The image issue has dominated us for centuries. Once upon a
time, the Israelites worshipped a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-35) because
they were dissatisfied with the wait for their promised land. And so, they hoped
this god would fulfill their desires.
Over the years, not much has changed.
As someone who is recovering from eating disorders and
negative body image, I can relate to thin image’s lure. I believed it would cure
my life. It didn’t.
Unfortunately, its dangled carrot promise still convinces many
of us to pursue it, no matter the cost.
“In the United States, 20 million women and 10
million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time
in their life, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating
disorder, or an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). For various
reasons, many cases are likely not to be reported. In addition, many
individuals struggle with body dissatisfaction and sub-clinical disordered
eating attitudes and behaviors, and the best-known contributor to the
development of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is body dissatisfaction.”
Used with permission.
Thin image’s importance
and disordered responses are not just a “girl thing.” Still, the reality is yes,
females are suffering.
*Maria is
sixteen. Currently residing in an inpatient treatment facility, she’s fighting
her care plan. She is Bulimic and a cutter.
Her treatment
facility recently increased their restrictions because, while there, she
attempted suicide on more than one occasion. Maria believes she’ll be happy only when she looks skeletal.
*Julie, a media
consultant, is fifty-five and Anorexic. Weighing ninety-three pounds at five
foot, six inches tall, she wants to be a size zero. Her rigid eating disorder
routine includes five hours of daily exercise (done at two in the morning,
before work) and a 200 calorie- a- day diet.
Julie refuses
treatment, fearful of the stigma on her career. She’s also ashamed to still be
struggling with Anorexia as a person in her fifties. However, she is convinced being
size zero is her answer.
Why Thin Image?
Because of my own
eating disorder experiences, I view the thin aesthetic message uneasily. In our
culture, it’s often synonymous with being attractive. And yes, the attractive
have their advantages…
“Attractive children are more popular,
both with classmates and teachers. Teachers give higher evaluations to the work
of attractive children and have higher expectations of them (which has been
shown to improve performance).
Attractive applicants have a better
chance of getting jobs, and of receiving higher salaries. (one US study found
that taller men earned around $600 per inch more than shorter executives.)
In court, attractive people are found
guilty less often. When found guilty, they receive less severe sentences.
The 'bias for beauty' operates in
almost all social situations – all experiments show we react more favorably to
physically attractive people.
We also believe in the 'what is
beautiful is good' stereotype – an irrational but deep-seated belief that
physically attractive people possess other desirable characteristics such as
intelligence, competence, social skills, confidence – even moral virtue. (The
good fairy/princess is always beautiful; the wicked stepmother is always
ugly).”
“Mirror, Mirror, A
Summary of Research Findings on Body,” Social Issues Research Center, www.sirc.org
Used with permission.
We’ve heard about
Anorexia and Bulimia in our society. And we tend to think of it as a white teenage
girl thing. But if we look closer, we discover it’s more widespread than that.
Thin
Image Doesn’t Discriminate…
Joyce* is unhappy
with her appearance. A young woman of twenty-five, she has suffered from abuse
for much of her life. Choosing food as her solace and coping mechanism, she now
struggles with her body image. She has recently taken matters into her own
hands, focusing on losing weight, no matter what it takes. She purges her meals
as part of that. And, so far, lost twenty pounds. Feeling empowered by that
accomplishment, she still, however, battles to feel good within her own skin.
She bemoans her physical body type and is convinced that if she is just thin
enough, like the Caucasian celebrities she sees, then she’ll be happy
and finally be free from her traumatic past.
Joyce’s reality chips away at the cliché eating disorder profile, which
is largely viewed as a Caucasian affliction. After all, in 1983, singer Karen
Carpenter’s fatal bout with Anorexia Nervosa first showed us the white female
sufferer. But disordered image and eating issues also exist for people of
color.
“74%
of American Indian girls reported dieting and purging with diet pills
Essence magazine, in 1994, reported that
53.5% of their respondents, African American females were at risk of an eating
disorder
Eating disorders are one of the most
common psychological problems facing young women in Japan.”
Used with permission.
There was, perhaps, once more protective insulation within non-Caucasian
communities. Emphasis was on cultural traditions, family pride and a positive
image aesthetic. But that insulation seems to have eroded. So, what happened?
Yes, the internet, the media, the fashion industry and Hollywood play a
role. They are the obvious scapegoats. But, maybe a more insidious explanation probes deeper, pointing to the presence
of the long-held- and yes, racist- thought which declares a hierarchy of
physical traits.
