Kelli Miller-Myus 1
(Section One)
Disordered eating patterns among females have shown a marked increase in the past twenty-five years. I have chosen disordered eating patterns in women as my topic because I too have fallen pray to the cultural constraints of femininity and the female body. At age sixteen I developed a disorder called bulimia nervosa. I would eat small amounts of food and then purge by either excessive exercise or vomiting. As I entered my college years my small amounts of food evolved into larder portions. I was unable to devote two-three hours a day to working out so I began using laxatives as well as increased vomiting. It was only after seeing one of my aunts hospitalized for the same disorder that I decided to seek help. In April 2001, I started a support group for young women who struggle with disordered eating patterns. In trying to understand my own struggles with bulimia I have researched and studies the psychological as well as biological factors that contribute to disordered eating; yet I had not really considered the social factors which play a large role as well. I hope to take the knowledge and life experiences I have gained concerning these issues and use it to educate and empower young women in my community.
(Section Two)
More women today fear being fat than nuclear war (Berzins, 1997). According to the National Eating Disorders Association (2002), over ten million women struggle with disordered eating patterns including anorexia nervosa and bulimia. This matrix of eating disordered vulnerability has bled through every fabric of our culture crossing lines of class, ethnicity, and age. The obsession with thinness has even infected young girls; nearly eighty percent have attempted dieting by age thirteen (Bentz 1994). The cult of femininity has folds of believers performing ritualistic activities; all devoted to achieve this unrealistic thin ideal no matter the cost.
Such ritualistic devotion results in chronic disordered eating patterns. According to sociologist Jullian Croll (2005) eating disorders have become so rampant that they make up the “third most common chronic illness, after obesity and asthma”. There are many sociological factors which contribute to this epidemic. For the sake of brevity I have focused on three primary factors: mass media, gender socialization, and parental modeling/reinforcement; all key players in this deadly game.
Media outlets such as television, movies, style magazines, and advertising set cultural standards of beauty. These various forms of media have normalized an unrealistic appearance ideal which encourages the development of body dissatisfaction. In normalizing severely underweight body types the media sends a message that this is what every woman should look like. For example a healthy female of normal weight has between twenty-two and twenty-five percent body fat; yet the media presents actresses and models that have less than ten percent body fat as being the norm (Heilman 1998). Most women depicted on sitcoms, movies, and in fashion magazines are uniformly thin and beautiful. There are a large number of media personalities such as model Ellie McPherson and actresses Courtney Cox and Cameron Diaz who meet the body mass physical criteria for anorexia (Univ. of Michigan 2002). Women outside these ‘norms’ are rarely portrayed in the media. In a study conducted by sociologist McElroy (2000) on prime-time situational comedies, seventy-six percent of female characters were below average weight and only five percent were above. Over time females begin to internalize this normalized thin ideal. Petrie and Tripp (2001) argue that females who internalize this unrealistic ideology are likely to develop significant body dissatisfaction which usually evolves into disordered eating patterns.
A second role the media plays in perpetuating this unrealistic thin ideal is by influencing males’ expectations of female appearance. Males, young and old alike, are constantly bombarded by tall, thin, large-breasted media personalities such as Paris Hilton and Angelina Jolie. Not only that but they are inundated with impossible beauty displayed in a number of magazines and advertisements. Feminist Jean Kilbourine (2000) argues that this beauty being portrayed is “impossible” for most models and actresses to live up to. She further states that technology has gotten to the point where it can use “body parts from different women to form one image”; essentially creating a woman who does not even exist (Kilbourine 2000). Naturally males begin to internalize these indirect messages and therefore begin to judge females by unrealistic standards. Furthermore, this constant exposure to the thin ideal skews males’ concept of social reality and reiterates gender stereotypes.
Gender socialization plays a significant role in influencing disordered eating patterns among women. In order for a woman to be considered feminine, successful, in control, and desirable by men she must attain the cultural thin ideal. This places an external value on women turning them into decorative objects rather than individuals with the powers of reason, intellect, compassion, and life. Bishop (2004)argues that objectification of women is one manifestation of patriarchy. Labels such as ‘catch’, ‘blond bombshell’, ‘piece of ass’ are all common terms men use when referring to women. Objectifying terms such as ‘prize’ or ‘score’ conceptualize females as nothing more than ‘sport’. In most sports the goal is to score as many points as possible, win the game, and take home the ‘trophy’ or ‘prize’. Yet while women are viewed successful by the exterior, ‘trophy wife’, males are defined successful by their occupational achievements, intelligence, and socioeconomic status. As a result women who do not meet the cultural standards of thinness are considered less valuable than there thin counterparts. Sociologist Bishop (2004)reports that overweight women are more likely than overweight men to be discriminated against at the work place as well as loose social status; twenty percent are less likely to get married.
