Believing Is Seeing: Biology As Ideology By Judith Lorber

The word “Cult” has not always had such a negative connotation attached to it. Many religions would’ve been considered cults when they first began. By the end of the 19th century many visionaries had revealed radically new religious systems, claiming immunity to the impurities of the old ones (Powers, 1997). These were no more than a group of people organizing themselves in worship and devotion for a person, object, or movement. They practiced rituals different to other “mainstream” religions, and were therefore considered cults.

One reason mass media is so effective at portraying unrealistic body types as normal is because the mass media helps to set what is perceived as normal. In an article about the mass media’s role in body image disturbance and eating disorders, J. Kevin Thompson and Leslie Heinberg state, “A sociocultural model emphasizes that the current societal standard for thinness, as well as other difficult-to-achieve standards of beauty

Cultic activity has taken place since the practice of religion was established thousands of years ago. Since then, literally thousands of denominations have been inoculated throughout the world, especially in the United States. A cult, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. By definition, this includes organizations such as Baptists, Catholics as well as Satanists and Witches. While this maybe true, cults have been popularly perceived as Separatists who are consumed by the belief of apocalyptic events, and the leader is someone who believes he or she is chosen by God or some other deity to lead those who are to follow him or her. One group that fits this description is the

A cult is a group of people with similar interests, and lead usually by a trusted leader. This leader will have to convince others into believing or provide a place where they can worship

Wardy's book offers an expanded insight into girlhood, complete with appearances of stereotypes and sexualization during childhood. Taking a friendly approach to the realities of growing up for girls while having stereotypes and sexualization present, the chapters in Wardy's book are honest and bold and offers advice to parents from the change of child play to shopping strategies for girls that take away from sexualized markets, from how to teach young girls the importance of loving their bodies, Wardy includes useful tips in each chapter that is designed to help parents redefine what it means to be a girl in today's society.

The way adults bring up their kids will reflect the life that they will live later. It is extremely important that our youth understands what chronic diseases are and how severe obesity can be. Not only do children need to understand the intense health issues that obesity has, but also the social impact that it can deal with. Many kids deal with severe depression, self esteem issues, and may deal with being bullying due to that fact that they are overweight. In the “Weight of the Nation,” there are a few kids who are interviewed and explain that often feel like out casts when they are school and will hide in the background so that no one has to look at

Cults have existed throughout history since the beginning of time. A cult is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a “system of religious worship with a devoted attachment to a person, principle, etc.” Over the past thirty years numerous religious cults have caused “ tens of thousands to abandon their families, friends, education’s, and careers to follow the teaching of a leader they will never meet”(Beck 78).

First, media coverage of childhood obesity can be seen from organizations such as the Childhood Obesity Foundation. The organization’s purpose is “…to lead a societal shift toward healthy eating and active lifestyles to promote childhood healthy weights and the resulting physical and emotional impacts” (Childhood Obesity Foundation 2015). The mission statement promotes the idea that childhood obesity could cause unhappiness and sickness for children, and that society needs to change in order to address the issue. A section on the website addresses the current obesogenic environment of society, which it describes as “…places that encourage people to eat unhealthily and not exercise enough” (Childhood Obesity Foundation 2015). The foundation frames society as a negative environment that encourages unhealthy behaviors, requiring changes to a more health-focused society. Furthermore, the website has a section regarding the complications of childhood

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines cult as: "a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents." Indeed, any religion involving unconditional worship and unquestioning obedience to God could be labeled as a cult (using the derogatory suggestion of the word), since such a religion would have that high level of dependency, obedience, and unwavering compliance ascribed to cults by definition. Many mainstream religions still require their members to believe in God unquestioningly, to have faith that he is good and that what he does is good, to consider one's own wants and needs as unimportant while accepting the will of God as paramount. All of these are certainly characteristics commonly attributed to cults, but while it would not be unreasonable to apply this definition of a cult to any dogmatic religion that requires strict compliance with God's word and will as a condition of membership, the notion of applying the word "cult" to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any other major world religion today is considered absurd. There are those who make this very claim: that those who worship God fit the classic depiction of cult members in their dogmatism, unswerving

When young girls break gender norms, it is acceptable because masculine traits are desirable. Girls who play sports, wear boy’s clothes, and play with toys marketed towards boys are seen as tomboys, and stronger for it. Conversely, boys who play with girls’ toys and wear girls’ clothes are considered effeminate and weak. This attitude that society holds was reflected in the results of Kane’s interviews with parents.

There is not a set, universal definition of a cult. When looking at multiple sources or even making a quick search on the internet, many contradictory statements and definitions are brought about, most of them carrying a negative connotation. Upon hearing the word “cult,” one tends to associate it with satanic rituals, black magic, murder, and many other dark, mysterious things. In its simplest form, a cult seems to be a group of people with a charismatic leader. However, this definition is not complete. The definition of a cult can be subdivided into two categories: the benign or positive cult, and the bad or destructive cult. In a benign cult, the leader will share leadership with other group members. The cult as a whole

Groups such as the Masons, the Church of Scientology, and political parties can be considered cults that share different ideologies. In addition, cults have the ability to influence society in terms of changing an individual’s perspective on certain things. Furthermore, people seem to show a strong interest in the mysteries behind cults despite the dangerous aspect of joining a cult. Over the years, the number of individuals joining cults has increased. To understand this a bit more, Dr. Adrian Furnham wrote an article on Psychology Today titled “Why Do People Join Cults?” In the article, Dr. Furnham argues the motives behind joining a cult, the different characteristics of a cult, and the misconceptions that individuals have in their initial encounter with a cult.

An American sociologist, Howard P. Becker expanded the church sect typology, characterizing cults as “lacking organization and emphasizing personal beliefs” (Swatos). Over time, this interpretation was added to, emphasizing cults’ deviation from predominant religious groups who “derived their inspiration from outside of the predominant religious culture, leading to a higher degree of tension between the group and more mainstream culture”

A cult is defined as a social group or a social movement under one charismatic leader. It maintains a belief system, which includes a transformation of a group member. Members of the group have a high level of commitment to the leader, members, and beliefs (Lalich). An additional definition to consider is from the American Journal of Psychotherapy:

Has it become cool to be overweight or is it still something that is frowned upon? Today, more and more children are considered to be obese. A child becomes obese when he weights nearly 20% in excess of what he should weight at a specific age. Childhood obesity has become rampant in the United States of America since it has affected nearly one out of a group of six children. Some would argue that the fast food industry and school lunches are to blame for childhood obesity because each of these offers unhealthy food choices, and children do not have a fair chance of eating healthy. Although the fast food industry and school lunches do contribute to childhood obesity, parents are to be blamed even more because they are not being honest about the disease, they encourage unhealthy habits, and they don’t teach their children about food and nutrition.