Anorexia In America

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“For millions of Americans held hostage by the pervasive emphasis on being slender, losing weight becomes an obsession that takes over their lives” (Congressional 1101). Eating disorders are not only physically harmful, but they are also a mental illness that many can not over-come. “Psychiatrists and feminists cite numerous social pressures that make women strive for unrealistically svelte, fashion-model figures” (1101). The stigma associated with eating disorders has kept individuals suffering in silence, making funding for research scarce, and created barriers to treatment. Low self esteem is what many girls have now days often caused by undue pressure on how they look. One might look in the mirror and find the negative things about…show more content…
When many people look at the successful super models, actresses or women in the advertisement marketing, they all fit the “thin ideal” (1101). “The portrayal of super-slim women as more fashionable, desirable, and successful can contribute to eating disorders that can kill, and the mass media has been identified as one of the most influential social cultural factors contributing to anorexia” (1101). How are young girls suppose to feel pretty and beautiful when by America’s standard they are overweight? For instance, “society tends to view distinctly overweight people as unattractive and lacking inner discipline” (Turfs University). Society’s perception throughout history has put extremely unhealthy looking women in the media spotlight as the ideal image of beauty. “The desire to fit the cultural ideal of thinness drives many women to diet severely. In some vulnerable young women, this leads to bingeing and purging or self-starvation,” says Terence Wilson a psychologist at Rutgers University (Smolack). “The general public seems to have an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. The media is constantly bombarding us with images of celebrities with extremely thin bodies. Models, actresses, singers, presenters, socialites, and reality TV stars often appear in magazines and on television looking very thin-sometimes even emaciated” (1101). On the streets of New York or the grocery store down the block, there are magazines and pictures everywhere with the famous stars that teens look up to. Ultimately, images and examples such as these prove the media is forcing the “thin ideal body” on young women which causes bad

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