Watching the television recently, I've noticed a huge number of advertisements about body image. It seems I'm either more aware, or companies that sell beauty products are becoming more aggressive. I tend to believe it to be the latter. Too often voices come from the TV telling me how much better my life would be if I just lost a few pounds, if I had fewer acne breakouts, if I just wore the right clothes, had the right hair, the list goes on. I've always liked the way I looked, but with the intensity of these commercials, I've started paying more attention to my flaws. This seems to me to be a flaw in the system. It is not healthy for young girls to be told they need such and such to be remotely attractive. Some of these companies have tried to put a positive spin on the situation by saying they'll bring out the beauty that is already there or allow people to be themselves, but the message still ultimately says "You are not good enough".
One of my dearest friends fell into this nasty trap. Although she was beautiful, a healthy thin, she had herself convinced that she was too fat. Over the past few years, she has been in and out of the hospital, put on feeding tubes, and monitored around the clock to make sure she didn't die. Unfortunately, none of this has helped her image and today, she is once again sleeping in a hospital bed. Society needs to stop telling people they aren't good enough before there are more people like my friend who will never be good enough in their own eyes. I blame the media and my friend's need to be perfect mindset for her unhealthy habits, but I think she would still be healthy today if the media were not so persistent in telling her she is not good enough.
The problem with American Society today
By lennon12 - Posted on October 12th, 2008
That is a sad situation for you friend. I do believe that our culture which includes the televison advertisments and bombardments of "perfect" body images do effect young women adversely. Advertisments use our insecurities against us to purchase useless products. they eventually convince us that we are ulgy and too fat which is probably why we like to go on shopping sprees.. The ultimate solution, though, is high self-esteem. Young women need to realize these advertisments are false imagines and to not protray the true average women in society. that we are all beautiful, and dont need to take any pressures from society that is our right.
I agree that the media does a lot to make people feel bad about themselves. I actually read an article once written by an editor of a fashion magazine, where she admitted that every page is designed to elicit personal dissatisfaction. Otherwise, why would people need to read it:? Magazines especially, promise to give you the tools you need to be a better you, because ultimately, you are not good enough.
As for your friend though, I don't think it's fair to put all the blame on the media. Anorexia nervosa is actually a mental illness. It is a very complicated disease. While not always, it is often associated with abuse, mostly sexual abuse. It can also stem from having overly critical parents. For some girls, it is a response to being ignored by their father, while having to be witness to his blatant attention to other women. There are a lot of things that can trigger anorexia.
The point is, your friend's condition cannot truly be attributed to the media, especially because the perfect bodies we always see are not anorexic. Today's ideal body is athletic and curvy, unlike the 1970's when everyone wanted to be like "Twiggy" and cocaine use was at it's most fashionable.
Your friend ultimately suffers from a dysmorphic disorder. It is really an obsessive delusion that she is fat, which she is not. When people with severe anorexia look in the mirror, they actually see themselves as fat, even if they weigh 70 pounds.
"Consistency is not a human trait" - Maude, from Harold and Maude