Lisbeth Lapic

Media Influence on Eating Disorders: Dying to Be Thin

“I am not who I think I am, I am not who you think I am,
I am what I think you think I am”
                                                                        --Charles Horton Cooley

Eating disorders have always interested me because it is something that I have suffered with firsthand.  I have always been very conscious of my weight and feel that pressure to be thin everyday.  My eating disorder started when I was a freshman in high school; one simple comment from a friend in context to my weight, and there was only one word that sent me over the edge, “chubby.”  This comment affected me more than the person could have imagined.  I then began to diet in extreme ways, only allowing myself one meal a day.  It was something I would deny to myself and later discover is an illness called anorexia nervosa.  The American Heritage, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, defines anorexia nervosa as:

A psycho physiological disorder usually occurring in young women that is characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese, a distorted self-image, a persistent unwillingness to eat, and severe weight loss. It is often accompanied by self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, malnutrition, amenorrhea, and other physiological changes.

 I remember watching actresses on television and in the magazines and thinking to myself how beautiful they were, secretly wanting to be thin like them.  I also felt the need to be accepted and cared a lot about what other people thought.  I now realize that I had a very bad self image of myself at that time.  My eating disorder lasted about a year until I reached a weight of 90 lbs.  My parents slowly became aware of my illness and forced me to eat healthy.  I gradually gained more weight until I was at a healthy weight and I could stand looking at myself in the mirror.  Because of my own experience with the disease I know how hard it is to accept oneself with their weight, especially with all of the media influence in today’s world.  That is my own personal story, which led me wanting to discover how other girls deal with the same issues I had and find out exactly what pushed them over the edge to go to such an extreme, to make themselves ill. 

The pressure to be thin can start as early as childhood; for example, the Barbie doll is usually given to young girls which can lead to them idolizing the figure.  However, this can be very dangerous because of Barbie’s unrealistic proportions. While Barbie is 6' 0", 101 lbs, the average women is actually 5' 4", 145 lbs.  Victor C. Strasburger, author of Children, Adolescents, and the Media says, “Studies by eating disorder groups here have already found that those exposed to 'perfect' figures as a child are more likely to develop eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression.”  This can send the wrong message to children, which may be carried throughout their teenage years and even to adulthood. 

Another influence in a young girl’s environment is teen magazines.  Inside, the pages are filled with beautiful models, with body types that seem almost impossible to achieve without potentially causing harm to the body.  This leads many to wonder which model has an eating disorder or if the pictures are even real and not airbrushed.  Penelope Carrington, Times-Dispatch staff writer says, “Rail-thin models and the perception of beauty critics say they project can present a certain temptation for females trying to copy the look” (G1).  The models have this pressure to be thin which can lead to unhealthy diet habits.  This sets a horrible example for the very impressionable teens who are reading these magazines.  If magazines are filled with advertisements featuring anorexic looking models how can one believe they are ready and motivated to combat this disease?

Media’s influence also plays a big role in shaping young girls ideals when exposed to television shows, commercials, movies, which almost all children have access to.  Sitcoms on television, which many families gather around to watch, can also be an influence in a young child’s life, affecting them in a negative way.  According to Health magazine, 32% of female TV network characters are underweight, while only 5% of females in the U.S. audience are underweight.  This sends a false concept to children to believe that all women should be thin and that is what beauty is defined as.  While really 25% of women are obese in America, only 3% of female TV network characters are obese. 

An average U.S. child sees more than 30,000 TV commercials each year. In context to commercials, many different types of diet pills are advertised through television.  There are two types of diet pills which include over the counter pills that are sold at almost any store and prescription diet pills which can be prescribed in recommended doses; both are advertised in the form of commercials. Susan Bordo, author of Hunger as Ideology says, “…the commercial affronts with its suggestion that young girls begin early in learning to control their weight, and with its romantic mystification of diet pills as a part of the obscure, eternal arsenal of feminine arts to be passes from generation to generation.  This romanticization, as often in this case in American commercials…” (139).  Bordo is referring to diet pills, which are advertised as romantic and sexy.  These pills are actually something to be very careful of because many people are misinformed of what they actually do.  Diet pills control the brain to reduce appetite.  They also have many side effects which include chest pains, hair loss, fever, depression and loss of libido.  These types of commercials are very prevalent in today’s society and seem almost impossible to escape and when seen by the wrong audience disastrous results can form. 