Constantly being viewed as a sexual object by males, most of who dominate the religious, political, occupational, and family sectors can cause women to feel a loss of control over their personal lives and surroundings. This imbalance of control can lead some women to turn to the one thing they can control; there weight (Minn 2004). Some women create the illusion of order and control by being ‘disciplined’ in their eating and exercise habits. With all this in mind it’s not surprising that fifty-four percent of women between the age of eighteen and twenty five would rather get “run over by a truck than gain a hundred and fifty pounds” (Hart yr 2003 p. 287).
All of this suggests that our social structure places females in a position of less power and
status than males. It’s unfortunate that in the twenty-first century there is still a large portion of
society who assumes females are inferior to males. In their book Women, Men, and Society
sociologist Renzetti and Curran (2003) present Bem’s enculturated lens theory which addresses
several cultural assumptions concerning women ‘place’ and how they should look, feel,
and act. Bem calls these assumptions “gender lenses” (2003: p81). Androcentrism is one gender
lens by which our culture views both the male and female experience. According to Bem,
androcentrism refers to both the notion that males are “superior to females” and that males and
their experiences are the “normative standard” (2003 p.81). As a result women’s’ ascribed status
ends up defining their membership to an unequal social category. The sociologists Bentz,
Mintz, and Speakman (1994) argue that this unequal status affects adolescent girls causing them
to feel more “miserable” and depressed than boys. Bentz et al. (1994) study further reveals that
the average adolescent female is more “anxious, insecure, depressed and self-conscious” than her
“male counterpart”. Gender discrimination such as this can influence adolescent girls to be
dissatisfied with their bodies, desire approval from members of superior social categories, and
develop a by any means possible mentality which can evolve into disordered eating patterns
(Forbes 2001).
Parents are instrumental in modeling and reinforcing cultural norms and values to their children. One way in which parents transmit cultural values about desirable body weight and shape is by modeling weight loss behaviors. In a study by the sociologists McLorg and Tawb (2000), victims of anorexia nervosa and bulimia reported that their fathers had preoccupation with exercising and their mothers an “engrossment” with food preparation and dieting practices. Paxton (1999) has reported that mothers are more likely than fathers to engage in modeling excessive weight loss practices as well as frequent dieting with their daughters. Social Learning Theory supports the notion that children tend to imitate the same-sex model (Jacklin 1989). Therefore it is likely that mothers who model unhealthy weight loss practices are more likely to have their daughters imitate their behavior than their sons. These unrealistic expectations are being passed down generation after generation; mother to daughter perpetuating the cycle of disordered eating patterns.
A second way parents can relay their values about weight and the cultural thin ideal is by positively reinforcing weight loss and dieting behaviors. A basic principle shared in social learning theories is behaviorism (Renzetti & Curran 2003). One key idea of behaviorism is reinforcement; a behavior consistently followed by a reward will likely occur again and visa versa (Renzetti & Curran 2003). An observational study conducted by sociologist McLorg and Taub (1987) on females with disordered eating patterns revealed that they were given “extraordinary” amounts of positive reinforcement and “approval by their parents” as they began to lose the weight (p. 439). These women were labeled as “fashionable”, “well-groomed”, “victorious”, and “neat” by parents and family members (McLorg & Taub 1987: p. 440). With some of the girls this positive reinforcement continued to the point where there were obvious signs of emaciation (p. 440). Parents have become so indoctrinated into this cult of femininity that they reinforce their daughters’ weight loss even as they are knocking at deaths door!
As the primary agent of socialization it is the parents’ job to provide their children with lenses of truth and expose the lies of this unrealistic thin ideal. It is the parents’ responsibility to provide an environment where healthy identities can be fostered. Both fathers and mothers alike must teach their children that healthy eating and moderate exercise is the key to a healthy body; not dieting to achieve an ideal that less than five percent of females can naturally attain (Banks 2003). Parents must model balance concerning food intake, exercise, and consumption of health and beauty products.
(Section Three)
It is our responsibility to combat the negative influences of mass media, gender stereotyping and poor parental modeling/reinforcement. For it are these intersecting factors which continue to perpetuate an unrealistic deadly ideal. Exposing the lie and redefining beauty will help to improve young as well as older women’s feelings about their bodies; however this will require a major overhaul in our cultural attitudes and values. There is no quick fix. As stated previously, parents must start to provide their children with lenses of truth. Next we can educate the up and coming generation; male and female alike. I strongly believe that our educational system must provide an environment where girls can be taught to deconstruct these cultural lies. By fostering confidence and self worth young women can begin to reconstruct their identities of worth, strength, personal health, and inner beauty. A second way to encourage an environment for change is for teachers to provide a more egalitarian environment in the class room. The curriculum taught must include a significant representation of women and their contributions to American and world cultures.
After researching this subject, I have gained a clearer understanding of the social factors that have contributed to my personal battle with disordered eating. We must take preventative measures by educating and empowering young girls teaching them that who they are does not come from with out but within. I also would like to eventually start another support group for young women who are struggling to break free from the cultural constraints of femininity and the female body. This is a large task, but we must start somewhere. Women, young and old alike, have been imprisoned to this unattainable thin ideal and it’s our job to help set them free.
Work Cited
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