Eating Disorders, Anorexia and Martha Stewart - The Seduction of Control, Perfection, and Fantasy
I have a strange fascination with Martha Stewart. I read Just Desserts by Jerry Oppenheimer and my interest in her peaked: she sounded, as portrayed in that book, as the toxic boss (we’ll call her Sheila, though it is not her real name) from whom I had just "divorced" myself by quitting. I could see Sheila emasculating her husband on a daily basis, screaming obscenities at her employees (that didn’t take much imagination), and plotting to take over the world. Despite these issues, Martha and Sheila alternately inspired me and repelled me. They both showed me power at a time when I was just developing my own sense of being in the world. Those
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Obviously, Martha Stewart is not anorexic; while some may proclaim that she is fixated with food, most of her attention is really on decorating. Sheila was displayed a few minor symptoms of anorexia, although we ex-employees believe she was a frequent user of coke instead of dieting. I am not arguing that either of them is anorexic; instead, I want to explain how their obsessions can be linked to anorexia.
Anorexia is about much more than food, just as Martha Stewart is. The control over food is just one aspect of anorexia and what I call Marthamania. Control over one's body, fantasy and a regression into girlhood is a common aspect of both. Of course, the anorexic's and Marthamaniac's version of control is an ironic one.
Some anorexia researchers claim that anorexia offers its victims a way to control the development of their bodies. Since anorexia occurs most frequently in the years of puberty, researchers suggest that anorexics have difficulty adapting to the roles that come with "becoming a woman." That fear, hatred, or despair of becoming all it means to be a woman in today's society is wrapped up in Martha Stewart. She is a fiercely independent woman, succeeding financially in a man's world. Formerly a stock broker, she has combined feminine and masculine roles and is able to buy her home and decorate it
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But what makes Stewart's dream different than other chefs (Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse) is that it is a complete fantasy. Not only will Martha make maple syrup from your own trees, she'll blow the glass bottle she'll serve it in, and build the table you'll eat at. It's less work to do a house Martha-style than researching what it is you might really like; it's way too easy to just get her magazine and see the whole realm of what your house could look
Custance, D. (2010) ‘Determined to love?’ in Brace, N. and Byford, J. (eds) Discovering Psychology, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Anorexia is a psychiatric disorder that is most common in young women. Those who suffer with anorexia have a fear of gaining weight and have an inaccurate portrayal of their own bodies. They see themselves as being fat, even though they are already thin to begin with. They are willing to go to extreme measures to lose weight, but the only outcome is a severely unhealthy body weight. To achieve the weight they want they will either starve themselves or do a tremendous amount of exercise.
Erikson’s theory, developed in 1963, supports the idea that early life experiences impact an individual across their lifespan. This theory considers that the growth of an individual is a result of interaction with the environment, biological maturation and societal influences, therefore, allowing for experiences from early life, to influence an individual throughout their lifespan (White, Hayes, and Livesey, 2009). Erikson’s theory focuses on eight different developmental stages within a lifespan and in order to progress from one stage to another, an individual must overcome a potential crisis of two opposing forces at each stage. There are two types of resolution of each stage, successful and unsuccessful. If an individual is
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
Some participants say they use the internet the entire time they are awake. Tolerance is the increasing amount of a substance over time in order to achieve the desired effect meaning that subtle use was not enough. Craving is another symptom seen but not assessed in the DSM-5. Participants report craving internet use especially when the see that internet access is available to them. Loss of interest in other hobbies or activities was another sign seen in activities such as reduced either academic or project work, reduced socialization with friends and family, and reduced exercise because of the use of internet. The use of the internet in order to escape or relieve a negative mood was also observed among the participants, internet use is used as a distraction. The last symptom observed by the study was the “lying about the use”, individuals would lie to their family, friends, and therapist in order to conceal the extent of their involvement with the
The primary argument which most advocates for abstinence only education have is that sex before marriage is immoral, not appropriate and that abstinence is the only completely effective method of preventing teen pregnancy and STI contraction. These advocates also emphasize that condoms are not a sure-fire way of preventing pregnancy and STI contraction. Many of the proponents for abstinence-only education believe that educating youth with information concerning sex and contraception will embolden them to become to begin or increase sexual activity. Such advocates accredit the lowering of teenage pregnancy to abstinence only education (Collins, Alagira, and Summers 12-13).
