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Media's portrayal of body image
Body image in today's society
Thesis differences and similarities anorexia nervosa binge eating and bulimia nervosa
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Eating disorders are a very serious increasing problem that an individual may develop. Eating disorders can be characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, refusal to eat, and even frantic efforts to avoid weight gain such as purging as discussed by the National Institute of Mental Health (2014). Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are discussed within the video Dying to Be Thin. Throughout the video emotions and anxieties over having an extremely slender, narrow body structure are discussed by women who are in the dancing profession. It is explained throughout the video about how much pressure there is on these women to be shaped a specific way for the looks of a performance. What resonated most with me while watching the video Dying to Be Thin is the idea of how much social media and outside sources can have an effect on one’s thoughts …show more content…
about body type and what is or is not acceptable. In my own experience, I feel that there is an extra pressure that is placed on American women to have a thin body. Billboards and magazines featuring 120 pound 5 foot 6 inch women are something that we pass by or glance at on a regular basis. The video Dying to Be Thin, as well as the short Youtube video Bulimia, display how stress from careers, television shows, catalogues and even people within one’s daily life can have a large impact on the ideations of body types, and what they should look like themselves. Within the short Youtube video Bulimia, a young girl is seen idealizing magazines and TV shows that display thin models and actresses. The idea that the young girl views her self-image negatively is shown throughout the video in moments such as when she decides not to eat the rest of her meal and then looks at her body in the mirror to analyze flaws she feels she has. I feel that it is important to recognize warning signs, especially in teens, such as a lack of interest in eating and displays of over analyzing one’s body. It is also very important to not over eat by managing a healthy diet as discussed in the video Binge Eating Addiction. Within the video Binge Eating Addiction, the disorder of consuming mass amounts of food over a short period of time is discussed.
It is expressed throughout the video that the concept of food becoming a comfort for an individual undergoing mental stress or trauma is something that could have a major effect on the mental and physical health of this specific kind of person. What resonated most with me while watching this video is the importance of how abuse, trauma or neglect can place so much strain on an individual throughout their life, and how one’s coping mechanisms may be affected by this. Using food as a comfort source is something that is displayed in everyday life; for example the concept of comfort food, midnight snack, or soul food. Throughout the video Binge Eating Addiction it is shown that every time the individual felt down about himself the only way he could pick himself back up mentally was by eating mass amounts of food in a short period of time. It really interested me that this individual talked about how his past trauma and neglect as a child made him presently turn to food as comfort for his
pain.
to the world of professional dance where incidents of Anorexia almost appear to be an occupational hazard as demands for thinness prevail in the dance world. The film explains that dancer’s tend to be abnormally thin, often 15% below ideal weight, which is the equivalent of an anorexic weight. Today the profession recognizes that this is a deadly psychiatric disorder which
""Soul Food" a Brief History." Welcome To The Black Box, Personal Narratives in High Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014
These pressures from the media ads can lead to eating disorders. For many women and girls the “ideal image portrayed becomes an obsession and results in an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia” (Karyn p.1). With the constant nagging to be thin, the dancers feel that if they are to be in music videos on television, they have to measure up to this false image of a woman.
"Stress Feeds the Need for Comfort Food." WebMD - Better information. Better health. Jennifer Warner, 3 Sept. 2003. Web. 15 Feb. 2010. http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20030909/stress-comfort-food
The video provided prime examples of people from various walks of life that suffered from this eating disorder. Dancers, models and some religious figure have fallen victim to this disorder. In the 1800’s being thin was equated with being spiritual. Many religions teach that the body is a temple and practice disciplines to maintain the upkeep, however, the discipline should not be taken to the extreme to cause death. I can say the same for the dancers and models who pushed themselves near the point of death.
Toro, Josep et al. “Eating Disorders in Ballet Dancing Students: Problems and Risk Factors”. John
Over the years the rise in body image dissatisfaction has grown as both male and female progress to adulthood. This factor can be contributed to societal standards that the media presents to the public daily. These standards continue to rise making the body image more difficult to attain. With these standards comes the push to seek the “perfect body”. This myth of true beauty commonly found in today’s society, is the price that adolescents buy into often sacrificing their health. The perfect body can often present a distorted view of one-self leading to unhealthy methods of weight reduction. The most common methods for weight reduction are the diseases Anorexia and Bulimia. The similarities and differences between Anorexia and Bulimia will be used to prove that the society’s pressure to fit a certain mold contribute to the onset of the disease.
Anorexic behavior is complex because it is all about the need for control. Someone suffering from anorexia has a distorted body image of himself or herself. He/she believes to be overweight, even though twenty percent of the time he/she is not (Yancey 59). The image of being overweight causes a low self-esteem. Symptoms of low self-esteem are loneliness, inadequacy in talents, a lack of trust in people and themselves, insecurity, identification with a specific peer group, and sadness. The media displays the ideal human body as thin and beautiful. Anorexic’s lives are full of confusion and lack of control. To the anorexic, to be thin is to be in control. The state of control to the anorexic is the ideal life without confusion and difficulties. In most cases, the anorexic is intelligent; popular among his/her peers, athletic, talented, and viewed as a role model to most people he/she comes in contact with. In reality, the issues in daily living are too difficult for the anorexic resulting in a lack of control in his/her life. The anorexic’s answer to a confusing life is to starve the body. The behavioral symptoms of the anorexia are counting calories, eating little food, baking treats for everyone and giving them away in hope of controlling not only the anorexic’s intake of his/her food, but also others. “Playing” with food at meal times is common behavior of the anorexic. When the meal is complete, the anorexic has disguised food intake by pushing the food around on the plate and hiding food in napkins. To dress in layers to hide the distinct weight loss and to avoid social activities where eating is involved are common behavioral symptoms. Behavioral symptoms of the anorexic can go unnoticed by most people. These symptoms are very secretive and oblivious to outsiders because the behavior is not out of the ordinary. Although the behavioral symptoms of the anore...
Although thin people seem to dominate society, the average size for a woman today is a size twelve. That puts the number of models on a smaller scale, and boosts the number of ordinary girls that make up most of society today. It’s not just about ordinary girls outnumbering models; it’s about the way that the media portrays these models. Slowly, the image of the “thin and beautiful” being the best is going down the drain. Larger models and actresses are taking the places of the “thin.” Hopefully, this will decrease the increasing numbers of anorexics in the United States as well as all over the world.
Eating disorders are one of society’s most debilitating physical and psychological problems faced today. In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe was society’s role model, but would now be considered a plus-sized model and somewhat unattractive in society’s eyes (Steinem 5). Now in 2013, Demi Lovato, a pop singer, plays a huge role as a role model for young people, but has recently told the media that she suffers from anorexia nervosa and embraces it, ultimately showing adolescents that eating disorders are socially acceptable and even often encouraged (Cotliar 80). The psychological effects that eating disorders have on a patient can be very detrimental to themselves and often push the patient farther into the disorder than she could ever have imagined ("Prevalence vs. Funding" 3). The physical effects that an eating disorder can have on the body could be as minor as feeling faint to something as major as an organ shut down, or even resulting in death (“Physical Dangers” 2). Eating disorders affect a wide variety of people, particularly adolescent girls, and may ultimately lead to many destructive physical and psychological results.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
Eating Disorders vary in kind but the most commonly seen are Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. Bulimia Nervosa is considered a “fashionable” diso...
Due to the media’s influence, women establish perplexed views of their own bodies, leading to the development of eating disorders. Eating disorders are massive issues within today’s society. The author, Sheila Lintott emphasizes in her article, “Sublime Hunger: A Consideration of Eating Disorders beyond Beauty”, that eating disorders are the “most dangerous mental disorders, resulting in a six time more likely risk of death, which is four times the death risk of major depression” (Lintott 78). Because women are striving to look thinner, they tend to follow an unhealthy lifestyle. They begin self-starvation in fears of becoming fat. Unfortunately, due to beauty related pressures, there has been an increase in body dysmorphic disorders. Body
A tall, glamorous runway model is every girl’s dream. Long beautiful legs, lean body, and beautiful shiny hair is what an average young woman views as an ideal image for a female. If you don’t resemble the images of those stunning Victoria Secret models and Fashion Week models, you suddenly become ashamed of your own body. It is a great life to have with the high pay, fame, drinking champagne on a yacht with famous celebrities and even being on the Vogue cover page. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to resemble those models. What they don’t realize is that they are contributing to the 2.7 percentage of 13- 18 year olds suffering from anorexia and bulimia. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or they are suffering from an eating disorder themselves, in other words, hostages in the dark hell hid behind those runway curtains. The growing number of young anorexia and bulimia patients, and the number of websites such as thinspiration, where girls put up pictures of their thin bodies clearly suggest that the fashion modeling industry do not at all bear any responsibility in providing healthy, realistic physical role models for young women.
Such emotions that can cause harm to an individual is depression and sadness. When an individual overconsumes food, the individual may express such emotions that causes harm to their health. Becoming addicted to food can harm the life of an individual as the emotions that are express from overconsuming food can easily affect their daily life. Such experience is normally shown in the life of a teen who loves food but chooses to ignore the consequences that comes along with the