Anorexia Argument Analysis

Kimberly, this was a great post! I love that you incorporated some suggestions for parents in your blog. Your post opens the doors for the severity and the lack of insensitivity we have towards Anorexia Nervosa. One thing that you mentioned was that “Out of all the psychiatric illnesses, anorexia nervosa is one of the deadliest”. This is very alarming to know that adolescents are at high risk of death due to this eating disorder. Although, I am not a parent of a teenager, I do have the responsibility to speak up against this deadly disorder. Thank you for reminding us that we are our children’s guardians against Anorexia Nervosa. Amazing post!

In the article “Never Just Pictures,” the author, Susan Bordo, addresses the cultural reasons behind the rise in eating disorders. She asserts that modern media and advertising campaigns have played an integral role in this increase. Though unfortunate, the media’s focus is not on the well-being of its viewers, but on the level of cash flow they provide. The advertising moguls use their agencies as double edged swords; they will make ads for McDonalds, then go in the next room and conduct a photo-shoot with a six-foot-two, eighty pound woman. The world of advertising needs to realize their work is being seen by millions of people and is affecting some of those people in extremely negative ways.

It is apparent that with the increasing popularity of social media today, there has been a shift in dietary changes within our society. Individuals are subconsciously changing how and what they eat. The question arises, why are so many young women dissatisfied with their bodies, despite their size? Although there are several forces believed to play a role in this dissatisfaction such as peer criticism and parental influences, the thin-ideal body is dominating the media (Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008). Thinness is largely emphasized and praised for women in magazines, television shows, movies and commercials (Stice & Shaw, 1992). Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that stems from this ubiquitous obsession to be thin and is often associated with a pathological fear of gaining weight, distorted self-body image and emaciation (The American Heritage® Science Dictionary).

Beauty standards in the media are one of many reasons feeding and eating disorders are a rising problem. The unrealistic body types of being extremely thin, in pop culture, are influential factors for many teens, especially teen girls. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), anorexia nervosa is a “restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a disturbance in the perception of one’s body size” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals diagnosed with anorexia tend to place a high value on their shape and weight, which can interfere with their daily lives. Individuals diagnosed tend to view of their body shape in a distorted representation. The motivation to become

Today’s society is a consumers’ society in which trying to obtain perfection is one of the fastest selling businesses (DeLaMater Pg. 12). Mass media, advertising, and fashion industries are being accused of feeding off females dissatisfaction with their bodies by portraying unhealthy thin role models in order to sell their products. This unachievable physique and lifestyle has led today’s adolescence down a dark path of such extreme eating disorders as anorexia and bulimia. Although it may sound nice to be societies perception of thin, there are consequences to these eating disorders such as cardiac failure that lead to horrifying defects or even death.

Under society’s norms for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of the makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a pressing issue for young women. Advertisements and posters of skinny female models are all over. Young girls not only could be better but need to be more upright and feel driven to throw the perfect figure. Moreover, girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances. With supplements and apparel designed to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. The fashion industry is a prime object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on tall and svelte women. Established on a survey participated by 13 to 17-year-old in the U.S., 90% “felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny”, with more than 60% routinely compares themselves to models, while 46%

Never Just Pictures highlights the severity of the growing eating disorder epidemic in America by relating it to the plaguing fashion industry. The values instilled by the fashion industry, according to Susan Bordo, author of this essay, desire one thing: a profit. Bordo believes it is irresponsible of the industry to remain with its back turned on the issue of eating disorders, and the essay discusses the ways they are doing so.

Magazine advertisements cause eating disorders. In the article “Skinny models 'send unhealthy message'”, it states ”In 1998, a survey by the Bread for Life campaign, cited by the Eating Disorders Association, showed that 89% of women between 18 and 24 wanted more "average sized" models used in magazines.” It also says, “"Advertising, in particular, may influence young people's perception of fashion and beauty and attitudes towards food. Young women may compare themselves to extremely thin models,

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “the body type portrayed in advertising as the ideals is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females.” (“ANAD”) Body image has been a controversial theme because of the influence of the media. It is a widely known fact that eating disorder cases are on the rise. The concept of body image is a subjective matter. The common phrase, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,” holds true meaning in this sense. One’s view and value of their body is self-imposed. Falling into the destructive eating disorders reveals much about a person’s psychological and emotional state. Examining the mental, physical, and emotional conditions behind recognized eating

Walking into the library at most high schools brings to the eye an array of fashion magazines in the front shelves. Most schools acknowledges that fashion has a large audience, but the skinnier and skinnier models have created a large group of people with eating disorders and bad self-images. In her article “What’s Wrong with Skinny?” that discusses eating disorders linked to the fashion industry, Lisa Hilton states that women are “so pathologically stupid that they are unable to distinguish the fantasy of the runway from the realities of their own bodies”. Fashion is something that many girls let influence them into changing how they dress, feel, and eat; the skinnier the models are (or are “retouched” to look), the more it supports eating

According to the article entitled, The Fashion Industry May Be Linked to Poor Body Image and Eating Disorders, psychologists and eating disorder experts say the fashion industry has gone too far in pushing thin image ideals on women and young girls. Professor of psychiatry at Rush Medical College in Chicago and Vice President of the American Psychiatric Association states “we know seeing super-thin models can play a role in causing anorexia.” This article argues that the common thin, sexy ideal in our culture and society has caused many women and girls to dislike their bodies and have poor self image, a body dissatisfaction that can lead to unhealthy weight control behaviors and

When one thinks of community, they are likely to think of the general population of a region, or perhaps even that of the world at large. Such a person would have one right idea in mind, but not necessarily the right idea in the context of this exploration. What sets community, in this broad sense, apart from the role it plays in this project, is common interest. English vernacular dictates that “the community” is a term usually reserved for reference to people of a given region; this use of the word community exists without regard for any shared qualities beyond location. In this report, community will describe a group of individuals with commonalities in concerns, aspirations, and most importantly discourse. (cite definition source)

(Gusinger 745). When thinking about how women are portrayed in the media and fashion world, there are two different arguments that can be made. To be a fashion model, a person must be thinner than 95 percent of those their own age. This makes sense considering that an average of 90 percent of people struggling with anorexia nervosa are women and girls. (Gusinger 745-747). This can cause people who would want to become a model or look like a model to attempt to lose weight to look like them. They could lose weight in a healthy way, or they might end up developing anorexia nervosa. However, the opposing argument says that “it appears that viewing thin images has an effect which is similar to viewing images of homes and gardens – none.” (Ferguson 12). This argument is supported by the ‘ceiling effect’ or acknowledging that “the media has already produced whatever effects it could potentially produce.” (Ferguson 12). While body dissatisfaction has thought to be linked with anorexia nervosa, it has not been found to be connected. With this, body dissatisfaction is a symptom of anorexia nervosa and those with anorexia nervosa often have body dissatisfaction. However, having body dissatisfaction does not mean that a person also has anorexia

Although bulimia nervosa can be treated in multiple fashions, there is a specific treatment that is proven to be the most effective in not only bulimia nervosa, but also other anxiety related disorders. This effective treatment is an specific form of short term psychotherapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is productive in both reducing the amount of times one may purge in a day and diminishing the entire disorder altogether; it is a diverse set of problem specific interventions. According to Brian Sheldon, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychological approach for the treatment of family, personal, and mental problems. This technique is intended to help clients

     When I think of anorexia, a few things come to mind. I think of really bad episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch in which females, ususally teenagers, starve themselves and take diet pills. The eating problem is always resolved within the timespan of one 30 minute episode. From the research I've done thus far on anorexia, I now know that this is a very unrealistic representation of what is actually a very serious disease.