Cassidy, J., & Shaver, P.R. (1999). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications. New York: The Guilford Press.
In Greg Beato’s article “Internet Addiction” originally published in august, september 2010 in to Reason magazine he argues that internet addiction is a problem in our society today. Internet addiction should be reported in the Diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorder (DSM). It is a huge problem, he also says that internet is like narcotic drugs and very addicting. He states that if ones use Google for few minutes only it leads us to spend more than a few minutes on the internet and it turns in to spending hours. Beato refers that University of Maryland did a group study for 24 hour and all the students went crazy without their phones and iPods, one girl admitted that she is an addict. The students were anxious and miserable. He also says that one kid killed his parents because they took away his Xbox. Internet also leads to death of people, therefore it is a problem and we should put it on to the DSM.
A lot of research has gone into understanding the real impacts of technology in people’s lives. The impact of Internet on our life becomes more and more significant and undeniable. Life without Internet is definitely very troublesome and inconvenient. However some do think that this technology is more of a nuisance than useful. Even more complaints have come forward about the Internet disrupting humanity. Over the last two decades people have seen time and again complaints from parents that their children play video games 24/7 or relationships that have been ruined because of a partners inability to use technology in moderation (i.e. Technological addictions). Technological addictions are categorized under behavioral addictions and involve human-technology interaction. They can be passive (e.g. television) or active (e.g. computer games) Internet Addiction does have the core components of any addiction and will be expounded on in this
In this generation, everyone, mostly young adults, are glued to technology. We see people walking around, looking at the ground as if they have a ball and chain dangling from their necks. We see people sitting on their chairs and looking at their computer screens long enough for their backs to hurt and their eyes water from the bright screen. People addicted to the Internet are those who pay attention to a virtual world more than their own lives. Internet addiction has corrupted people’s social lives, prevented their maturation, and induced negative behaviors. In “Internet Addiction,” Greg Beato expresses how the Internet has corrupted lives and should be added to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Behaviors.” If we continue our
Researchers are seeking a clarification of the term “Internet addiction.” It is debatable whether the compulsive use of the Internet should
Internet addiction is a growing problem with more and more people. The internet is much more accessible to people now than it was just a few years ago. The internet provides people with entertainment, loads of information, and an escape from everyday life, but like anything else, too much a good thing can be addictive. This paper will cover what internet addiction is, warning signs of internet addiction, problems caused by internet addiction, who develops internet addiction, preventing and treating internet addiction, and safety guidelines for internet users.
Have you ever thought how much time do you spend using on a computer in a day/week? Computers are as common in numerous households around the world. People from all age groups are learning to operate computers and anyone who has worked with computers for long periods of time knows that computers can be just as addicting as drinking every night of the week. Take further, Computer addiction can have a number of physical, social, and psychological effects on a person, and it is to be taken as seriously as any other addiction that a person is against, but what are those possible effects of spending too much time on the computer, and what are the causes.
Sex education in our schools has been a hot topic of debate for decades. The main point in question has been whether to utilize comprehensive sex education or abstinence-only curriculum to educate our youth. The popularity of abstinence-only curriculum over the last couple of decades has grown largely due to the United States government passing a law to give funding to states that teach the abstinence-only approach to sex education. But not teaching our children about sex and sexuality is not giving them the information they need to make well educated decisions. Sex education in our schools should teach more than just abstinence-only because these programs are not proven to prevent teens from having sex. Children need to be educated on how to prevent contracting sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and be given the knowledge to understand the changes to their bodies during puberty. According to the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-12th Grade from the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), comprehensive sex education “should be appropriate to age, developmental level, and cultural background of students and respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community” (SIECUS).
This online article was useful for my research because it showed how over use of technology impact on people. This article also gives background information on internet addiction and internet dependence. The source is one of the best sources used in my research due to the fact that it had some of the basic information about the harmful effect of becoming so much dependent on technology.