All Dolled Up -'Bare truth' Disturbing: Girls Fixated on Body Image

South Bend (Ind.) Tribune ^ | January 26, 2003 | JULIE YORK COPPENS

[A CA Guy]

Don't we need some Anna Kournikova pictures to represent one of the ideals in this thread?

[Desdemona]

The cause is culture-wide and includes everything from "reality" TV shows to the explosion of pornography and sex-drenched "women's magazines."

I don't think it's that simple. The women out there who are comfortable with their body image are the ones who don't care what anyone thinks of them - men or women. You have to think more of yourself than what other people think of you just to be happy.

Believe me, women are harder on each other when it comes to body image than real men (not boys in men's bodies) ever would be. Most of our lives, socially, are set around approval. If that approval isn't there, we set out to change that. For example, I have longish hair. Most women (including a sister and my grandmother) are after me to cut it shorter. Nope. Ain't happenin'. I'm trying to attract other women and short hair is too much work. This has caused many a fight.

Approval for teens is peer oriented and right now and their taste hasn't been molded at all. That's part of it. I think to an extent security and self-worth (not self-esteem) is pretty low right now. Where this comes from, I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet that part of it is mothers with careers.

What do I know? I was just once a teen-age girl who watched friends go through anorexia and bulemia, had the opposite problem myself for a time, and learned the hard way that you have to think more of yourself than what you see in the mirror. Otherwise, happiness will never be.

[Brookhaven]

Just another example that moderation is the key to life.

And this is true for men also. Want to find the unhappiest man on the block? Look for the guy that married a woman just for her looks.

Good looks are like desert. A great treat, but you can't live off of it. After a while you start craving real food, and if you don't get it then that desert starts looking pretty bad to you.

[Nick Danger]

Sex is power, at least for young women, so why would we be surprised that they would seek to maximize it? Like all things though, the power of sexual attraction has within it the seeds of its own destruction. It is subject to a kind of inflation, a debasement of the currency. With provocation everywhere, a girl has to be damned provocative these days in order to do any serious provoking. This seems to be a one-way trip toward a kind of sexual ennui where men get so jaded by it that only the most stunning women actually see any gain from it. In pursuit of power, these girls are rendering themselves powerless.

The world is designed extremely well. People should have more respect for the world's ability to tolerate, and correct for, excess.

[Brookhaven]

Shouldn't we be attacking the more serions problem first?

Can't we do both?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

serions?

[WVNan]

True, it goes directly back at the parents while the girls are younger. Teens pretty much behave according to the way they have been raised. Of course there are exceptions as in all things. I'm still not sure how much of this phenomena can be attributed to culture vs. nature. With the majority of creatures in nature it is the male who "displays" in order to attract a mate. With human animals it would appear that it is the female who displays. So we can't make blanket assumptions that the display is abborant behavior. Extremes of the behavior may be alarming, as are extremes in all things. JMH observation.

[Dionysius]

Your point's made. Extremes in almost all respects (except patriotism and the protection of the unborn) are dangerous.

[68skylark]

Can't we do both?

Yeah, I guess.

I was trying to make a point that journalists seem to make a big deal about anorexia, yet they seem to write far less about obesity, which seems to be the far more serious problem.

I was just wondering if anyone agreed with this observation.

[Desdemona]

I was trying to make a point that journalists seem to make a big deal about anorexia, yet they seem to write far less about obesity, which seems to be the far more serious problem.

Yes, it is. A lot of it can be traced to nerves and anxiety put in the mind by well-meaning parents and other kids in school who literally say, "I don't like you because your fat."

[68skylark]

A lot of it can be traced to nerves and anxiety put in the mind by well-meaning parents and other kids in school who literally say, "I don't like you because your fat."

Are you saying that disapproval of obesity causes obesity? Would it be logical to say that if we approve of obesity and embrace it then it will diminish? I might have some trouble agreeing with that theory.

[Billthedrill]

The boys get it too, albeit in seemingly smaller numbers. You now read of steroid abuse reaching junior high school levels.

It strikes me that modern popular culture has put a premium on youth ever since motion pictures, and accelerated a good deal since the advent of television, possibly due to the dynamic nature of these media in emphasizing physical activity. Just a thought and I throw it out for comment - that's what FR's for, after all.

I think it is pernicious to be telling adolescents "this is the prime time of your lives, don't miss it - you'll be miserable when you're old." To be honest, I can't think of a single aspect of life that isn't better for me at 50 than at 16, whether it's disposable income, accumulated knowledge, even physical development, and the latter hasn't taken a huge amount of effort. Well, there is a certain reduction in the frantic nature of sexual excitement, but then that pre-gym-class boner dread isn't really high on my list of quality of life issues.