This thought states certain people are more beautiful, and therefore,
“better” than others. The value we designate to certain skin tones, body types
and physical features all feed that mindset. And thin image is often at the top
of the desirable traits list.
Therefore, with preferential treatment based on appearance, especially
when it’s a thin appearance, the
conclusion is reached; it’s best to resemble and change to that image.
So, non-Caucasian females are learning how to starve themselves and purge to obtain a thin body.
So, non-Caucasian females are learning how to starve themselves and purge to obtain a thin body.
This begs some disturbing questions. What is our personal definition of a preferred image; what does it really look like? What does the body
look like? What do we view as “beautiful?” Why do we believe certain traits
possess certain qualities?
And then, what are we going to do
with our honest answers to those questions?
But we’re not done with uncomfortable reality. For image/value
assessments often start much earlier than we realize.
Into The Minds Of Babes…
*Sophia, age
five, is afraid of getting fat. Watching her mother’s strict diet and exercise
regimen, she also has her own routine. Sophia counts calories and refuses to
eat any food containing fat. At a recent birthday party, she cried when she was
given a piece of cake. She is obsessed with any physical activity which will
help her lose weight.
“Girls as young as 6 years old
report a desire to be skinny, with 42 percent of first through third grade
females wanting to be thinner than they are.”
Eating
Disorders Online.com
Used with permission.
For the very
young, food refusal and selective eating are a couple of the disordered behaviors
practiced. But it goes beyond being a “picky eater.” Many avoid eating entire
food groups altogether for fear of gaining weight.
And both the
image- obsessed internet and our cultural landscape do not help with these
fears. “Thinsperation,” or “Thinspo” websites abound. These sites display emaciated
images, encourage drastic weight loss goals and offer advice on how to maintain
disordered eating habits. They are just a click away.
Add to that, the dominance
of image from advertising, celebrity culture and the diet and fashion
industries and how could an impressionable child not get the message? Being fat is unacceptable; being thin is a
must.
It was certainly familiar
to me. For my obsessions eventually became eating disorders; and they started
in childhood… with Barbie.
Barbie Thin...
During my thousands of hours of doll play, I was
preoccupied with her long legs, gravity-defying breasts and small waist. No,
Barbie didn’t help me create positive self-acceptance.
And really, how could she? After all, there once was a 1965
doll which came with a bathroom scale “accessory,” permanently set to 110
pounds.
(Fortunately, I didn’t
have that doll).
Yes,
even though she has had over one hundred and fifty careers, including
businesswoman and astronaut, the most popular doll still focuses on her appearance. 1992’s “Totally Hair Barbie,” according to the
Guinness Book of World Records, was Mattel’s bestseller with- you guessed it-
hair flowing from head to toe.
Indeed, most of Barbie’s controversy involves her image… and her
physique.
Years ago, while writing my book, I included a chart from the National Eating Disorder
Information Centre (NEDIC),
a Canadian eating disorders’ advocacy group. It illustrated how, as a real woman, Barbie’s measurements would be 39-
19-33, at six feet tall.
Those dimensions, however, are in stark contrast to the body of an
actual “real woman.” Her measurements read five foot, four inches in
height, a bust size of thirty-six to thirty- seven inches, a twenty-nine to
thirty-one- inch waist and forty to forty-two- inch hips.
And let’s not forget weight. According to NEDIC’s chart, Barbie,
at six feet tall, would weigh one hundred and one pounds.
But returning to our actual “real woman,” again, we see a
different picture; at five foot four, she weighs one hundred and
forty-five pounds.
And here’s where a toxic message appears to surface. Our culture often labels
this real woman’s data as fat- and undesirable. As a child, I bought
that concept. Barbie, with her exaggerated anatomy, was my representation of
the female body. And, throughout the years, she has mostly retained her rigid dimensions.
However, to its credit,
Mattel has endeavored to make changes.
First, in 1997, they widened the doll's waist. Then, in June
of 2015, the company announced they were further updating Barbie’s look,
offering eight different skin tones, 23 hair colors, 18 eye colors and 14
different “face sculpts.” On top of
that, Mattel created the option of interchangeable feet, to allow for the doll
to wear either flats or high heel shoes.
And, in February
of 2016, Mattel announced its selection of different body types.
Hence, the
unveiling of Barbie in “tall,” “petite” and “curvy” options, as well Mattel’s
continuation of its “original” doll.
