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Media, Appearance and Eating Disorders
Many women are concerned with their appearance. Too many of them are caught up with the image of being skinny and pretty. By seeing all the beautiful, thin women in the media and in society, they may feel insecure about the way they look. Therefore, they try and do anything they can to acquire that appearance. Methods they use to try and achieve this are by self-starvation, known as Anorexia, or induced vomiting, known as Bulimia. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are only two of the eating disorders that often result from their incessant desire to be thin and "beautiful."
Eating disorders, such as these, also occur amongst men. However, it is less common. "Standards for males simply are not as extreme or as inimical to normal body builds as are women's standards" (Fallon, Katzman, and Wooley 8). It is not just the biological aspect, though, that makes this occur more often in women. Fallon, Katzman, and Wooley claim
On even a practical level, women's self-image, their social and
economic success and even their survival can still be determined
largely by their beauty and by the men it allows them to attract,
while for men these are based largely on how they act and what
they accomplish. Looks simply are of secondary importance for
male success. (9)
Beauty and fashion are also in part with their desire for social acceptance and success. Women try to meet an unreasonable weight standard because fashion requires them to. Men are encouraged to be strong and powerful. As they work to develop their power in the gym and at work, they associate "thin" with "skinny" and "weak." Even though female models often look frail, (which men hate in themselves), fema...
... middle of paper ...
...school, a majority of the guys would pine after the thin, pretty girls. The girls, "with meat on them," would often be jealous of, therefore, feeling they are not thin enough to be beautiful. Low self-esteem and eating disorders would then result from these feelings. I, personally, do not think that "thin is beautiful." Not only by your exterior, but what kind of a person you are and what you have inside, makes you beautiful.
Works Cited
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. Updated September 2001. http://www.anred.com. November 27, 2001.
Fallon, Patricia, Melanie A. Katzman, and Susan C. Wooley, eds. Feminist Perspectives on Eating Disorders. New York: Guilford Press, 1994.
Wolf, Naomi. "The Beauty Myth." Signs of Life. 3rd edition. Comp. and ed. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2000. 481-89.
Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...
Depression is the stage that Achilles experiences for the greatest amount of time. Depression marks the breakdown of one's defenses in times of ...
Despite its popularity in Africa, FGM is under scrutiny by members of the international human rights community. In 1993, female circumcision was deemed harmful by the international Human Rights Conference in Vienna . The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the UN Population Fund have planned programs designed to “completely eliminate [female genital mutilation] within three generations” , on the basis that FGM is a human rights violation. This gives rise to the obvious question as to whether human rights activists and organizations should be sensitive to the cultural practices of the people of Africa. Some human rights activists have even professed FGM as a “knock-down counterargument to cultural relativism”, and use the practice as an example of how hum...
According to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, “state parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or family members”(1). It is generally believed that the fundamental rights of every human being should be respected; but unfortunately that’s not the case with FGM. Children are made to past this ordeal at an early age. A child as young as 10 years or even younger is subjected to this inhuman act without seeking her consent or most times telling flimsy stories to subdue her infant mind. On the other hand, the perpetrators believe that the child is too young to decide and being parents automatically places them in the rightful position to decide her faith. Contrary to that notion, is the provision in article three (3) of the same UN convention which states that “[i]n all actions concerning the ch...
There’s a organization today to help stop this critical dilemma. Woman all over the world are fighting for this practice who has affected woman for more than 5,000 years. These entire women want to have their voices heard. Everyone and anyone can help fight back for this young girls and woman by giving donations to bring this dreadful experience to an end. Donations can be made on www.stopfgmnow.com. Because If the community won’t help stop it people doing it won’t. “Female genital mutilation targets little girls, baby girls – fragile angels who cannot fight back. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s abuse. Its absolute criminal and we have to stop it – Waris Dirie
Researchers have used various abstract foundations for examining the relationship between media and body image ( Holmstrom, 2004). Here I review the theory that has been used by researcher in the area. Bandura’s Social cognitive theory (1994) assumed that “people learn and model the behaviors of attractive others”. The supporters of this theory suggest that young women find slim models in the media attractive and try to imitate them through dieting which leads them to eating disorders.
Not surprisingly, Attie and Brooks-Gunn assert that disturbed body image is one of the main precursors for disordered eating and dieting in adolescent and young adult girls (as cited in Serdar, n.d.). Moreover, Striegel-Moore and Franko argue that the prominence of dieting and maladaptive eating patterns has become an increasingly prevalent concern in adolescent and young adult populations; research has shown that around two-thirds of adolescent females report dieting at some point (as cited in Serdar, n.d.). Even more startling is the increasing number of girls who feel pressured to restrict their diet at dangerously young ages when their bodies are still developing. Hoffman claims that “while 42% of first- through third-grade girls wish to be thinner, a staggering 80% of girls have dieted by the time they reach the age of ten” (2004). Concerns with the development of disordered eating are an especially vital issue because such patterns have been found to be a major predictor of clinical eating disorders. “Research suggests that strict dieting to achieve an ideal figure often plays a key role in triggering eating disorders, which affect 5 to 10 million American girls and women” (Hoffmann, 2004). Early signs of bulimia and anorexia nervosa are appearing in girls of surprisingly young ages. “According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as many as 10 out of 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder” (Hoffmann, 2004). Furthermore, approximately 5% of adolescent girls meet the criteria for bulimia nervosa (Morris & Katzman, 2003). The occurrence of eating disorders among college women is even more startling. “One in five college women struggles with an eating disorder, and one in three displays borderline eating disorder behavior” (Hoffmann, 2004). The prevalence of eating disorders in America poses a serious
Most information says that eating disorders are a common problem for girls in their teenage years; however clinics have found that most people who seek treatment or therapy for an eating disorder are in there early twenties to early thirties. This is believed to because younger generations of women are less likely to want to seek help, in fact in most cases if help is se...
UNICEF (2013), Female Genital Mutilation: A statistical overview and exploration of the dynamics of change. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, New York.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the partial or complete removal of the external female genitals for cultural rather than medical reasons.
... end FGM. The World Health Organization is working to strengthen the health sector. They are providing guidelines, training and policy to “ensure that health professionals can provide medical care and counseling to girls living with FGM.” WHO is also generating knowledge about the causes and consequences of FGM procedures, and are working to end the practice so that future generations are safe from such a brutal surgical procedure. Last but not least, WHO is working to increase advocacy and developing publicity.
A major issue that goes hand in hand with female genital mutilation is health problems. FGM alters female genital organs, without a medically beneficial outcome. It is performed because African culture believes that it will keep girls pure because they will appear unattractive to men until marriage. There are no medical justifications for a girl to have her clitoris or any other genital org...
Rahman, A., & Toubia, N. (2006). Female Genital Muitlation: A Guide to Laws and Policies Worldwide (2 ed.). New York: Center for Reproductive Rights.
Many question whether female circumcision (FGM, genital cutting, etc.) is a form of abuse, is it a humane and morally acceptable practice and how can we fix this horrendous practice? These assumptive thoughts are typically made through the eyes of outsiders, female circumcision is many things and must be looked at through such a lens. Despite, all of this female circumcision is still framed very commonly between these three views, female circumcision is abuse, is a result of patriarchal societies, and is a cultural and religious practice.
...sued a public statement, endorsed by 500 doctors, declaring their opposition to the attempted repeals. The UNICEF-European Union programme on FGM/C, which began in 2008, concluded. During that period, 17,772 families of girls were at risk commit to abandon FGM. (UNICEF) Current reports seem to indicate a decreasing popularity of FGM in Upper Egypt (El-Gibaly). demonstrating that the reform process is slowing