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Disorders Binge eating is a disorder in which a person will eat an excessive amount of food because she or he cannot control themelves. According to this article “The Globalization of Eating Disorders” writing 'Susan Borno, explains how easy it is to get caught up, obese and how it influence young men and women. Susan points out that the influence of the western media has created a globalization problem with eating disorders. In other words, she carefully examines the cross-culture spread of men and women of all ages who have lost their immunity to eating disorders. In the same manner most women change their diet to achieve the western image of beauty. Women around the globe used to be comfortable with their body, but after they have been exposed to the media’s image of beauty, of certain countries such as Great Britain, United States and Australia, they now have a different perspective toward their body image. I agree that in today’s world the image of binge eating does influence men and women. We are living in a society where people believe that the way they look affect their environment. Eating disorders are a huge problem around the world, some of these disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia and others. People are getting affected by these disorders are really obsessed by food. Likewise by looking across the world like China, Fiji and Africa, Susan introduces many ways that people could increase their diet. First of all, let’s take a look at the women of the Fuji islands, before television was introduced to them in 1995, they used to admire their bodies image with no complaints. Although the images slender who has introduces slim women on advertisement on televised commercials made them feel that their bodies wer... ... middle of paper ... ...nly influences women but also the opposite gender. The author and I are experiencing the same point of view on how the media influence people around us. This article is not only written for any particular group, race, ethnicity, gender, etc… I think as a human being, this article is related to all of us. The author has done an outstanding job for all of us by describing as people how the media represent a big problem for our society or our community. I learned a valuable lesson from this article, which I also discovered that central Africa women must have hips, but because of the western image that value is no longer applicable. I also encourage everyone to stay focused and love their culture while watching some TV shows because it is easy to forget about who you are and adopted another way of doing things you never used to do before.
From this information it is clear that more research should be done on eating disorders in non-Western societies because women in those cultures do, in fact, suffer from poor body image and low self-esteem. Special focus could be placed on binge-eating in cultures where overeating is a natural part of life and overweight women are viewed as attractive. It is in these cultures that women feel torn between their traditions and the Westernized perception of beauty they are experience more.
“The Globalization of Eating Disorders.” The McGraw-Hill Reader. Muller, Gilbert H. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014. 639-642. Print.
Instead, women are being discriminated and treated as inferior due to the stereotypes that are portrayed in the media. The media creates and reproduces ways of seeing that at a minimum reflect and shape our culture. We can look at the media to understand more about a culture’s values and norms, if we realize the limitations of looking at the media. For example, one may ask, does the news based in the United Sates represent what the American culture is like, or only what stands out from everyday American culture? The answer to that is no. Instead, the media represents what it thinks it will be able to sell and is supported by advertisements. This includes violent acts, the sensationally and inappropriate. Jhally reminds us that “it is this male, heterosexual, pornographic imagination based on the degradation and control of women that has colonized commercial culture in general, although it is more clearly articulated in music videos” (Jhally 2007). Therefore, “media content is a symbolic rather than a literal representation of society and that to be represented in the media is in itself a form of power—social groups that are powerless can be relatively easily ignored, allowing the media to focus on the social groups that ‘really matter’” (Gerbner,
Media has an influence on society like no other. In the world today media basically controls everything and informs people of all that is going on. Media does, however, create stereotypes in society in many different ways which makes people believe and think about cultures or a certain groups of people and how they act differently. Jennifer Pozner the author of “Ghetto Bitches, China Dolls and Cha Cha Divas” talks about the harmful ways of stereotyping in reality television. In Pozner’s essay she focuses on how badly the society is taking its course. The course in the show being that changing a person to look a certain way against their will is good but in reality to viewers it seems like a horrible thing to do. Media has been most of the the
Media is an important component of American culture, from the music people listen to the movies they watch, the media people consume can and does consistently affect their views of the world, other people, and themselves. Women can be hurt by the media, and closing in even more, women of color. Representation in media is still quite low, despite how far America has come in terms of equality. This leaves the levels of exposure to races other than white relatively low and when there is representation of other ethnicities, they are often caricatures of demeaning stereotypes. No matter if someone identifies as European American or as another ethnic identity, the European American ideals and norms affect everyone who is exposed to them (Iijima-Hall 1995:9). Consistent exposure to this style of media can be damaging to self-images of women of color and their personal perceptions of beauty, though it often manifests in different ways among different ethnic identities.
Eating disorders are described as an illness involving eating habits that are irregular and an extreme concern with body image or weight. Eating disorders tend to appear during teenage years, but can develop at any age. Although more common in women, eating disorders can affect any age, gender or race. In the United States, over 20 million women and 10 million men are personally affected by eating disorders. There are many different causes of eating disorders such as low self esteem, societal pressures, sexual abuse and the victims perception of food. Eating disorders are unique to the sufferer and often, their perception of themselves is so skewed, they may not be aware they have an eating disorder. Media, for quite some time now, has played a significant part in eating disorders. Magazines with headlines ‘Summer Body’, or ‘Drop LB’s Fast!’ attract the attention of girls who may be insecure with themselves. Television productions such as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or American’s Next Top Model, show airbrushed and photoshopped women who have body types that may be unachievable. Those who are suffering from eating disorders can suffer dangerous consequences, and it is important to seek help.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from eating disorders and only 1 in 10 of those 24 million are treated (ANAD). Eating disorders do not discriminate; all ages, genders, ethnicities and races can be victim to this mental illness. It’s important to be aware of the impact eating disorders have on societies across the globe and how the media plays a role if we want to fight the source and promote prevention and/or rehabilitation. I’ve known many people in my life who have some sort of eating disorder, whether it’s anorexia(not eating enough), binge eating(eating large amounts of food rapidly), bulimia (throwing up their food) or just struggling with an unsatisfying self-image. Becoming aware of eating disorders and how they are developed is important to me because in a perfect world, I would like to see this illness become less common or diminished completely among those that I love and anyone else in today’s society. Eating disorders hit home for many people, including myself. Raising awareness may decrease the rate of eating disorders by informing the population of the harm this illness causes and hopefully promote prevention and/or rehabilitation. With the 3 theoretical approaches used by sociologists, Eating disorders can be understood which will better inform society on how to raise awareness, prevent this illness and help those who suffer from eating disorders.
