modern world School promotes healthy body image

Students take two semesters of required health classes, one during sophomore year and the other during senior year, in which they learn about topics surrounding physical, social and emotional health.

Though body image does not have a designated unit, Health 101 Coordinator Adaku Ebeniro said she tries to teach her students about how to present themselves to society and to accept themselves for who they are.

“We don’t necessarily use the term body positivity because it can still kind of have a connotation where there’s an expectation of what it should be,” Ebeniro said. “So the main focus is on individualized acceptance of who you are and where you are in that stage of your identity development.”

Ebeniro said she wants students to feel comfortable in their own skin, and since body positivity is such a nuanced topic, she wants it to be presented in the right way.

“This is you accepting yourself for who you are, whether that is with social norms or completely against those things,” Ebeniro said.

The school’s wide diversity of students come from a multitude of backgrounds and heritages. Enrollment of self-identified students of color is the highest on school record, at 46%.

“We do celebrate many cultures and various cultures at school and I think that has a lot to do with how people see themselves and their body positivity or body awareness,” Ebeniro said. However, she thinks there is room for improvement in terms of asking students to look inwardly and try to understand the root of their negative thoughts.

“The onus really shouldn’t be on the institution to teach those things,” Ebeniro said, “but rather, they should encourage students to help themselves find their own journey.”

At a diverse school like Hockaday, it can be easy to forget that not all of your classmates live the same life as you do. But part of what makes the school special, junior Myesa Arora said, is the respect with which students treat their peers – especially when it comes to sensitive topics like body image.

“I think as a school we are a more welcoming community than other places,” Arora said. “I think we all need to be proactive in the things we say and do every day, and we need to learn to treat ourselves with kindness, too.”

The National

Eating Disorders Association compiled a list of 10 ways people can feel better about their bodies. The list includes statements such as “appreciate all that your body can do,” “remind yourself that true beauty is not skin-deep,” and “surround yourself with positive people.”

Studies have proven that one’s friends correlate directly with one’s mental health.