The company,
apparently sensitive to decreasing sales and the negative association connected
to Barbie’s thin aesthetic, touted its goal to promote positive identification
models for every female out there.
Time and sales’
results will determine just how effective these dolls- and that supposed
intention- will be.
Not
Just a Girl Thing…
So far, we have seen the negative image impact on females. Unfortunately,
we’re not done. For thin image’s influence also reaches the male gender as well.
“1 in 10 cases of these disorders
involve males... Males are less likely to be diagnosed early with an eating
disorder.”
Used with permission.
When the
public learned of Karen Carpenter’s battle with Anorexia, eating disorders were
largely viewed as a female issue. Since then, we’ve learned how girls and women
often use starvation, dieting, binging and purging behaviors in pursuit of a thin
body.
But eating
disorders, involving males, go back centuries...
“A male teenager represents one of the first
documented eating disorder cases... In 1694, London physician Richard Morton
reported the first case of anorexia nervosa in a 16 year-old male.”
Used with permission.
However, because of the disorder’s female association, shame and a lack of treatment options are often
also another complicated part of the
male experience. Men often declare, “No one would or could help me” and “the
treatment facilities only treat women,” as they desperately seek help for
themselves.
Men can struggle with compulsive overeating, anorexia and
bulimia. These men can often come from a background of abuse and bullying,
especially if they were overweight during childhood and adolescence.
Therefore, disordered eating is employed to deal with those
painful and chaotic emotions. Laxative abuse and rigorous physical exercise are
just two destructive behaviors certain males discover to “work” for them.
*Steven, forty-eight, echoes this obsession. A hard- charging
“Type A” personality, he’s driven to keep up with the younger counterparts at
his law firm. Steven focuses on anything he can do to be Alpha Male. That
includes his ten- year obsession with compulsive exercise.
Initially started as an outlet to process his two divorces,
he is now addicted. Steven exercises six to eight hours a day, training for numerous
marathons. He meticulously charts his progress and discusses his regimented routine
in every conversation he has with colleagues and friends. He also collects fitness
magazines, protein powders and supplements, all to become the most masculine, successful
man possible.
“…I want to be first, I vehemently want to be first…So, I have struggled
and fought. I have done and abstained; I have tortured my body and risked my
life only for that- to have one plank on the stage where the imitators cannot
come, and one spot where they all fall back and cry, ‘Master!’”
Harry Houdini, in a 1910 interview, “Houdini, Tarzan and the Perfect Man:
The White Male and the Challenge of Modernity in America” by John F. Kasson
Used with permission.
Exercise: The Male Approach
to Disorder?
Disordered eating and image issues can often masquerade as
fitness. This is especially true concerning the male gender. Some individuals incorporate
excessive exercise to obtain their goals. Doing so supports a long-held societal
association which equates desirable image with external results and winning.
“A
comparison of the psychological profiles of athletes and those with anorexia
found these factors in common: perfectionism, high self-expectations,
competitiveness, hyperactivity, repetitive exercise routines, compulsiveness,
drive, tendency toward depression, body image distortion, pre-occupation with
dieting and weight.”
Used with permission.
And so, punishing hours of running, weightlifting, along with
steroid abuse and restrictive diets, are often enforced to achieve that “masculine”
look.
Likewise, other athletes, such as wrestlers and jockeys, engage in
their own disordered behaviors. For these
athletes, obtaining a lean, light weight is paramount for speed and for the
unforgiving “weigh in” sessions preceding each wrestling match and horse race.
Due to that exact weight reading, which qualifies them for competition, many
wrestlers and jockeys vomit, use diuretics, laxatives and extreme exercise
methods to “cut weight.” Again, it’s about possessing certain rigid results.
Crossing Sexual
Orientation Lines…
But it’s not just
male athletes who are affected; thin
image’s negative influence on the male population goes still further. Now, more
gay and bisexual males are also at risk.
“In one study, gay and
bisexual boys reported being significantly more likely to have fasted, vomited
or taken laxatives or diet pills to control their weight in the last 30 days.
Gay males were 7 times more likely to report binging and 12 times more likely
to report purging than heterosexual males.”
Used with permission.
*Jacob, age twenty-five, is gay, viewing his eating disorder struggles
as weak.
Loathing his overweight body, Jacob
suffers from Bulimia, regularly vomiting his enormous meals. He’s also obsessed
with the lean body standard presented in male fitness magazines. Jacob believes
if he could just look like his coveted magazine image, he could then be confident
and stop struggling with his sexuality.