The Globalization of Eating Disorders by Susan Bordo was a powerful article addressing the subject of eating disorders. The purpose of Bordo’s article was to bring the issue of eating disorders into a new light. Bordo proposes the claim that the increase of eating disorders is attributed to the images and media surrounding us. She provides specific examples and evidence of this to be true. She also not only shows the spread of this epidemic in women, but men as well.
This is troubling because the line between being healthy and having an eating disorder is very easy to cross. Dieting in itself is not bad, in fact it is good to take an interest in keeping one’s body healthy, but it is an indication of how saturated our culture is in body image. The image that the culture gives shows an emphasis on being skinny and having no body fat. This is demonstrated through models and actors who give people the idea of how they should look. The obsession with slenderness and weight loss is no longer just a problem in western culture. It has started spreading to all other parts of the world. (Giddens,
In the essay “The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji,” the author Ellen Goodman claims that because of the influence of media, women in the Fiji islands have suffered eating disorders. As Goodman points out, before 1995, people believed their culture that big meant beautiful and bigger meant more beautiful in Fiji. And the Fijians were a reverse image of American culture. But after 1995, while American television came to the island, and it gradually entered their lives. Then the media made their belief totally changed, and they started to believe that fat is disgusting. And the Goodman shows her argument that due to the public media destroyed the culture of Fijian and caused a social issue about people were chasing to control their weight, but it also caused eating problem.
According to a report by ZenithOptimedia, people spend more than an average of 490 minutes of their day consuming some form of media or text (Karaian). In a society that’s driven primarily by the media, we as consumers have been constantly exposed, yet desensitized, to the various perspectives and theoretical frameworks that media has historically illustrated and produced. The most common concepts that are explored involve ideas of race, heteronormativity, whiteness and white privilege, female objectification, class identity, and gender. Each perception is complex and is seen differently in media depending on who you are and the way that you see the world through the lenses created by your own beliefs and culture.
In today’s society, technology is used on a daily basis; whether watching television, using social media, or reading a magazine, people are influenced by what they see. As a result of this, some people develop an eating disorder because their view of what is attractive is distorted because of what is shown in media. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females” (ANAD). The common misperception is that eating disorders are a “woman’s disease” although one out of ten people who have an eating disorder are male. Although it is by no means the only cause, it is believed that media effects how women perceive themselves, but most people don’t consider that media effects how men view themselves.
The research was conducted by two research assistants, one of which was an American experienced in eating disorder eating symptoms and the other was Fijian (local in the community). Eating disorder symptoms were assessed using a modified Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) which included questions concerning bingeing and purging behaviors. The participants who had self-reported symptoms underwent an open-ended, semi-structured interview that was transcribed after being conducted. Participants were also asked questions during an interview regarding personal ownership of a television, amount of television viewing, height and weight measurement and other questions were based on exposure and the effect of Western television with association to how body image was viewed in form of a questionnaire.
Have you ever watched a movie and later caught yourself daydreaming about the actors' lives? Ever finished a movie then found yourself imitating the way the heroin talks, wears or walks? Do you not ever stop and wonder how much your views and attitude have been influenced by the media and what you're constantly exposed to? The media has an enormous influence over the lives of men, women, and teenagers. Today, individuals get affected by how people dress, talk, behave, and think trying to become another version of them. Media doesn't only have a positive effect on us, but it can also impact us negatively. Nowadays, the media is widespread in society in different forms (television, books, films, internet etc.), and its effects on individuals is quite noticeable mainly in youths' physical and verbal aggression through violent and emotional behavior. This is a result of the current presented means of entertainment. People are now constantly watching TV series and video clips and later start taking the actors, singers and even TV presenters as role models and dressing like them in attempt to stand out and be up to date. Not only do they dress like their role models, but they blindly believe in their opinions no matter how biased and incorrect they are. The media is currently making our decisions for us, such as deciding our own personal preferences. Media is affecting teenagers greatly because it displays abundance of violence, and inappropriate scenes as well as unhealthy living conditions, making teenagers believe that such behaviors are acceptable in our society. Mass media has become a major negative influence in the society, especially on the younger generation's attitude, beliefs, and values.
Media has a powerful influence on the thoughts and ideologies of individuals in a global society. Julia Wood, of “Gendered Lives,” stats that “People today are the most media-saturated and media-engaged people in history. The average American-home has more television sets than people—2.73 television sets and 2.55 people per household, and at least one of those television sets is on eight hours a day” (Wood). These figures demonstrate just how consumed our society has become, and the role media messages play in our lives. As a society, we are constantly bombarded with messages on self identity- from what we should look like, do and wear. And, although gender inequality has changed and dramatically transformed over time, certain ideologies produced by the media have negative consequences in the success of women – through ideas, images and negative portrayals.