The last form of influence that I feel may be the most harmful to young girls are pro-anorexia websites.  These sites are created by anorexics and their goal is to connect with other anorexics as a type of support system.  Most people are not even aware that these exist and may be the easiest to access.  These websites may be seen as disturbing for some, but for a victim of anorexia, they are seen as a type of encouragement to continue their disease.  Many people may wonder how these websites exist because of their potentially harmful nature; however, they continue to thrive and have many supporters.  The common terms on these websites include ‘thinspiration’ and ‘thinspiring’ pictures and poems.  There are also ’10 thin commandments’ which they must obey.  The list reads as:

1. If you aren't thin, you aren't attractive.
2. Being thin is more important than being healthy.
3. You must buy clothes, cut your hair, take laxatives, starve yourself, and do anything to make yourself look thinner.
4. Thou shall not eat without feeling guilty.
5. Thou shall not eat fattening food without punishing oneself afterwards.
6. Thou shall count calories and restrict intake accordingly.
7. What the scale says is the most important thing.
8. Losing weight is good/ gaining weight is bad.
9. You can never be too thin.
10. Being thin and not eating are signs of true will power and success.
11. If you are thin, you will be loved and accepted

 There is a direct connection between the media and how it affects individuals in context to their body image. Another form of inspiration for anorexia are videos that are posted on the internet.  Anyone could access these sites and watch these videos; these are recipes for young girls to develop and or continue their sickness.  Something needs to be done to get these websites banned because of their dangerous nature.  The idea of these websites is preposterous, supporting a disease as if it were a good thing.  There is a reason why no websites exist supporting the development of AIDS; it just doesn’t make sense.  Anorexia is just as serious as any other disease because it can get out of a persons control very easily.

It is very common for anorexia to lead to death.  Research has found that about one percent of female adolescents have anorexia which means one in every one-hundred girls have this disease and that one could possibly die from it.  Without treatment about 20 percent will die from the disease.  A poem titled, “Barbie Doll” by  Marge Piercy, demonstrates exactly how far society goes to achieve perfection.  The following lines are a perfect illustration on how anorexia can lead to this even the worst demise; the poem reads:

In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertakers cosmetic painted on,
a turned-up putty nose
dressed in a pink and white nightie
Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said.

In this case even after death people are so concerned about beauty which is very vain.  No one noticed all that she was when she was alive.  They could not look past her physical appearance to open up to all amazing characteristics she possessed ones which now they will never discover. 

In order to see how thin-obsessed our society is I decided to conduct a survey relating to anorexia nervosa.  This gave me a chance to talk with people one on one and come to my conclusions based on personal research.  The survey was from a credible website called ANRED (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.) and was defined as self test.  The top of the survey read, “The following questionnaire can help you decide if you have an eating disorder, or if you are at risk of developing one.” It also stated that it was anonymous.  The survey consisted of 33 questions all true or false; all age groups were asked to take my survey and both genders although my focus was on girls in college.  The outcome was very interesting and some of the results were surprising.  A total of 40 girls participated and over 60 percent answered true to the statements: “Even though people tell me I’m thin, I feel fat; I worry about what I will eat; I like to read recipes, cookbooks, calorie charts, and books about dieting and exercise; When I eat, I feel bloated and fat; I want to be thinner than my friends.”  The average number of statements marked true overall was 8.  This confirms my hypothesis about how worried people are about their weight and how high of a percentage of people are at risk of developing an eating disorder.  At the end of the survey there was a short debriefing which discusses what the survey was about and explains the scoring.  The survey states, “…none of the above behaviors is normal or healthy.  Because of unhealthy demands for unrealistic thinness most women will check a few of the above items ‘True.’  The more items you have marked True, the more serious you situation may be.”

One girl that was given the survey, who will remain anonymous, approached me later and confessed that she had marked 17 statements true as though she had done something wrong and seemed almost as if she was embarrassed.  This was another reminder to her that she may have a problem and could easily fall into the trap of developing an eating disorder if she doesn’t stay alert and on top of her symptoms.  It was an exciting moment because it was one that I felt I could help someone to the best of my abilities.  I reassured her that she was okay, but also let her know that she had access to options if she felt the need for them.  I talked about the idea of professional help and how it could only help her; we also discussed the support groups that are available.

The results from the survey confirmed everything that I have been researching about eating disorders but instead of reading it out of a book I got the results through investigative research.  I expected these results from the survey because I also answered similarly to questions answered by my peers.  The results of the survey confirms how intense this issue of being thin is and how many girls are really worried about this issue. Bardone-Cone, an investigator of pro-anorexia websites says, “Numerous naturalistic studies have found a relationship between media exposure and the levels of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating” (256).  After establishing this connection between the media and how it influences eating disorders and supporting this idea with results from the survey, it makes one wonder what is being done in today’s society to prevent young girls away from developing an eating disorder. 

