Analysis Of The Globalization Of Eating Disorders By Susan Bordo

Bordo’s primary target audience are females, teenagers and possibly even advertising companies, where she too, creates an effective argument. Bordo claims we are influenced by media to believe that it is imperative to achieve the “slender ideal body” and reflects on how dieting has become normalized. She states “In the late nineteenth century, by contrast, the practices of body management begin to be middle-class preoccupations, and concern with diet becomes attached to the pursuit of an idealized physical body weight or shape” (Bordo 484). Bordo discusses the associations that have been created regarding body weight.

Bordo’s defines “body-image distortion syndrome” describing and stereotyping a North American white girl with money to buy fashion magazines, clothing, and parents that don't worry about putting food on the family table. Despite this description Bordo questions the reader if you have picture the syndrome to another person as Black, Latina, or Asian. Then, Bordo talks about Fiji and Central Africa and how fashion trends through media affected them differently, but at the same time with the same problem of weight loss. In Fiji island with the introduction of the television in1995, after three years in 1998, 11% of girls reported vomiting and 62% surveyed reported dieting during previous months. I think that the fashion industry is the one that

Magazines, TV, music, books, and movies help one make decisions and take action whether consciously or subconsciously. This large sphere of influence, however, is not always beneficial for those who suffer victim to these forms of public entertainment. The medias version of beauty, shames those who are considered overweight and scares almost everyone into thinking that being thin is the only way to be pretty. Jolene Hart emphasis how important beauty is in the American culture in her book Eat Pretty: Nutrition for Beauty, Inside and Out: “There’s a multi-billion-dollar industry built on helping us achieve greater physical beauty” (Hart 33). By creating this manipulated and untrue image of beauty, the American culture encourages eating disorders like anorexia (undereating) and sustains obesity (overeating).

American Psychiatric Association (1993), “Practice Guidelines for Eating Disorders.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 150 (2), pp 212-228. Arthur-Cameselle, Jessyca N., and Paula A. Quatromoni. " Factors Related to the Onset            of Eating Disorders Reported by Female Collegiate Athletes." Sport Psychologist         25.1 (2011): 1-17.

Practice Annotated Bibliography Feldman, M. B. and Meyer, I. H. (2007). Eating disorders in diverse lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40: 218–226. doi: 10.1002/eat.20360 This article examines the prevalence of eating disorders in lesbian, gay, and bisexual women and men.

EPIDEMIOLOGY Eating disorders and related behaviours are a common problem in pre-adolescents and adolescents. A recent study on a large sample of American young people (aged 9-14 years) found that 34% of boys and 43.5% of girls had some eating disorder trait. The pivotal effect on health has led to the inclusion of eating disorders among the priority mental illnesses for children and adolescents identified by WHO. The lifetime female prevalence rates (percentage of the population) are approximately 0.9% for AN, 1.5% for BN, 3.5% for BED, and 10% for subclinical disorders.

Body images and the ensuing and inevitable body shaming, has grown to become a pressing problem impacting the Canadian youth. With overweight rates at 65% and 30% for adults and children, respectively, one may see weight loss as the necessary solution to solve all body images stigmas. On the contrary, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are climbing steadily amongst today’s Canadian youth. (Derene & Beresin, 2006). With such drastic sides of the spectrum, many have pointed toward different potential reasons for this trend however, a key determinant that must be tackled in the role the media play’s in the lives of today’s youth.

“In the past, eating disorders were generally considered to be confined to young white females from middle-to-upper class families living in Western societies” (Caradas 112). Both studies exploit the false stereotypes associated with eating disorders and culture. Both parties believe that non Western cultures are being influenced by the “slim is beautiful” idea. Each view points out the false misconception that non Western cultures traditional ideas of being thick is related to health is protecting them from eating disorders. Studies prove all ethnicities have shown concern towards body shape and eating attitudes in recent years around the

Bordo’s perspective of femininity and its relationship with illnesses such as eating disorders, is that women are often the ones who fall into the cycle of anorexia or agoraphobia with the desire to stay ‘on trend’ with society or gain a sense of strength compared to male counterparts (Bordo 2017). Anorexia is an obsessive disorder by refusing to eat in order to lose weight, and

Eating Disorders in the United States 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life. Three issues Americans face in 2017 are anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders Something that could help is going to a counselor or doctor One major threat the U.S faces is people suffering from eating disorders. In the article “Get the facts on Eating Disorders” it states that “In the united states, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life.”

In “Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: The Development of Deviant Identities” By Penelope A. McLorg and Diane E. Taub, the many issues in today’s generation, as well as many before regarding societal norms state that we envision the idea of masculinity for men and thinness in women. As with many other norms, deviance, or not conforming to masculinity and thinness, results in negative sanctions. To avoid these sanctions, some turn to Anorexia Nervosa, intended starvation and excessive exercising and Bulimia, intended cycles of binging and purging/laxative abuse. Both showing forms of behavioral deviance and Anorexia embodying visual deviance. Within the past two centuries, Anorexia and Bulimia have become not just major health issues, but also social

The idolization of slim figures are blinding teenagers to believe it is a necessity to practice these methods. As Blaid describes society’s perspective, “If you develop an eating disorder when you are already thin to begin with, you go to the hospital. If you develop an eating disorder when you are not thin to begin with, you are a success story,”(26-27) this is to point out how society has manipulated the point of view on health conditions to be viewed as a

Media are platforms of mass communication that can be categorized as either new of traditional media, with new media being forms of communication that make use of technologies such as the Internet, and traditional media being more conventional forms of media such as newspapers. Media, primarily new media, is getting more popular and influential, especially in today’s day and age since we are exposed to it a lot more than in the past and also since media is more easily accessible now. The media can shape our behaviours, perceptions and opinions, and it is important to know how people are influenced and impacted by it. The media can influence someone’s perception of social reality, or perceptions of beauty or even influence people’s behaviours and habits and therefore, the media does shape who we are. One way that the media can shape who we are is by influencing our perception of social reality.

The ‘Teen Body Struggle’ temporary exhibition at the Red Cross Museum explores the wide issues regarding teenage anorexia, eating disorders and perceptions of beauty. Within the exhibit anorexia is portrayed as a largely physical disorder, however the Oxford English Dictionary defines anorexia as ‘a condition marked by emaciation, etc., in which loss of appetite results from severe emotional disturbance’. This suggests that it is just as much a mental concern. The idea that deterioration in mental health is the cause of the physical symptoms is a popular one. It is the notion that reason and sense perception result in severe weight loss, that eventually cause side effects such as loss of hair, shut down of organs or delays in menstruation (factors known from the AOK of natural sciences).

Men and women nowadays are starting to lose self-confidence in themselves and their body shape, which is negatively impacting the definition of how beauty and body shape are portrayed. “...97% of all women who had participated in a recent poll by Glamour magazine were self-deprecating about their body image at least once during their lives”(Lin 102). Studies have shown that women who occupy most of their time worrying about body image tend to have an eating disorder and distress which impairs the quality of life. Body image issues have recently started to become a problem in today’s society because of social media, magazines, and television.