When we think about eating disorders, words like thin, unhealthy, mentally ill and even words like model-like, perfect, beautiful can come to mind. Although it seems like eating disorders have been the “new thing” or have just become an issue in the last century, what some do not know is that a lot of eating disorders have been around for a long time. According to a mental help website, there’s been traces of evidence that eating disorders have been around since the first century, during the time of Caesar (700 BC), when rich Romans use to vomit everything they ate in order to eat more of their lavish banquets. It was not until the 1900s when eating disorders became more popular, more cases of eating disorders popped up, and it began to be …show more content…
seen as an issue. Anorexia is one of the biggest eating disorders that many have struggled with for a long time now. Since the twentieth century the number of cases of eating disorders like anorexia have increased dramatically in the United States because of the influence the media has on young females. When it comes to the media and eating disorders some things to consider are: the idea of thinness (which has become valued in our society), how unhealthy eating and exercise habits are shown more compared to the healthy ones and also the fact that the eating disorders can be a way to control or express oneself. One thing that really influences people is the media because it is everywhere; it is in magazines, papers, billboards, and especially the Internet. The media is used as a source for information and advertisement, but in some ways the media can also be very biased and can send some mixed and distorted messages. Young girls and women are very influenced because they get their information from multiple sources but that does not mean that all of those sources really give out relevant or the right messages. The media can really change a person’s life, especially if they are always surrounded by it. Thoughts of a person who is always around the media might not necessarily be their own thoughts but could perhaps be picked up from advertisements and television, which can lead to certain thoughts and behaviors that can dramatically change one’s life and shows that the kind of influence the media has. The first thing to consider is how the media shows the importance of body shape and how a certain type of body shape is more valued over another. “Early studies looking at the role of the media in eating disorders focused on the decreasing weight over time of the models, actresses and beauty pageant contestants who are held up as ideals of beauty. A number of studies have documented the trend of increasing thinness in Playboy centerfolds, Miss America Contestants, and fashion models between the 1950’s and the 1990’s.” The body is very important and to some people feeling good might be a good thing but it might not be as important as looking good. If teenage girls or young women are trying to find a way to be accepted and a way to achieve a certain look they would look towards others who have that look and use them as examples for themselves. That can be hard sometimes because not everyone is the same and a lot of the time they look towards celebrities and models, who yes look good, but their image is artificial because of things like touchups and fake advertisements with distorted images. “The history of doctoring photographs dates back to the 1860s … [when an] iconic portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is a composite of Lincoln’s head and the Southern politician John Calhoun’s body.” This shows that although technology innovations like photoshop were not yet invented, there was some form of manipulation in the media going on as early as the time when Lincoln was president. Even at that time there were people who wanted to change how reality looked in a picture. In 1989, there was a controversy surrounding a magazine cover that had Oprah Winfrey’s face on a thin actress’s body. This shows that people still kept faking photos even before advanced technology for editing became popular. Since images like these exist it gives more motivation for young girls to work really hard to achieve a certain body shape and they can go at it in a very unhealthy way that can be damaging. For example, they can cut back on eating, not to just lose a couple of pounds but to dramatically lose the weight, this can make them anorexic, which can lead to health complications in the future. They might even see thinness as the ideal or perfect body type (whether or not it can be argued) can affect the way they see themselves and the way they would feel. If they are not that shape or not that thin it can make them feel dissatisfied with themselves or underserving or even bad and it can lead to health complications like stress and depression; which can make it all a lot harder. Although it seems like thinness is promoted a lot in the media in history, it was not always the case. “In the early 1900's, our culture saw a shift from this plump, voluptuous female form to a thinner frame with less curves. The new female ideal of the 1920's was the