Susan Bordo The Globalization Of Eating Disorders Summary
In the article “The Globalization of Eating Disorders” Susan Bordo argues that the introduction of western media in foreign countries causes reported cases of eating disorders to skyrocket. According to Bordo:
In 1998, just three years after the [western television] station began broadcasting, 11 percent of girls [in Fiji] reported vomiting to control weight, and 62 percent of the girls surveyed reported dieting during the previous months. (19)
I agree with Bordo’s argument. Western media that glorifies hyper-masculinity and skinny body types puts pressure on viewers to diet, exercise, and in some cases starve themselves simply to be considered beautiful. Through television, ads, and images the media creates unrealistic beauty standards that result in body dismorphia. If we don’t want to live in a society where vomiting to stay skinny is the norm then the media needs to promote a wide array of body types. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) according to The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine is a mental illness where the person is obsessed in eradicating a perceived flaw whether it be minor or imaginary. In hopes of curing …show more content…
In Asian countries reports of eating disorders were seemingly nonexistent for centuries. However, when westernized media was introduced the western ideals of being tall and skinny caused there to be an unprecedented amounts of eating disorders across Asia (Bordo). If evolution and partner competition are to blame for eating disorders then the introduction of western media would have no effect on the prevalence of eating disorders in foreign countries. The multitude of western images that promote the “perfect” body causes individuals to have increased dissatisfaction with their own physical attributes and result in eating disorders developing in places where it was once nonexistent (“Media and Body
In 1998, just three years after the [western television] station began broadcasting, 11 percent of girls [in Fiji] reported vomiting to control weight, and 62 percent of the girls surveyed reported dieting during the previous months. (19)
I agree with Bordo’s argument. Western media that glorifies hyper-masculinity and skinny body types puts pressure on viewers to diet, exercise, and in some cases starve themselves simply to be considered beautiful. Through television, ads, and images the media creates unrealistic beauty standards that result in body dismorphia. If we don’t want to live in a society where vomiting to stay skinny is the norm then the media needs to promote a wide array of body types. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) according to The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine is a mental illness where the person is obsessed in eradicating a perceived flaw whether it be minor or imaginary. In hopes of curing …show more content…
In Asian countries reports of eating disorders were seemingly nonexistent for centuries. However, when westernized media was introduced the western ideals of being tall and skinny caused there to be an unprecedented amounts of eating disorders across Asia (Bordo). If evolution and partner competition are to blame for eating disorders then the introduction of western media would have no effect on the prevalence of eating disorders in foreign countries. The multitude of western images that promote the “perfect” body causes individuals to have increased dissatisfaction with their own physical attributes and result in eating disorders developing in places where it was once nonexistent (“Media and Body