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| *Women health>>>Eating Disorders |
Blame the media for teen eating disorders? |
I'm not going to lie, I have my share of weight issues & body image problems just like every other girl. We could make the media our scape-goat. (Because everybody knows the media is responsible for every school shooting, violent act, and eating disorder ever.) But the media only puts out what they know we'll consume. (And, heck we're American's - we know how to consume.) Sex sells. So does sex appeal. Because we"consume" it. Consumers try to live to the model's standard. But the model's live to the consumer's standards. Thin sells. Full lips. Small noses. Large eyes. And even bigger breasts. "Perfect" doesn't exist naturally. That's why even models and movie stars are airbrushed within an inch of their lives in magazines. That's why plastic surgery is so popular. "Perfect" sells. It also paints an unrealistic picture of the human body. So who do we have to blame? We buy the stuff. One interesting fact about eating disorders is that they are culturally specific illnesses. Some mental illnesses happen at the same rate regardless of culture, for instance schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Some illnesses though are culture specific such as anorexia and bulimia. Many non-western cultures do not have eating disorders. They simply do not exist outside of cultures that put so much "weight" on the ideals of being thin. That said, can we blame the media for making us this way? Studies show that when western television is introduced to non western cultures, eating disorders rise. For example in Fiji, after three years of western programming the number of teenagers admitting that they vomit to control their weight increased FIVEFOLD. The media does perpetuate the cultural norms that encourage eating disorders. It's not so simple to blame the media though. The media is a product of our culture, yet it perpetuates our culture. It's a chicken-or-the-egg dilemma. We create the media, and we consume it which encourages its further creation. The only answer is to stop being consumers of the media. Is it an addiction we can take control of or have we created a monster that we can no longer contain? Source(s): http://www.hms.harvard.edu/news/releases... Well said... very well said. We all have choices, just like the parents of obese 6 year olds that blame the media but one has to ask.... Is it the media that drives the 6 year old to the fast food chain to buy the crap they eat? I suspect not. We have become the kind of society that wont step up and take responsibility for our own actions or accidents anymore, just look at when someone falls over while taking a walk... finding a lawyer is almost on top of the list of things to do. We have become a greedy society in almost everyway. I have an eating disorder, and no one is to blame. It's a disorder, it doesn't come from too much Vogue! Its not the media's fault that I got my anorexia and bulimia ( don't have it now but I had a hard time getting over it ). Mine was mainly control issues and bad self esteem Then again... my self esteem issues were caused by the media telling me what is beautiful and what is not. I have stumped myself. But yes the media is trying to sell an almost impossible image to young girls. You're right, the media is mostly to blame. But only mostly. Every girl wants to be normal, whatever thats supposed to be. Though I don't know what normal is, I do know that haveing a thin figure only round off into big features is not not normal. Those girls look like if they lean forward, they'll fall and can't get up. But back to the question...it's not just the media. It's guys too. Like when you're talking to a guy and some disproptionate chick walks by, and his gaze follows her. It's like, "Is THAT what it takes to get just a little bit of your time?" Then you start feeling insecure about your features and you could be hot! So no, the media is not completely to blame I have some sort of eating disorder, though i cant blame anyone, not even the media, I do sometime fell like i want to look like nicole richie. |
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