Body Image, Peer Pressure, and Identity in Mean Girls Essay

Many people are unaware of the background of eating disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop an eating disorder and they usually develop in childhood before the age of 20 (Ross-Flanigan 1). Women as well as men can develop an eating disorder; it is just more likely for a woman to develop one. Eating disorders are usually developed in adolescent or childhood years when a person is influenced the most. Also “Eating disorders are psychological conditions that involve overeating, voluntary starvation, or both. Anorexia nervosa, anorexic bulimia, and binge eating are the most well-known types of eating disorders” (Ross-Flanigan 1). Many people assume that an eating disorder is when a person staves themselves; they do not realize that it can involve overeating as well. Some eating disorders also involve purging, but not all. People with an eating disorder fear gaining weight even when they are severely underweight. They do not lack an appetite (Ross-Flanigan 1). These people are

The fashion industry is a major object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on more than average height and svelte women. Established on a survey partaken by 13 to 17-year-old in the United States, 90% felt intimidated by trends and media to be sleek, with more than 60% routinely evaluated themselves to supermodels, whilst 46% will endeavor to

Many young teenagers have developed eating disorders, as they sadly use unhealthy habits to manage their weight and that is through skipping meals, fasting, self- induced vomiting, and not to forget excessive exercise. People with anorexia tend to be very skinny, and as when they look into the mirror, they literally see excess body fat. Their minds have tricked them into believing they need to lose more weight to be able to look fit.

Eating disorders are sweeping this country and are rampant on junior high, high school, and college campuses. These disorders are often referred to as the Deadly Diet, but are often known by their more popular names: anorexia or bulimia. They affect more than 20% of females between the age of thirteen and forty. It is very rare for a young female not to know of someone with an eating disorder. Statistics show that at least one in five young women have a serious problem with eating and weight (Bruch, 25).

Many children and adolescents not only express dissatisfaction with their figure, shape and weight, but also exhibit disordered eating behavior, such as binge eating (eating a large amount of food with a sense of lack of control), food restriction, laxative abuse and vomiting. For children and adolescents, eating disorders can overlap in many instances. As an example, some children alternate between periods of anorexia and bulimia. Eating disorders typically develop during adolescence or early adulthood. However, research has shown that they can start in childhood, too. Females are much more vulnerable. Only an estimated 5% to 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male. With binge eating, the number rises to 35%

“Mean girls, jocks, band nerds, geeks, and freaks” are all terms used to stereotype and group teens in the 2004 movie hit, Mean Girls. This film created controversies in the content that it delivered. The credibility of adolescents is questioned greatly in this film. Mean Girls taught us that popularity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, in fact, they taught us that it’s actually meaningless. Through extreme character development, this movie shows the viewer that at the end of the day, all of the teens are the same. They all struggle to fit in, and that’s really the moral of this hilarious, but raunchy story. Mean Girls captures the struggle that every teen seems to have at some point of where they belong and how they relate to everyone around them. The film takes those stereotypes and melds them into what all high schools should aspire to be: a community.

Even if some girls were not classified as having an eating disorder 44% of adolescent girls believed they were heavy and 60% were exercising excessively trying to lose weight. (Katzman et al. Pg. 287). Anorexia and Bulimia nervosa are deemed as medical illnesses or used to describe a psychological disorder by of self-induced starvation in order to become thin. People that have either of these illnesses have an excessive fear of gaining weight although they differ in their causation. Anorexia is when the person starves themselves for days without eating and Bulimia is recurrent binge eating, followed by vomiting, purging, fasting, the use of laxatives, diuretics, and over exercising. Sadly they both cause great harm to the human body.