“Conflict over gender
identity or over sexual orientation may precipitate the development of an
eating disorder in many males. It may be that by reducing their sexual drive
through starvation, patients can temporarily resolve their sexual conflicts.”
Used with permission.
For this
group, an aesthetic motivation is not the only painful factor driving harmful
mindsets and behaviors. Eating disorders and image issues can be further exacerbated
by such personal challenges as one’s coming out experience, the threat of
bullying/ violent gay bashing and rejection from family. These factors, indeed,
do nothing to help their already negative image beliefs.
Regardless
of gender or sexual orientation, thin image’s harm lies in its promise of
fulfilled dreams, acceptance and relevance. So, additionally, males, in both the straight and the LGBTQ
communities, may now feel the pressure to be potent, to attain washboard abs
and command a dominating presence in the workplace, the dating world and within
society itself.
Death By Thin:
Thin image holds
potent sway, with disturbing, indeed, sometimes deadly, results.
*Joshua wrestled with both Anorexia and
Bulimia for twenty years, before dying at the age of 41. Toward the end of his
life, he ate only two crackers a day and did thousands of push-ups each morning.
Over the years, he was repeatedly referred to therapy. However, there wasn't an
eating disorder program which specialized in the treatment of males within his
small town.
*Benjamin, dead at the age of 22, fought an eight-year battle with Anorexia. His
perfectionism created his desire for the six- pack abs. Therefore, in the
middle of doing his nightly 1,000 sit-ups, his heart gave out. He weighed less
than 80 pounds.
With
increasing frequency, thin image’s demand often employs life-threatening
behaviors in both genders.
Technologically Thin:
This
harsh reality, however, still has not changed its importance within our culture.
For when we fail with our human efforts, we go next to our trusty cure-all: technology.
*Britney, age fifteen, is in a competition with her friends
to get the most likes and comments about how thin her body looks on social
media. She wants to add slimming apps to her phone, but her parents have
refused. So, she uses camera angles and lighting. She compulsively edits each photo
before posting it and then nervously awaits the verdict. When she gets a rave,
she’s elated. When she gets no response, she’s inconsolable.
Social media has dictated the importance of selfies. So, when
our selfies are not thin enough, we can turn to image apps like SkinneePix,
SkinnyCamera and ThinBooth to rescue us.
The
SkinneePix app, for example, gives the user a thinner appearance by slimming the face
and neck and hollowing out cheekbones. Its creators insist it’s a motivational tool.
But these apps still emphasize
the goal of thinner image in their instructions. One app guides its user…
“…Touch the free mode option to
make your body slim or thin… In order to get the best results… chose the ‘slim’
option on the top of the screen… If it hasn’t adjusted your body to your
liking, tap ‘back’ and try again.”
Through technology, if nothing
else, we can shed weight, sculpt and remove our flaws. The all-important thin
image is, yet again, emphasized.
Une Lueur
D'Espoir ? (A Glimmer of Hope?)
But, perhaps, a healthier
message is on its way.
In April of 2015, France
instituted its ban on ultra-thin
models. It joined Israel,
Spain and Italy, countries who already refuse to use questionable-looking models
in runway shows, and in their print advertising.
Under the French law,
models must present medical certification, showing they possess a body mass
index of at least 18. This translates as 121 pounds, at 5 foot 7 inches tall.
And anyone below that BMI would be unable
to work.
Furthermore,
designers and agencies
employing models who fail to meet that criteria would be fined of up to $85,000
and sentenced to six months in prison.
So, are
things finally taking a healthier turn?
Not so fast.
For this law still has its
protesters. France's National Union of Modelling Agencies has criticized the
ban for "lumping together Anorexia and thinness."
And,
disturbingly, that appears to be the fashion industry’s response to disorder.
Repeatedly, we’re told how these models are just “naturally thin,” how they eat
healthy and have busy schedules. That’s often the explanation offered, rather
than addressing the behaviors of cigarette smoking, substance abuse and eating
disorders.
And, it still
doesn’t change the reality of the nation itself. According to the health
ministry, in France, alone, 40,000
people are estimated to have Anorexia, 90 percent being women.
That is far
from healthy or “naturally thin.”
Fashion’s Ugly Reality: Death
By Thin:
Disordered
eating and image can, indeed, be life-threatening. For, as much attention as we
give to supposedly “naturally thin”
models, how do we explain those who have lost their lives?