thin, short haired flapper. According to Featherstone (1982) consumer culture began to shape the female body image through cosmetics, fashion, Hollywood, and advertisements.” Before the 1900s, females were betrayed as curvy women with extra weight and curves as a sign of wealth and health. The way women were portrayed in the media changed and shifted, just like it shifted in real life and in a lot of people’s lives. Some of the change was because people thought less fat helped them fight off diseases like tuberculosis and obesity. What they did not know was that although being careful of one extreme (gaining too much) was not seen as dangerous but what can be dangerous is getting to close to the other extreme (being too thin) which can more or less lead to one becoming anorexic. (233) After the 1900s, it just seemed like every decade, the women on the magazine cover (that millions of young girls would idolize) would become thinner and thinner as time progressed. Thinness was romanticized in a way, girls fought to become what they thought was their “ideal” selves. Secondly, when it comes to media influence in eating disorders, something that has and still is being promoted through the media is unhealthy eating habits and exercise as opposed to healthy ones. Although it might not be seen all the time in the media, one thing that it encourages is to eat and exercise in order to maintain a healthy body and life. Being healthy was never discouraged, but the way that certain things are advertised in the media might have influenced young girls to make very unhealthy choices because they thing they want to be and look a certain way. That is when problems come up, because the media is not really filtered and most of time people do not get all the information they need to make choices and decide what is good for them. Before the 1900s, eating healthy and having “some meat on your bones” meant that the person was well off, they had a higher status but then after the 1900s, eating healthy meant being thin which mirrors what the media puts out there. Also, another thing to think about is the economical and political circumstance of a person, during times of need, being thin might be a sign of poverty which means in times of wealth being thin might be a sign of self-control. It’s really interesting seeing how views change throughout different time periods and circumstances. Although trying to be healthy is always good, sometimes that cannot really be possible because with the media, everything is advertised; what people should be doing, eating, and even buying is told and shown which makes it seem like people’s choices are influenced and sometimes taken away. Even if one chooses, chances are likely that they will choose what is being advertised in front of them and all around them and those messages that are being directed at the person is bound to stick with them. “Adolescent weight control was promoted by popular magazines hoping to sell products to young women. As early as the 1920s American business has turned its attention to the youth market.” (251) Magazines like Seventeen started telling girls what diets they should use or how they should exercise not to be healthy but to be like and look like the models all over the magazines. They did not just have pictures but they had writing columns and tips and advices they sold to the girls and women who were a part of their audience and who looked for someone or something to guide them. In contrast there was a period in the 1940s, when magazines did start to own up and try to help young women, they did give out tips on nutrition and not using eating as form of emotional expression. In 1948, they started even educating young girls on overeating but they did not address the issue of diet pills like amphetamines (which was new and introduced in 1931), that had become a popular thing, which really made it worse because it gave those young girls/women in incentive to work with. (252) Although they helped, there was still a big issue because there were still a lot of advertisements shown for dieting and certain kinds of diet foods that drove girls to becoming anorexic. Over time, it feels like that just increased because now there are even more media outlets that reach millions of more people with these kinds of messages especially since the Internet and TV have become very popular. A lot of magazines still show and tell people how to diet and exercise and which way to get the best and the fastest results which can really lead people into unhealthy habits and behaviors. These can really lead to anorexia and other eating disorders that people might really struggle with and will probably continue to struggle with through out their whole life. One counter-thought is that dieting or exercising in an unhealthy way does not just automatically lead to anorexia, it is not an easy fix that solves problems but if it is done to an extreme and there is no control then it might be something that actually does happen and can be dangerous. Consequently, anorexia and other eating disorders can also be seen as a way to have control and also a way to express oneself.
