Why it’s so easy to be anorexic
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t easy to be anorexic in our society… or, more specifically, to be thin. In fact, in America, it’s practically applauded (at least on a secret, non-verbal level.)
Let’s face it — the clothes are all tailored to fit skinnier bodies. Even the “plus size” clothing is created for those on the “lower end” of the scale. And though I adore “Project Runway”, I loathe the faces some of the designers make when they are forced to design garments for what they term “real” bodies.
Here in North America, we equate attractiveness with being svelte.
Ah, svelte. That’s a prime indication of the lovely, positive phrases we use for gals whose BMIs are in the high teens (if that.) Slender. Lithe. Graceful.
On the other hand, being of normal weight or overweight isn’t as enjoyable for people.
We’re called words like “plump” and “soft” and “round”… and that’s when individuals are being kind. Our role models on the screen are the exceptions to the rule that Hollyweird has to be size 0. (Okay, size -2. That’s probably a better bet.)
So is it any wonder that anorexia and bulimia are alive and well in the halls of our high schools, the college dormitories, even the cubicle next to you at work? Is it any surprise that the woman sleeping next to you might be secretly vomiting copious amounts of food to maintain that figure you hold while she rests?
It’s a tangled web we’ve woven, indeed. A social net of acceptance and expecting.
Who will take the scissors to it and cut it to shreds? Will it be you? Or me? Or, better yet, us?
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Anorexia, Break the Mirror, Bulimia
4 opinions for Why it’s so easy to be anorexic
Mary Emma Allen
Jan 2, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Yes, let’s cut that web to shreds and emphasize healthy instead of thin, thin, thin and thinner.
angelique
Jan 3, 2008 at 1:49 pm
MEA:
Amen, sister. And thanks again for your interview!
Ali
Jan 6, 2008 at 7:09 am
It will be me, and us. I’ve learned to give myself a break, in no small part because I have more young women (nieces, friend’s kids) under foot these days and the best thing I can do for them is to be happy in my own body.
jeannie
Jan 14, 2008 at 3:14 pm
My daaughter has annorexia,she is 23,5 feet and 9 inch.and weighs 88 lbs. she is now admitted and ready to get help. she is starting treatment thrusday,i know it is more just being skinny,she has told me there is a monster in her that keeps telling her she is fat. but once in a great while she pushes it out.and sees how skinny she is, iwe talk alot , i know part of it is controll issue ,it has her under its controll.But with help,therapy in time I hops she will conquer the beast, and start on her road to recovery.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: