Summary Of The Globalization Of Eating Disorders By Susan Bordo

In the passage, “The Globalization Of Eating Disorders” Susan Bordo makes it clear that eating and body image problems are changing no mater race, gender, or nationality. The reader can determine Bordo’s point and position through her thesis statement in paragraph three; “Eating and body image problems are now not only crossing racial and class lines but gender lines. They have also become a global phenomenon. (Bordo 3) Bordo starts off by describing the typical white North American girl with anorexia. The common characteristics of the stereotypical anorexic girl has a demanding mother, a family that never had a problem putting food on the table and she is an extreme perfectionist. The typical girl with an eating and body image problem usually comes to mind as a white girl, you wouldn’t expect this girl to be of another nationality. Through different scenarios Bordo shows how the same problems are spreading to different cultures, races, and places

You’d think the African American girl would be a bigger girl but in this case she has anorexia. She says she “feels like a traitor to her race.” (Bordo 3) She also says she would “rather die than gain a single pound.” I believe anorexia is a problem but I don't agree that she should feel like a traitor to her race. Everyone was made different and it’s ok to embrace your differences but if it is effecting your health or well being you should get some help. The second example was in Fiji, which did not have a eating and body image problem until the television was introduced in 1995. Just three years later, “11 percent of girls reported vomiting to control weight, and 62 percent of the girls surveyed reported dieting during the previous months.” (Bordo 4) This is evidence that television had an effect on body images. I believe once television started to broadcast many women noticed the difference between themselves and the actresses and what seemed to be