By eating a certain way, the person is ultimately deciding how they look, how they eat and so on even if there might be an influence from the media. “Middle-class girls, rather than boys, turned to food and femininity and because girls’ options for self-expression outside the family were limited by parental concern and social convention” (251) . Girls in the 1900s did not have as much freedom as they wanted so one way they had a freedom was through their eating habits. They might not have had the opportunity to indulge in anything they wanted but they sure can and did decide on what they ate and how they looked. Food was seen as a way to express oneself during a time where there was limited ways in doing that. It was sort of like a security blanket: the person can get to decide whether or not they want to eat and if so then how much without having anyone else having a say. It also later led to resisting the food and dieting to achieve perfection or beauty. This can help because it gives the person something to focus on especially if they’re depressed or stressed and if their life is not going just right. It was like two sides of a coin, a way to deal with stuff but in different ways. It might be a means into trying to fix one’s problems but things can quickly change and your life can go downhill from
there. In conclusion, anorexia like other eating disorders is not something that is easy to live with. Not only does the person have to struggle with themselves mentally, but they had to also had to fight the physical aspects of the disorder by pushing away their urges and habits. Even though anorexia and other eating disorders were seen as diseases at some point, they are disorders that can be very fatal if proper treatment and help is not seeked. Although anorexia was described as a medical condition in the 1680s, it was not until the 1930s when doctors started to understand it as a disorder with both psychological and physical aspects. Which was around the time the media started picking up on it. The media really does have a big influence on eating disorders whether it is through having the perfect shape or through the food that’s being eaten or even other outside influences. Since the end of the twentieth century in the United States, the number of cases of eating disorders has gone up but it is everyone’s job to do their part and help out. Just like there are people that know more about eating disorders, there are many other people that do not know of the disorder(s) and that is when the media should be used as a weapon of information that can help and inform people instead of manipulating. Eating disorders can be something that can bring damage and harm to one’s life but if people start to understand why it should not be so romanticized especially through the media, than one can go to making smarter decisions in their daily life. The media should be used as a way to correct the wrong messages that have been ingrained in a lot of people and should be used as a way to promote a better way to living a healthier and happier lifestyle for everyone.
Next, media has an overwhelming power over women’s opinion of their own body. Everyday, the media does not have a problem displaying women that are extremely skinny, which may be a product of an eating disorder. Young women begin depriving themselves from food because they view these women on advertisements as acceptable and desirable to society.
“Eating disorders are ‘about’: yes, control, and history, philosophy, society, personal strangeness, family fuck-ups, autoerotics, myth, mirrors, love and death and S&M, magazines and religion, the individual’s blindfolded stumble-walk through an ever-stranger world.” (Hornbacher, 4)
The complications that accompany body image have long been an issue in society. Body image is the sense of how an individual views his or her own body as compared to others in society, or what is considered to be the ideal body image. There are many different factors that effect ones body image, but a major influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual participates in self-starvation, and bulimia is an eating disorder where an individual will eat as much as he or she wishes and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders that are associated with a negative body image. This comes to question, does media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which may inherently lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but is extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage in an individual’s lifespan there is a lot going on with ones psychological development as well as body. How an adolescent views his or her body image be highly impacted by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as might be expected from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If proper eating habits are not implemented negative body image and eating disorders that are associated with media becomes further predominant in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Our society today is heavily influenced by the media and the imagery it shows. Though it may be indirect, the media provides unhealthy messages about ideal body sizes, gender attractiveness, and weight control that make women view themselves in a negative way. Magazines, television, and movies influence teenage girls on what they believe their body image should be. The images they show set the standard of what is considered physically attractive in our society. With the use of photoshop, media depicts falsified images of models and actresses to create a perfected look that is unattainable by the average woman. This creates a desire among teenage girls to look like these stars that are often shown. When teenage girls look at these images, they compare themselves to those images, and then judge themselves based on these comparisons. These judgements can potentially lead to eating disorders. In order to prevent the risk of eating disorders among teenage girls, the media should depict a typical image of people, rather than idolizing a specific standard of beauty.
The media can impact people’s lives in many ways, whether it’s fashion, movies, literature, or hobbies. One of the impacts is how women view their bodies. Movie stars and models feel pressured to catch attention and to look good in order to have a good career in their respective field. People tend to judge how someone looks based on their body composition. The result of this “judgment” is that Hollywood is getting skinny. Since models and actresses serve as role models for people, people tend to want to look like them. The result of this seemingly harmless model of behavior is in an increase in eating disorders.
Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Most of us have come to appreciate ourselves for who we are. While other’s struggle to achieve the perfect body. They strive to be what is depicted in fashion magazines and movies. The never ending obsession to be the perfect size zero. This inevitably can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders can cause someone to have an unhealthy image of themselves and food is the enemy. In a national survey at the Mclean Hospital in Massachusetts it was estimated that over 9 million people suffer with eating disorders. They can struggle with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. A study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that most of these diseases start before the age of twenty. Another growing problem in the United States is obesity. Over 60 million Americans suffer from this disease, this according to the American Obesity Association (gale opposing viewpoints: eating disorders 2010).