In this article “Fighting Anorexia: No One to Blame” it discusses the struggles and challenges children face as young as 8 years old and teens from 13 to 18 years of age when dealing with the eating disorder “Anorexia Nervosa.” Which is defined in our text as an “eating disorder characterized by self-starvation” (Bee, pg. 384). The staff of “Newsweek” also discuss who or what is to blame for anorexia nervosa in the past parents have been blamed when their children have shown signs in regards to this disorder. Research has shifted from blaming the parents to the possibility anorexia might have some links to mental disorder, genetics or even environmental factors which can influence the disorder. Lastly, the article discusses various

With children as early as age 7 showing dissatisfaction with their body, and as young as 9 starting dieting, eating disorders are a serious issue in our society. Taking a look at perceptions, behaviors, and medical issues associated with the disorders of anorexia and bulimia, scholars have tried to categorize and find answers to the problems which certain adolescents suffer. In this paper I focused on the two major eating disorders of anorexia and bulimia.

Categorically, adolescents with anorexia nervosa have a chronic low body weight and are below 85 percent of their expected body weight (Lock, & Fitzpatrick, 2007). Anorexia nervosa is most commonly diagnosed in adolescents, an age that can increase the risks of malnutrition, weight loss, osteoporosis, growth arrest, and absent puberty. Anorexia nervosa can damage an adolescent’s identity, and has the highest death rates of any psychiatric illness (Aspen & Boutelle, 2013; Grave et al., 2014). Adolescents that suffer from anorexia nervosa tend to be perfectionists causing them to focus on negative beliefs, fear of failure, and fear of disapproval. They are often high achievers, are inflexible and rigid in their thinking, and see their symptoms as achievements (Hurst & Zimmer- Gembeck, 2015; Westwood & Kendal, 2012).

The movie, “Mean Girls” is the perfect display of the stereotypical high school environment and creates a whole new sociological world within itself. To the viewers watching, which are mostly younger teens the movie creates a fake picture of what being in high school is really like by blowing certain things like cliques or subcultures way out of proportion. Because the movie does not completely represent the high school environment correctly, it creates a very compelling and believable story line story line that is back by the numerous amount of sociological concepts.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that can be caused or triggered by psychological factors. These factors usually have to do with the victim’s need for control. A bulimic person is likely to have episodes of binge eating followed by their own method of weight control. Some of these methods include vomiting, extreme exercise, fasting and excessive uses of laxatives. The bulimic will binge eat, then vomit, then repeat the cycle as often they feel is necessary. Although bulimia occurs in males, it is most commonly found in girls of later adolescence and early adulthood. As girls become older and hit puberty, many emotions and concerns about their body figure begin to develop. Society can make girls feel like they need to lose weight in order

Each year millions of people in the United States are affected by serious and sometimes life-threatening eating disorders. The vast majorities are adolescents and young adult women. Approximately one percent of adolescent girls develops anorexia nervosa, a dangerous condition in which they can literally starve themselves to death. Another two to three percent develop bulimia nervosa, a destructive pattern of excessive overeating followed by vomiting or other " purging " behaviors to control their weight. These eating disorders also occur in men and older women, but much less frequently. The consequences of eating disorders can be severe. For example, one in ten anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, or

For decades, teenagers all over the world obsess over their body image. They are constantly trying all different ways to create the perfect body, no matter the price they have to pay. Many will try by doing it the healthy way, which is done by exercising or eating healthy. However, for many girls, this does not work, therefore, this leads them to either starve themselves or purge after eating a big meal or even a small snack; this is known as bulimia. Bulimia is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder where the person is constantly trying to rid their body of the calories they consume. This disorder is commonly found among female teenagers because they have an internal pressure to be thin. This disorder often causes malnutrition which can have a great effect on a teenager’s health. If you have bulimia, you are probably preoccupied with your weight and body shape. You may judge yourself severely and harshly for self-perceived flaws. Because bulimia related to self-image — and is not just about food — bulimia can be

During this time of my virtual teen’s life they experienced many physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes and developments. In these years they experienced challenges that many adolescents face such as finding their identity, adjusting to high school, developing morals, and adjusting to a divorced family. All the while they were consistently doing well in school academically while having some minor issues socially as they tended to stay shy around new people and keep to a small close group of friends.