Could the Way You View Your Body Be Shaping Your Daughter’s Self-Esteem?

Some of the most powerful lessons we learn from our mothers are never spoken out loud. They show up in the small things. The way she zips up her dress. The way she glances in the mirror. The silence that follows when she avoids the camera at a family gathering.

Body image often begins at home. Long before a girl ever opens a magazine or scrolls through social media, she has likely already absorbed years of unspoken beliefs about what her body should or shouldn’t be. And most of it comes from the first woman she ever looked up to.

Research by the Journal of Adolescence (2012) shows that a mother’s attitude towards her own body plays a significant role in shaping her daughter’s body image. A study conducted by Dr. Susan J. Paxton, a leading psychologist in body image research, found that daughters are more likely to internalize their mother’s attitudes, whether positive or negative, towards their own bodies. This means that a mother’s self-esteem and the way she speaks about her body can directly influence her daughter’s self-worth and perception of beauty.

If a mother constantly criticizes her appearance, diets obsessively, or focuses heavily on weight, her daughter is more likely to develop body dissatisfaction or disordered eating habits. Even compliments that focus purely on physical appearance can unknowingly reinforce the idea that worth is tied to looks.

This influence extends to clothing and tools like shapewear. If shapewear is worn as a way to feel good, comfortable, or supported, it is often viewed by the daughter in a neutral or positive light. But if it is used to mask or fix something that is seen as a flaw, it can teach her that her body is something that constantly needs altering.

Now this is not about blaming mothers. Many of them are repeating the messages they were taught. Generational body image beliefs are deeply rooted, and often passed down unintentionally. But recognizing that influence is the first step toward changing it.

The conversations we have today matter. The way we speak about ourselves in front of children matters. They are always listening, even when we think they are not.

This is something we think about deeply while designing shapewear at Ojiioma, not just the physical support our pieces offer, but the emotional space they occupy in a woman’s life.

Our hope is that each product says, “You’re already enough. This is just for you, if you want it” because how we talk to ourselves becomes the soundtrack our daughters grow up hearing. Let it be something worth passing down.