2008 Woodie Awards
No body is perfect
Heather Waxman, Collegian Columnist
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Editorial / Opinion
Food.
For decades, this subject has proved to be an uphill battle between women and the media, and has recently reached a disturbing, all-time high.
From newspapers to television to radio to the Internet, the press sets impossible standards for women to achieve, calling the super thin too skinny and the healthy overweight. These absurd standards only fuel the staggering number of eating disorders.
Susan Bordo tackles this in her essay titled "Hunger as Ideology." In it she notes that women with eating disorders crave a "state they aspire to" that is "beyond appetite, beyond desire."
Namely, eating-disordered women are stimulated by the mysterious and phony world of retouching. Models and celebrities are made to look virtually flawless and are expected to convey that notion.
Scrolling through magazines, from advertisements to full-page spreads, these public figures are skyrocketed to a degree of perfection.
Although women with eating disorders know these photographs are a bogus facade, they ironically provide a great deal of willpower for those with the dreadful battle of the brain.
In a civilization filled to the brim with scrutiny over a woman's body, it seems almost impossible for women to knock the blasted devil off their left shoulder. Week after week, entertainment programs and tabloid magazines flash the latest celebrity diet and exercise regimens "guaranteed" to make women drop the pounds.
At the close of the summer, Star Magazine released a special "Summer Weight Winners and Losers" issue, analyzing the frail from the fat.
Likewise, People magazine recently reported actress Jessica Alba's routine that she implemented to acquire her post-baby body.
Not once was health cited in either of these accounts. All attention remained on how the celebrities lost the weight, not whether they were feeling energetic and healthy.
It is no wonder then that women, young and old, cannot help succumbing to the notion that a thinner body is a better body.
For decades, this subject has proved to be an uphill battle between women and the media, and has recently reached a disturbing, all-time high.
From newspapers to television to radio to the Internet, the press sets impossible standards for women to achieve, calling the super thin too skinny and the healthy overweight. These absurd standards only fuel the staggering number of eating disorders.
Susan Bordo tackles this in her essay titled "Hunger as Ideology." In it she notes that women with eating disorders crave a "state they aspire to" that is "beyond appetite, beyond desire."
Namely, eating-disordered women are stimulated by the mysterious and phony world of retouching. Models and celebrities are made to look virtually flawless and are expected to convey that notion.
Scrolling through magazines, from advertisements to full-page spreads, these public figures are skyrocketed to a degree of perfection.
Although women with eating disorders know these photographs are a bogus facade, they ironically provide a great deal of willpower for those with the dreadful battle of the brain.
In a civilization filled to the brim with scrutiny over a woman's body, it seems almost impossible for women to knock the blasted devil off their left shoulder. Week after week, entertainment programs and tabloid magazines flash the latest celebrity diet and exercise regimens "guaranteed" to make women drop the pounds.
At the close of the summer, Star Magazine released a special "Summer Weight Winners and Losers" issue, analyzing the frail from the fat.
Likewise, People magazine recently reported actress Jessica Alba's routine that she implemented to acquire her post-baby body.
Not once was health cited in either of these accounts. All attention remained on how the celebrities lost the weight, not whether they were feeling energetic and healthy.
It is no wonder then that women, young and old, cannot help succumbing to the notion that a thinner body is a better body.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Jill
posted 12/02/08 @ 3:00 PM EST
eating disorders are about a lot more than just food and weight, which i feel you neglected to address at any point in your article. speaking from experience, the food and weight piece for anyone with an eating disorder (men included) is just a symptom of the disease. (Continued…)
Sasuke
posted 12/03/08 @ 4:44 AM EST
Hang on a second here, let's flip this issue. What about double the number of teens who are obese because people tell them it's okay to be fat. There is nothing wrong with that? It's just as unhealthy as emulating a super model. (Continued…)
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