Maiara Galvao Vieira died of cardiac arrest at only fourteen
years old. She was Anorexic and weighed 84 pounds, at 5’7” tall.
Ana Carolina Reston, the “It Girl” for Dior and
Amani, died at 21 years old, from her
struggle with Anorexia and Bulimia. At 5'8”, she weighed 88 pounds at the time
of her death.
Hila Elmalich also died of heart failure, on her 34th
birthday; she had a 21- year battle with Anorexia. She reportedly weighed 60
pounds, at 5’6 inches tall.
Again, thin image has killed.
The Self-Rejection of
“Right Weight”
And it almost killed my mother.
Mom always wanted to
be thin; she often announced her goal of reaching her “right weight” as she
went on each diet.
As a child, I remember
seeing her food scale on the kitchen counter. Graph paper charts and calorie counting
books were also staples in our home. She was diet-obsessed, and, by the time I
was nine years old, she also believed
I needed to be too.
And so, an unhealthy
mother/daughter bond began. We flip- flopped from being “food buddies” to “diet
buddies” for years. That contributed to my eating disorder road of Anorexia, Bulimia,
self-hatred and a spiritual crisis, all hinging upon the statement…
“I am not acceptable until I’m at my ‘right weight.’”
Even though my mother believed
being thin was the answer, she still could not lose weight. For decades, she weighed
over two hundred and twenty pounds at five foot, two inches tall. And, since
2009, she has been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.
But who knows how many years she had this condition before that actual diagnosis? She
avoided seeing doctors. She isolated herself and overate. And, through numerous
dieting attempts, she tried to reach her “right weight.”
However, because of those choices, her blood
pressure skyrocketed and caused at least two strokes. And now, she resides in a
care facility, can no longer walk without a walker and spends most of her time
in her wheelchair. She’s on Metformin and Insulin, as well as a slew of other
medications to keep her blood pressure, blood sugar and assorted health issues stabilized.
Her weight currently rests at the one hundred and ninety pounds.
Yet, even now, whenever
I have attended her doctor’s appointments or care conferences, she mentions reaching
her “right weight,” one hundred and ten pounds. She still believes the perfection/happiness promise associated with “thin.”
She is convinced being at her “right weight” will fix everything.
Cancer: My Thin Side Effect?
Yes, I have been diagnosed with cancer, specifically, Breast cancer.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I have struggled with my own disordered eating issues, born out of trauma, further
complicated by the addictive tendencies within my family.
And yes, I grapple with an enmeshed, mother-daughter relationship I am
still challenged with to this day, as my mother’s caregiver.
For over twenty years, I have been in therapy, endeavoring to deal with
a myriad of painful issues. I’ve faced mistaken thoughts concerning body image
and size, conditional versus unconditional love, severe abuse and codependency
experiences. I’ve tried to make better choices and keep a healthy weight. I
have processed, written, and spoken about my feelings, emotions, and
experiences.
But, was all of this too
late?
Because, in 2017, I received my Breast cancer diagnosis. Going through
surgery and treatment were just the starting point of, once again, learning to
accept, love and take care of myself. I’m currently in “survivorship.” But that
is a fragile state of being. No one has a guarantee how things will turn out.
Recurrence is a possibility, no matter what healthier decisions I may make.
Do I blame
eating disorders for my cancer
diagnosis; should I?
It’s difficult for me to answer. As I’ve encountered already, from many
a medical professional, “We don’t know why someone gets cancer.”
Genetics? Maybe. Stress factors? Possibly.
Lifestyle choices?
Going back how
far?
Lifestyle choices when I was Anorexic? Bulimic? Obese? Lifestyle
choices as I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression?
I have often been haunted by the thought, “Is the damage already done?”
No matter what mental health, fitness, and diet choices I make now,
years later, is it all a moot point?
Did the danger of thin image cause my cancer? Will that cancer,
ultimately, end my life?
The Voice is Calling…
Thin image’s value flourishes in fickle beauty standards, in
the fashion industry, in our everyday society and in both genders of all ages, races and sexual orientations.
It can drive to dysfunction, disease and yes, unfortunately,
to death.
But we’re just scratching the surface. The value we give to
thin image can determine not just how we appear, but also how we live- and die.
It’s a disturbing voice, constantly beckoning; and it demands
our decision. When thin image calls, what is
our answer to it?
*Name has been changed
to protect privacy
Copyright © 2020 by
Sheryle Cruse
No comments:
Post a Comment