Eating Disorders : A Struggle Women Face All Around The World

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).

In America today, there are unrealistic beauty standards women must face daily. When women can not meet this idea of perfection pushed by society, some women will risk their health just to fit a cultural stigma. Women are held to an insanely high criterion when it comes to beauty which tends to lead to negative body image. Ten percent of women in The United States of America report symptoms consistent with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Which concludes that a total of 75 percent of all American women endorse some unhealthy thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to food or their body image-UNC Medical Department Although eating disorders are not subjective to women only, after reading “Beating Anorexia and Gaining Feminism” Marni Grossman and “Feminism and Anorexia: A Complex Alliance” Su Holmes, I will discuss how eating disorders coexist in the lives of women who struggle with body image, and what feminism can do to give these women a second chance.

In a recent survey done by the National institute on Media and the Family, fifth graders, ten year old boys and girls told researchers they were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or a clip from the TV show “Friends.”(4) If this isn’t shocking enough, the research group reported that at the age of thirteen, fifty-three percent of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to seventy-eight percent by the time the girls reach seventeen. Also, eating disorders are beginning to start at an alarming young age. Statistics show that girls are developing eating disorders at the age of six.(1) Young girls that are exposed to appearance focused television programs, and magazine shows feel that they need to look like the models that they see. Most of these girls are not even have fully developed bodies yet and are already trying to perfect themselves. One girl had even shared how one of her best friends discovered that her fifth grade cousin was bulimic. Girls at that age should not even be concerned with their bodies yet and eating disorders being developed is a harsh wake up call as to how young girls everywhere are being effected by the media each and everyday.

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.

I thought the chapter in the textbook about eating disorders was very interesting. This is a very real and current issue in our country today. And as I learned in the reading, it affects many countries throughout the world, not just the United States. According to the PsychWatch section on page 281, “Eating Disorders Across the World”, non-Western countries are starting to be exposed to more Western and United States television and magazine advertisements, and this is resulting in more cases of eating disorders in these countries. Both men and women are affected by anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. The statistics show that more women than men have these eating disorders. But it is hard to say if this is true, or if just more women seek help.

In Joanna Poppink’s essay entitled “Educational Programs can Help Prevent Eating Disorder,” she writes, “Sometimes parents are afraid that educational materials about eating disorders will stimulate an eating disorder in their teenager. They also fear such material will encourage a teenager with an eating disorder to try new and different methods of acting out the illness” (143). Poppink understands the parental concerns that come with education programs, but she reassures that the knowledge that society obtains from these types of programs will not cause their child to develop an eating disorder (144). Instead, educational programs can help prevent eating disorders by explaining their risks, teaching people how to recognize an eating disorder in someone they know, and discussing different ways on how to begin the treatment of an eating disorder. Also, American society must do everything it can to stop the idea that beauty, popularity, and success come with thinness. In order to start the prevention of eating disorders in teenage girls, the society must first stop promoting women who are unhealthy and under the average BMI. By promoting women of all different sizes and shapes in the media, American society can help girls facing eating disorders become more comfortable in their bodies and help them understand that people have various body sizes to suit their unique

In the words of American psychologist Mary Pipher, “When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin”(“A Quote by Mary Pipher”). There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. An eating disorder is a mental illness that affects at least 30 million people of all ages and genders in the U.S. every year (“Eating Disorder Statistics”). Of the number of factors that may lead to an eating disorder, the media is an extremely prevalent causative. It portrays an ideal body image that is unrealistic for most people, acts as a trigger for eating disorders in people who may have been prone, and although positive measures are being taken, the overall impact of

In the world today, the media makes it hard for a girl to be ok with her body. Society, in general, persuades young women to feel that any size above a two is too big or that a women needs make up to be beautiful In 1950, when televisions were first finding their way into homes, the media’s portrayal of “the ideal” female was drastically different than what people portray today. At that time, mannequins and models reflected the average woman’s size. Mannequins and models have grown thinner by the year, increasingly desperate with the average women’s physical form. This problem causes many young women to starve themselves to get to the perfect image we have created for them today. One in two hundred American women suffer from anorexia; two

