In reading the article 'The Body Politic,' I started thinking about how prevalent eating disorders are in our society. Off the top of my head, I could name at least twenty or so friends who have struggled with or are still struggling with an eating disorder of some sort. It is scary how many of my beautiful, smart, talented friends resort to eating disorders to gain control over their bodies and to achieve the image of the 'societal ideal.' The more I thought about things, I began to think about false accusations. Since eating disorders are so present in society, many girls get unfairly blamed. I myself am an offender. When I see a real skinny girl I automatically assume she has an eating disorder. It is the first thing that pops to mind. I don't think healthy eater. I don't think marathon runner. I think eating disorder. I know a lot of my friends do the same thing. Walking around the beach, for instance, friends will point at small girls and say 'oh she's definitely anorexic.'
Now, as I reflect on this, this is not the right thing to do. Yes, it is important that if you have friends with confirmed eating disorders that you work to get them help. But unfairly labelling a girl with a disorder is not necessarily helpful. My own sister, actually, has a really small frame. She is an insanely healthy eater and exercizes once a day. She has always been tiny due to a fast metabolism and a healthy lifestyle. I know for a fact that she does not have an eating disorder. I watch her eat good size portions of food and enjoy her food. She does not go throw it up after or feel bad about such actions. I wonder if people label her with an eating disorder. If they did, it would bother me. She works hard to stay healthy and in shape and she was born with a small bone structure. That does not make her an eating disorder candidate.
I know in the media a lot of women with small figures are constantly attacked by the public for having eating disorders without any outside evidence. Teri Hatcher, for instance, has been repeatedly accused and has angrily slammed back. When is it ok to accuse someone with an eating disorder? I think there's a very thin line. If someone actually does have an eating disorder and you ignore it, that's bad. But if someone doesn't have an eating disorder and you repeatedly attack them, that's bad as well. When is it alright to ask, to accuse, to get help when the evidence isn't overwhelming? Because as Chernik talks about, eating disorders are very dangerous and helping a friend address one can potentially lead to death. So where is the line?
I really like your post, Maria. I too have friends that have struggled with eating disorders and I myself have had dealt with eating issues. The point you bring up about accusing other girls of having eating disorders is quite a relevant one, since I know I have been guilty of seeing girls and wondering if they have an eating disorder even though they may just be thin due to genetics and a healthy lifestyle. It's sad to think that we immediately associate thin with eating disorders because jumping to that conclusion just shows how epidemic they are - eating disorders are not rare, but fast becoming the norm in women since our lives are becoming busier and the "acceptable weight" is getting smaller. On the flip side, not seeing eating disorders is just as common and dangerous as "overseeing" them. By not catching them, we let girls who need help spiral further down the eating disorder hole, thus increasing the amount of time and therapy they need to heal. By catching them where they don't exist, we may give girls the wrong ideas about their weight, their frame, and their lifestyle, which could lead to self-esteem issues and friendship breakdowns. It's a lose-lose situation right now.
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