul Hyett is well known for his makeup/prosthetics within horror films such as The Descent (2005), Eden Lake (2008) and Doomsday (2008).
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YouTube, (2015). Gallowwalkers TRAILER 1 (2012) - Wesley Snipes Zombie Movie HD. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WXiE5FLB2w [Accessed 29 Jan. 2015].
The obsession with body building involves a lot of research and knowledge on how the body works. Body builders will spend a lot of time on perfecting their bodies by learning how to build each muscle so that it pops out from the skin. This diagram shows all the muscles and how they are positioned next to one another.
Female body builders begin to look very masculine as they build more muscle.
Pinterest, (2015). Effects and Makeups. [online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/307722587010002808/ [Accessed 01 Feb. 2015].
This image shows an extreme female body builder her body is built like a man. It is interesting to see how and where the muscles protrude, the veins are also extremely prominent. Her breasts that should be of fatty tissue have totally changed shape due to the large amount of muscle growth.
Why do people end up in body building competitions, is it their competetive personality or does it start with their extreme body dismorphia of believing they are fat?
The assesment requirements as a body builder:
-The assessment takes the whole physique into account, including the hair and facial beauty.
The body is judged by its development and shape, the symmetry, the condition of the skin and the skin tone, and the althelets ability to present herself with confidence, poise and grace.
-The body parts should have a nice and firm appearance with a decreased amount of body fat.
-The physique should neither be excessively muscular nor excessively lean and should be free from muscle separation and/or striations. -
Physiques that are considered too muscular, too hard or too lean must be marked down.
=The assessment should also take into consideration the tightness and tone of the skin. The skin tone should be smooth and healthy in appearance, and without cellulite. The face, hair and makeup should complement the “Total Package” presented by the athlete.
A body builder will devote their life to their image trying to meet these criterias.
Some interesting makeups that represent muscles on the face, I particularly like how the artist has created depth and shown the muscle fibres with just paint.
The intricate detailing t this piece is fascinating, I am particularly in ore of the glossy texture Hyett has created, it gives the impression of the skin being completely erased from the body, just leaving the muscles with a wet look look.
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Worldbodybuilding.net, (2012). Anatomy Of Our Muscles | Muscle Building Guide. [online] Available at: http://www.worldbodybuilding.net/2012/10/anatomy-of-our-muscles.html [Accessed 20 Feb. 2015].
Research on the positioning of the muscles in the body and the structure of the muscles themselves. This will help to develop some ideas on how to recreate these textures in a makeup to create some interesting looks. It is imporant to be anatomically correct so reference images will be used throughout the makeups.