Summary Of Hunger As Ideology By Susan Bordo

Throughout the passage of time, individuals have been plagued with a falsified identity, more so in the likes of women than those of men. Contrived from birth to see oneself through a predefined definition of what it means to adhere to the socially excepted norm of your gender. Manufactured to see oneself has having a choice, of having an identity that is build from within; that you may desire to be whatever you want, accomplished what you seem fit, as long as your desire is to be a man, to be a woman. What rarely gets asked is why do we desire to be this, have the same thing, to be a man, to be a woman? Advertisements, the existence of freedom through personal sovereignty from consumption, and the ideological societal customs create an environment

In “Hunger as Ideology” by Susan Bordo, she divulges into the concept of eating habits, uncovering both past and present societal norms, and what is expected of our future generation. This ideology that there needs to be a standard in terms of body images creates a societal problem of envy, preconceived notions, and discrimination. One of the most distasteful things in our society is the training of children at a young age to live a life with a certain body image in mind. As Bordo opens up, she begins with a television advertisement displaying two French girls “they are exquisite little girls, flawless and innocent and the scene emphasize both their youth and the nature sense of style often associated with French women,” (Schor, Holt, 2000, p.99). as one of the girls take notice of the others mother the conversation ensues ““Your mother is so slim, so beautiful! Does she eat?” the daughter, giggling replies: “silly, just not so much.” “Are you jealous?” “Not if I know her secrets.”” (Schor, Holt, 2000, p.99). This advertisement instills false images to children’s especially young girls, who must watch their weight in order to lead a life of success, in order to be a trophy wife in some retro sense. Through these advertisements promoting the use of diet pills, women watching their weight, the feeling of looking like the model, are not only selling a product but installing a set of behavior, one that grows and becomes planted in the consciousness of every child’s