Girls are beginning to develop this disorder younger and younger and are now starting as young as elementary school.  Jordan talks a lot about how parents can help stray their children away from eating disorders by being very aware that they do exist and acknowledging that it could happen their child.  She says, “Parents have a tough job rallying against the media glamorizing anorexia and starving as the norm.  Parents really have the greatest influence over children's belief about themselves and their self-esteem.”  It is important for parents to know the impact that they possess over their children’s life especially when it comes to a life threatening disease like anorexia.  This should be taken very seriously and parents should begin to talk to their children about having a healthy self-image of themselves early in life in hope that it will prevent an eating disorder.  There are tips for parents on the ANRED website that can help their children to learn to think critically by teaching them to ask the following questions about material presented through the media:

• Who created the message?
• For what purpose? (It's often to sell something. Sit-coms, for example, are considered "bait" by the TV industry to attract viewers who can then be shown commercials.)
• Does the message make me want something? Who benefits if I do want this thing and pay to get it?
• Is the message accurate or true?
• What lifestyles and values are presented? Which ones are omitted?
• Who are the so-called experts? Paid actors or real people?
• If research is cited, is it real science or just surveys and anecdotes?

As a college student my role can be seen as very influential and can have tremendous amount of influence on the community.  This includes educating young girls on the danger of eating disorders, which could make a world of difference in their lives.  My own personal experience has urged me to educate others on how harmful this disease is and how many alternatives there are.  Even if that means changing only one person’s perception of the disease and getting them treatment, then it is worth it because it is possibly saving one more life.  I am very interested in speaking publicly about this issue in the future to help spread awareness and hopefully help others that may become victims. 

I think that tackling this issue at a young age, in junior high and high school, which would be very effective in possibly preventing the disease.  It would be very helpful to just to inform young women on the about the disease in terms of classes or even seminars.  This information will help educate young girls about the disease that many of them might already have or are at risk of developing in the future.  Thinking about my junior high and high school experience I realize that there was a lack if information in terms of eating disorders, information that could have been very useful.  I feel that college students have a lot of influence and it is part of the universities to help spread this information.

A friend once told me that the attempt to be perfect is suicide, perfection can never be achieved, and it is a fallacy.  It is no secret that the media has influenced the unhealthy eating habits of the younger generation in today’s society. The pressure to be perfect is worse than ever, even your everyday college girl feels the need to look like their favorite movie star which is impossible to achieve and can lead to low self esteem, depression, and even suicide.  My goal is to relay the message that perfection lies in each individual’s imperfections. As human beings, the closest we can be to perfect lies in our thoughts towards perfection. If we can learn to embrace the beauty of our differences and recognize the thought that we as people are imperfect, then that will make us as close to perfect as we can be.

Works Cited

"anorexia nervosa." The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 29 Apr. 2007. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anorexia nervosa

ANRED (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.) http://www.anred.com/ index.html

Bardone-Cone, Anna. “Investigating the Impact of Pro-Anorexia Websites: A Pilot Study” European Eating Disorders Review. Jul/Aug2006, 14.4, 256-262.

Bordo, Susan. "Hunger as Ideology." Ways of Reading, An Anthology for Writers. Ed. John Sullivan, Boston, Bedford/St. Martins, 1999. 139-149.

Carrington, Penelope.  “Dangerous Obsession Message is Simple: Model Look Poses Real-Life Risks” Times-Dispatch February 18, 2007. FLAIR. G-1

Collins, Meredith.“Nurturing Destruction: Eating Disorders Online.”Off Our Backs. Internet Publishing and Broadcasting. Nov/Dec2004, 34.11/12. 20-22.

Piercy, Marge.  “Barbie Doll.” The Blair Reader: Exploring Contemporary Issues. Ed. Laurie Kirszner and Stephan Mandell.  Pearson Ed. Inc, New Jersey, 2008. 365.

Strasburger, Victor C. Children, Adolescents, and the Media. Sage Publications, Inc. March 26, 2002. 45-56.

Vandereycken, Walter. “Dealing with Denial in Anorexia Nervosa.” Eating Disorders Review. Ed. Joel Yager. New York: Leigh Cohn, MAT. 2006. 17.6.

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