Susan Bordo Research Paper

Before 1995, the island of Fiji had no reported cases of eating disorders. In three years of obtaining American and British television programming, more than two-thirds of the Fijian girls developed eating disorders and three quarters of the girls felt fat (Hall 1-2). Girls and guys are feeling more insecure about their bodies and are trying to cope with smothering feelings that come with being insecure. Some people aren’t well-educated on this topic, and because of that, they don’t see its seriousness. One example, bulimia, has been around for thirty years, and people are still not very familiar with the harm it can do physically and emotionally. Bulimia is when people choose to vomit their food up because they’re unsatisfied with their

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.

There are all too many people that look in the mirror and are dissatisfied with the person gazing back at them. Society begins pushing unrealistic standards onto people starting at a very young age. An individual that was once happy with their appearance may now pick themselves apart, frowning at each imperfection their eyes see. In the essay, The Globalization of Eating Disorders, author Susan Bordo shows her audience the effect that social media can have on self-esteem. For example, eating disorders were scarce in the Fiji islands until 1995, when the first television station aired, exposing the people to popular Western aesthetic. Bordo uses ethos, logos, and pathos to depict various body image issues, alongside eating disorders.

Susan Bordo, in her article, “The Globalization of Eating Disorders,” argues that images of “perfect people,” in media are causing everyone to change the way we see our bodies, which ends up causing eating disorders. She supports this claim by first giving an example of a girl who is on a no-fat diet because of all of the women that are in the media and portrayed as perfect, despite the fact that this girl is at a healthy weight, then she gives an example of an African-American girl and proves that this is happening everywhere in the world and to all races, then she gives an example of Asian countries and how there was no such thing as an eating disorder, but now when most of these countries have been westernized eating disorders have become

In fact, media is contributing to many false advertisements and unrealistic images that cause eating disorders. Media gives us these false beauty standards by making teens think they have to be thin and tall. Meanwhile, many teens want to be like the models and they try to be thin but instead of doing it the healthy way. The way they do it is to skip meals and that develops eating disorders. For instance, Arnett says, “Marketing and advertisement agencies focus on models such as tall, thin women or a muscular man with a chiseled jawbone when casting for photo shoots and television commercial” (265.) Therefore, we experience and seen is that the media do give us a false beauty standard which makes teens want to do everything that is possible to become like models. This has contributed

In the essay “The Globalization of Eating Disorders” by Susan Bordo speaks about eating disorders. In society today appearance is a huge factor. Even though appearance has always been a major thing but now day’s people take it to the extreme when trying to have a certain body image. Now day’s people think beauty is whatever is on the outside, instead of the inside and the outside. Most people go on crazy strict diets, surgery and some go through starvation in order to become a certain body size. Eating disorders are becoming more in effect now and not just in the United States , but happens to be going worldwide and not only with just the women, but now with men as well. Within the essay Bordo’s explains about how the body image, media, and culture influence the standard of the beauty leads to eating disorder. Another factor is family that causes someone to form an eating disorder. Those four factors are the main key roles that play apart on how eating disorders are being used.

One of the most common issues that society faces today are the mental diseases related to eating. Bordo, in her essay, "The Globalization of Eating Disorder," tackles body-image distortion syndromes, because that is how the media lets people perceive its content, and make us believe that media standards are beautiful. It is important to understand that Bordo's essay contains a powerful message regarding the road we are taking with regards to how we

Today in society we are dealing with an epidemic of eating disorders. The Globalization of Eating Disorders was written by Susan Bordo. This essay was intended to show you how much eating disorders has affected our society and different countries in the world. Not only women are feeling the impact of being skinny but also the men. Being overweight is no longer accepted and many woman are feeling the impact.

Various studies have demonstrated that when women are shown both photographs or TV commercials with extremely slender models they indicate an increase in dissatisfaction with their body (Crouch & Degelman, 1998). A study regarding social media specifically, was conducted by researchers at the University of Haifa on 248 girls ages 12 to 19; they found that the more time girls spent looking at pictures on Facebook, the more they suffered from eating disorders such as Anorexia, as well as other conditions including a heightened urge to diet and lose weight (University of Haifa, 2011). Media access is

Eating disorders have become a major problem throughout the world, specifically in the United States. The key factor that has an influence on eating disorders is the media. Including people of all ages and genders, up to twenty-four million people suffer from an eating disorder in the United States (ANAD np). This is a huge problem in the world today but what makes it so much worse is the fact that it can be prevented and it is in our control to change it. Young adults look to these celebrities, which are often their role models, and try to look just like them. What they fail to remember is the fact that celebrities have a lot of money, money that can afford nutritionists and personal trainers. They also fail to remember the extensive measures the celebrities may have to go through to look the way they do. An example of extensive measures can be considered plastic surgery. Ultimately, this creates a false goal that is almost unattainable for the “average” or “regular” person. Overall, the media has overtaken a huge impact on what the “ideal” body image has become today. Eating disorders are still on the rise and it is proven that an eating disorder such as anorexia affects up to 5 percent of women from ages 15-30 years old ("Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders | National Eating Disorders Association np"). This may not seem that significant but it is also not considering other eating disorders such as bulimia. All in all, eating disorders

American writer Allen Ginsberg once said: "Whoever controls the media-the images-controls the culture." Nothing could be truer, the media has always influenced fashion and body shape. But what's remarkable now is how much the media affects body image, and how willing and eager people are to mess with Mother Nature. (Underwood, par.2) Although there are other factors that contribute to eating disorders the media can partially be blamed for the millions of people with eating disorders because it promotes and glamorizes being thin to the public.

In the present day, this concept of an ideal woman has slowly gravitated back towards the nineteenth century stereotype of having a frail, rail-thin body shape; however, social status is no longer the leading factor behind the movement. With the newly established capabilities of television access, commercial advertisements, and mass distribution, the rate of eating disorders skyrocketed. According to the American Obesity Association, 65% of adults and 30% of children are overweight. 30% of the adults and 15% of the children in the same category are considered to be clinically obese. Concurrently, the rate of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, continue to rise at a phenomenally simultaneous rate (257). These disorders can be viewed as a direct result of media consumption.

“In Fiji, before television came about in 1995, the island had no reported cases of eating disorders. Within three years of obtaining American and British television programming, more than two-thirds of the Fijian girls developed eating disorders and three quarters of the girls felt fat” (Hall 1-2). Now, eating disorders are becoming more and more common as the years go by. Bulimia has been around for thirty years and people are still not very familiar with the harm it can do physically and emotionally. Bulimia nervosa can destroy not only a person's life but others around them, and it can be stopped with support and counseling.

Many people suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa because of what they view in the media in today’s society. As the world becomes more modernized with the help of the media, many people are affected by what the media views as perfect concerning body type, and what they perceive as perfect. The media can therefore have profound effects on the judgment of many people and cause them to change their eating habits, which can lead to dreadful eating disorders. This topic is extremely important to discuss because the media has this effect on many people, and it is a real-world situation that may be able to be helped. For example, the media could portray images of more realistic body types on television or in magazines. By studying this topic, insight can be gained into exactly how the media affects people psychologically. These psychological impacts can then be used to explain how these eating disorders are developed. The media’s effect on eating disorders is a very interesting and relevant issue. Additionally, with the research gained by studying this topic, the media could be improved or altered so as to not have this negative effect on a person’s image of herself or

Media has a significant impact on body weight and disordered eating. This one time isolated syndrome of “eating disorders” is now emerging as a place of importance in our society.