Plaza
Plaza1
Alexis PlazaMs. Meagher-DielloEnglish11 June 2013Anorexia: Heard
at Last?Anorexia nervosa is an emotional disorder characterized by
an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Many women
between teenage years and their young adult years obtain this
through the desire to be extremely thin. Societys perception of a
thin body as the perfect body type fabricated the road for anorexia
nervosa in females. When seeing a super model being toothpick thin
praised and loved, women want to live that lifestyle.
When it comes to the topic of anorexia nervosa, most of us will
readily agree that it is a danger to a persons health. Where this
agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether it
is the individuals choice or the medias influence that leads to the
desire. Whereas some are convinced that The messages from the
fashion industry, the media, Hollywood, and society in general are
enough to brainwash young girls into thinking theyve got to lose
weight- that there is some ideal weight out there just waiting for
them to under eat their way to, others who maintain that there is
indeed some magical weight for women, and it appears to be one
ounce on the correct side of anorexia. (Cockburn, Lyn. "The Skinny
on Skinny." Herizons Magazine Winter 2008: Vol. 21 No. 3 56)
Ultimately, what is at stake here is the health of young
females.
Although anorexia is more common in females than in males, there
is a higher level of females that have been diagnosed with anorexia
in multiple entertainment industries, such as dance. The dancers
have either suffered from the disorder. In fact, statistics show
that out of the 101.8 percent of ages sixteen to twenty-four
females with anorexia, dancers were among the mix. In early
February, Judith Mackrell wrote an article about a dancer who was
shunned from her dance company over claims of anorexia. She
comments on the movie Black Swan and how it led to stereotypical
views. She writes, As the brouhaha surrounding Natalie Portmans
disturbed and anorexic ballerina in the Black Swan, the issue of
female dancers and their body weight is an issue we cant seem to
let go of. (Mackrell, Judith. "The Light Fantastic?" The Guardian
Magazine February 7, 2012: 18). Many individuals often see thin
dancers and associate them with some type of eating disorder. From
Balanchines time, the dancers were often very lean and through the
years, a performer with this body type has maintained that way. The
dance industry has suffered with this controversy along with
others.
The modeling industry has been under fire for having models who
were too thin for years. Many models would just go on a diet of
lettuce and diet coke before a show or a shoot. As gorgeous as the
models were, they often developed anorexia and, unfortunately, some
cases were fatal. That all started to change in Israel when agents
would tell models that were too thin to gain weight or get off the
runway. In an interview, Adi Barkan, comes to an important
realization after meeting with teen females and adult females. I
saw them all- children, women- everybody wanting to be
good-looking. When I asked them, What does it mean? they said, The
girls that you shoot. Then I understood that we are the problem
(Rubin, Shira. "Israel Tells Underweight Models to Gain Weight or
Get Off the Runway." Christian Science Monitor January 4, 2013: 1)
Adi and several other advocates had a bill passed stating that
models must have document with them at all time stating that they
are in a healthy weight and perfect health. After the bill was
passed, the death rates of females that had anorexia dropped
significantly, making women believe a curvy body was a beautiful
one.
Be you and be okay with it. This is the quote that all women who
have been diagnosed with this disorder should think of. Seeing a
toothpick thin model may be considered as beautiful, but so is a
well-curved, well-rounded female. This issue should not be swept
under the rug. Why does suicide get more attention than anorexia?
If thought about thoroughly, anorexia is a form of suicide. A woman
slowly kills herself by not eating. It happens day after day with
many women, but no one notices. So, are they just left to die, or
will they be heard?
Works CitedCockburn, Lyn. "The Skinny on Skinny." Herizons
Magazine Winter 2008, Vol. 21 No. 3 56Mackrell, Judith. "The Light
Fantastic?" The Guardian Magazine February 7, 2012: 18Rubin, Shira.
"Israel Tells Underweight Models to Gain Weight or Get Off the
Runway." Christian Science Monitor January 4, 2013: 1