Eating disorders have been a part of the world’s culture ever since people began recording history. These disorders were first recorded in Egypt, where the Egyptians would partake in a monthly purge that would last anywhere from an hour to as long as two weeks. The Egyptians thought the purge showed their gods how faithful they were to them, and would often purge weekly if they had thought they had done something to displease the gods (Epstein 33). Though there are many individual specialized eating disorder conditions, three main disorders affect the majority of society today. These three disorders are anorexia n...
Brontë was raised in the nineteenth century, a time in which many psychologists believe that eating disorders may have been more common than originally thought. With science and psychology still in their infancy, the victims of these disorders were said to suffer from either insanity, hysteria, or narcissism. Changes in the twentieth century society have led to a greater likelihood of an eating disorder being discovered, diagnosed, and reported. In the nineteenth century, however, girls
What is the perfect body type? Throughout our adolescence ages into the adult hood stage many of young women struggle to answer this question. Our idea of what the perfect body type is ever changing however it is always influenced by the Medias perception of what the perfect body image should look like. We all idolize these images we see on television and in magazines and some of us would do anything to look just like them. This image forces us to have self esteem issues.These advertisements are damaging both our mental and physical state of being Many young girls who take extreme measures to live up to the Medias perception of the perfect body type are more likely to develop one of the many body image disorders. The average age a girl starts to diet is eight ("Media and Eating Disorders" 1). When a girl becomes obsessed with dieting and looking better, they can easily become anorexic or bulimic. 79% of teenage girls who vomit are dedicated readers of woman's magazines ("Media and Eating Disorders" 2). The Medias standard of perfection puts stress and pressure on young girls to become skinner. Eating disorders, excessive exercise, and depression are a result of the Medias influence on their self image. The media have negatively influenced the self image of young girls by forcing their unrealistic perception of what women should look like onto them .
“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it is clear that, although virtually all women are exposed to these socio-cultural influences, only a very small proportion develop clinical eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik). Every article believes that socio-culture have an impact on eating disorders. Although, researchers believe that is not the only reason, and the easiest statement to make. Eating disorders are far more complicated than it just being blamed on the media. Bagley, Mazzeo and Bulik all state that media play a role in the development but are not the main reason to developing an eating disorder. In all of the research done thus far media is a part of eating disorders, but not the only culprit.
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.
Today, America is plagued with eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Compulsive Eating Disorders. Each has its own characteristics that distinguish the illness yet there are some similarities that they also share. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as with most mental illnesses, eating disorders are not caused by just one factor but by a combination of behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal and social factors. Shockingly, they also report that in the United States, there are as many as 10 million females and 1 million males that are battling with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Additionally, another 25 million are struggling with binge eating disorders (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org). Typically, psychological factors such as depression and low self-esteem contribute to eating disorders...
Ninety percent of the eating disorder cases occur in women ages twelve to twenty-five and many researchers believe the media is to blame. Though there is no single cause of an eating disorder, multiple studies cause an eating disorders to the media. With being vulnerable to the “thin ideal” in mass media, there is an increased risk of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. (“Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders”)
INTRO: “From the beginning of time the human race has had a deep and powerful relationship with food - if you eat you live, if you don't you die. Eating food has always been about survival, but also about caring for and nurturing the ones we love. However, with the added stresses of modern life, it has now become an expression of how we feel about ourselves and how we want others to feel about us.” That is a quote from Princess Diana’s speech on eating disorders that she gave on April 27th, 1993. Most people know at least one person who has or who has had an eating disorder and I believe that eating disorder awareness is important. Today I am going to share with you a little of Princess Diana’s life, the significance of her speech on eating disorders, and how the message promoted the betterment of society.
As a young child, my mother did not discourage us from eating the foods I liked. She always made sure I had a filling breakfast. She did not really mind if I wanted my favorite cereal for breakfast everyday. As long as I was satisfied, she was satisfied. This was not necessarily