Susie Orbach Losing Bodies Summary

A Summary of “Losing Bodies” by Susie Orbach

In “Losing Bodies,” Susie Orbach examines the influences that the media has on a person’s body. She gives insight on how many countries have really normalized plastic surgery because of Western influences and goes into detail about the different pressures people face about how their physical appearance compares to those we see on television or in our daily lives.

Orbach tells us the many instances in which media has had an effect on how people perceive their body. One instance is how a lot of mothers are now opting to have C-Sections at only eight months to achieve their pre-baby body by six weeks post-baby. The rise of this trend has been credited to celebrities who flaunt their post-baby bodies on magazine covers only weeks after giving birth. Another example of the media’s influence is when Friends started airing in Fiji. Before the show was broadcast there, there weren’t particularly any signs of bulimia, but three years later, it was reported

that 11.9 percent of teens were suffering from bulimia. The rise of bulimia in Fiji may not be related to the broadcasts, but considering how thin the women on the show were, it might have had some effects. Finally, a great example of how the media effects how we perceive “beautiful” bodies is a photographer who morphs models bodies together to create thinner and taller versions of them. This showcases the impossible “perfect” body which an impressionable teenager might perceive as normal, and, he or she might proceed to look at his or her bodies in shame.
The introduction of the BMI or the Body Mass Index is something that Orbach deems as also being influential in the Western world’s body image issue. The BMI tells us the acceptable weight for a certain height and vice versa. Health professionals use the BMI to “decree what is an acceptable body and they then provide contracts to diet companies to regulate the unacceptable” (Orbach 246). These diet companies “regulate” the unacceptable bodies by telling us to join their “lose weight fast” programs that are only going to put money in their pockets. I believe Orbach’s point is that these companies are acting like they’re helping the general public when they’re only helping themselves.
As a reaction to the Western ideals of beauty, many people in different countries have turned to cosmetic surgery.

In these countries, cosmetic surgery have become the new trend. In Shanghai, breaking your thighs to become taller is the new trend. “In South Korea, 50 percent of teenage girls have double eyelid slit operation to Westernize the look of the eyelid” (Orbach 246). These odd operations are not only growing popular, but they’re also making the government rich. Countries such as Argentina and Singapore have found ways to profit of off people’s insecurities. Argentina, for example, has offered people with health insurance the right to two cosmetic surgeries annually or biannually. Singapore has turned cosmetic procedures in to a tourism attraction by opening a center for it. The popularity of cosmetic surgery has made those with unique appearances feels as if it’s a flaw. It took away their uniqueness and made them conform to society’s standards of what beauty

is.
Lastly, Orbach tells us about the relationship between mothers and daughters. According to her, the mother influences how her daughter is going to feel about her own body when she grows up. Seeing her mother being worried about her body will only cause the daughter to be more attentive to how her body should look. Orbach makes her point when she mentions the rise of the camera. When the mother takes a picture of her baby, she might add some effects to make the baby cuter and then post it on social media. This type of behavior is preparing the child for the body image issues that are persistent in today’s society. Perhaps Orbach is telling us that these issues are first introduced at home and carry on in the media.