It may be that one cure for this is to let young people know that aging isn't really all that bad, in fact it's considerably preferable to the alternative of making a good-looking corpse, James Dean despite. He'd be 72 this year...

[Desdemona]

Are you saying that disapproval of obesity causes obesity?

If approval from parents, friends and grandparents is denied, and chunckiness seems to be the cause, what's going to happen? The kid is going to go to the freezer and get an ice cream. Or eat a chocolate bar. It makes you feel better.

It's an endless cycle.

[68skylark]

I think it is pernicious to be telling adolescents "this is the prime time of your lives, don't miss it - you'll be miserable when you're old." To be honest, I can't think of a single aspect of life that isn't better for me at 50 than at 16....

Yes, that is an outstanding point.

It's not true for everyone but I know it's true for me. I bet a lot of men would say the same.

Is this phenomenon common for women as well?

[underthesun]

It is true that over eating can be very dangerous but it is not nearly as prevelent in our society. Anorexia and Bulimia are far more common. And a lot of overeaters or compulsive eaters binge and purge and can be more classified as bulimic. I'm truely not try to insult you but I think you ought to look at the sites below. There is a lot of good info on these and other sites and you might understand eating disorders better. Speaking as someone who has seen Anorexia up close it is a very scary and dangerous disease.

Statistics About Anorexia Nervosa: Approximately 90-95% of anorexia nervosa sufferers are girls and women (Gidwani, 1997). Between 1-2% of American women suffer from anorexia nervosa (Zerbe, 1995). Anorexia nervosa is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses in young women (Hsu, 1996). Between 5-20% of individuals struggling with anorexia nervosa will die. The probabilities of death increases within that range depending on the length of the condition (Zerbe, 1995). Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest death rates of any mental health condition. Anorexia nervosa typically appears in early to mid-adolescence

Health Consequences of Bulimia Nervosa: Electrolyte imbalances that can lead to irregular heartbeats and possibly heart failure and death. Electrolyte imbalance is caused by dehydration and loss of potassium and sodium from the body as a result of purging behaviors. Potential for gastric rupture during periods of bingeing. Inflammation and possible rupture of the esophagus from frequent vomiting. Tooth decay and staining from stomach acids released during frequent vomiting. Chronic irregular bowel movements and constipation as a result of laxative abuse. Peptic ulcers and pancreatitis. About Bulimia Nervosa: Bulimia nervosa affects 1-3% of middle and high school girls and 1-4% of college age women. Approximately 80% of bulimia nervosa patients are female (Gidwani, 1997). People struggling with bulimia nervosa will often appear to be of average body weight. Often, people struggling with bulimia nervosa will develop complex schedules or rituals to provide opportunities for binge-and-purge sessions. Many people struggling with bulimia nervosa recognize that their behaviors are unusual and perhaps dangerous to their health.

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=337

http://www.raderprograms.com/index.htm

[68skylark]

If approval from parents, friends and grandparents is denied, and chunckiness seems to be the cause, what's going to happen? The kid is going to go to the freezer and get an ice cream. Or eat a chocolate bar. It makes you feel better.

It's an endless cycle.

You know, when you put it that way I think you're on to something. I think that negative feelings can cause people to get into a rut that they don't think they can get out of -- people with a more "positive" temprement are more able to take action to change something that's wrong in their lives.

I'm not sure this is a wide-spread cause of the obesity epidemic (I think that big portions of fast food and sodas and infrequest exercise are more to blame) but it's part of the puzzle.

[biblewonk]

Yet another case of selling sex while hiding behind the "Isn't this simply disgusting?!!" disguise.

The ole "It's art" or "It's for research" excuses are still working.

[68skylark]

It is true that over eating can be very dangerous but it is not nearly as prevelent in our society. Anorexia and Bulimia are far more common.

Well when I look around my town I see a hundred people who look dangerously overweight for every one who looks dangerously underweight. So it will take quite a lot of "studies" and statistics to convince me that my eyes are deceiving me, and that anorexia and bulimia are more of a problem than obesity. Am I wrong?

[Constantine XIII]

Serions: Particles emitted by showerheads in times of series crisis.

[Desdemona]

I think that big portions of fast food and sodas and infrequest exercise are more to blame

Refined sugar is a big part of it. Seriously, though, having lived through it, it took getting away from all the "support" before the prolem went away. I've kept it off, oh, over ten years now.