Eating disorders are one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the United States. Although this disease is typically viewed as a female disorder, males are greatly affected and may go undiagnosed and untreated due to the attached stigma. Thus, it is important to understand the risk factors associated with the development of eating disorders in males. These risk factors include: athletic involvement, sexual orientation, pre-morbid obesity, and adverse childhood experiences. Eating disorder type and symptom presentation also varies between males and females. Males typically do not meet the criteria to be categorized as Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa, causing their condition to be classified as Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Symptom presentation is likely to include binge eating and excessive exercise rather than restrictive eating, purging, or other compensatory methods commonly seen in the female population. Several eating disorder assessments are available for use in clinical practice, most of which have been geared toward the female gender. New assessments, such as the Eating Disorder Assessment for Males, have been developed recently to try to hone in on the typical male symptomatology and their psychological processes. Prompt treatment of eating disorders, regardless of gender, is necessary to prevent the development of medical and psychological comorbidities. This process cannot begin until the diagnosis has been made; therefore, additional

Today, people seem to be judged on outward appearance more than ever. The people who face this judgement the most are young women. With the constant bombardment of beauty standards that must be met, many young women turn towards the advice of magazines. However, most of us don’t recognize the perfect girl on the cover, she’s supposedly the product of listening to the magazine’s advice. However, to the dismay of many young women, she is pure fiction, edited beyond realistic expectation, and yet our young women are expected to emulate this image. The result of such pressures can prove to be too much to handle and young women often resort to pathogenic dieting and experience body image and eating disorders. The increase in mental health disorders associated with body image in teen girls attributed to the unrealistic standards set in magazines targeted toward young women, therefore magazines need to use images that reflect the realities of the target audience and should not be heavily edited.

"86% of young readers of YM magazine are dissatisfied with their body." Even at 8 years old, children know what fat is, and 1/3 girls from ages 9-12 think they're overweight! At this age children should be enjoying their childhood, not feeling insecure and place themselves in deep pit of vanity. In this chapter, the author is looking deeper into the stereotypes of anorexia, and how it isn't just based on rich, privileged, white girls, and that a multitude of races, genders, and a variety of ages can have it as well.

Barbie dolls have been one of the most popular toys for young girls since 1959, they are so popular that in the early 1990’s a collecting crazes among young girls broke out” (Barbie Media). What many may not know about barbies is that they have also been a very controversial topic amongst feminist for years. “Feminist claim that barbie's set an unhealthy and unfair beauty standard, leading to a crisis for young girls and their self esteem” (reddit). If a Barbie dolls were human size they would differ from the average women completely. The average woman weighs 166 pounds and is 5 feet and 5 inches tall with a 32 inch bust, and a 35 inch waist. “The barbie would stand 6 feet tall, weigh 100 pounds, and have a 39-inch bust, a 19-inch waist, and the hips of a prepubescent boy” (Samantha Olson). Surprisingly, young girls are a lot more conscious of their body weight and physical appearance. In fact, “42% of girls between the ages of 6-10 admit to wishing they were thinner” (Barbie media). Based on this research, it is proven that Barbies set unhealthy expectations for young girls with growing bodies. In summation, if Barbies create low self-esteem for young girls, why should society give the dolls so much publicity and praise?

Eating disorders are the most deadly mental illness, although 50% of people with eating disorders are also depressed, so some of these mental illnesses may overlap. A report was taken, and 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade said they wanted to lose weight because of magazine pictures, and 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade stated that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape (“Eating”). There are many kinds of magazines, and they are everywhere; at school, at the dentist, at the doctor’s office, in most homes, in lobbies, etc. Teenage girls that read fashion magazines are three times as likely to obtain an eating disorder (Lopez), which is understandable because magazines are heavily edited, so the people in them that we strive to look like, do not actually look that perfect in

However, in reality, the body proportions of Barbie are unreachable and unhealthy. In the article “Does Barbie make girls want to be thin,” a quote from psychologists in the American Psychological Association reads, “The ultrathin female beauty ideal she embodies has been linked with the extraordinary prevalence of negative body image and unhealthy eating patterns among girls and women,” (Thompson 283). Referring to the Barbie doll, Thompson makes it clear that the image of the Barbie dolls gives young girls a negative self-body image and can result in many young girls having eating disorders. The constant goal to have a thin, tiny figure with long legs and a bigger chest is simply unachievable. In the article “Does Barbie make girls want to be thin,” people were able to use anthropometry to use Barbie’s body proportions, and compare them to the realistic image of a woman. A conclusion reached by Rintala and Mustajoki of the British Medical Journal revealed, “Were Barbie a flesh-and-blood woman, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of anorexic patients, and her body weight would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate,” (Rintala and