Myths and Misconceptions About Eating Disorders

What is it that is deep in the souls of people that makes them believe this is in, or thinner is more beautiful? Why are all the ladies and men of advertising sending the message that slim is hip, its a fad? Or the billboards all over the city display skinny woman in nice clothing. Is this the message society wants its children to see? Or does media, man, and society just ignorantly push people in general to thinking this is better? As Maggie Helwig writes in her essay ” A Certain Hunger ” ” It was a fad, in a sense, the illness of the month.”(EW 340). She talks about eating disorders being a fad, people starving themselves or making themselves vomit an in thing to do.

Every time you turn on your television, every time you drive downtown in a major city, and every time you read a magazine you are being submitted to this thinking. Television, with its all too powerful role today, shows children images of emaciated women they are supposed to look up to. Almost every role model in television is slim and trim and made out to be so beautiful. Why is that so? What about Marilyn Monroe? She was a size 13 yet she was considered one of the most beautiful women ever, and still is, yet if a woman today looked like her she wouldn’t be regarded the same way. Another plus is the ever so popular billboards all over city buildings and intercity highways. Skinny, pretty women wearing pretty clothes and looking pretty. Gap, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, and many other brand name clothing companies use this method of advertising and many people see it and believe it. If a billboard goes up by Guess, the next day you can bet some girl is wearing exactly what is on that billboard and trying to look as thin. Finally, there are the magazines like YM, 17, and Cosmo that cover stories about young woman purging their life away or how to lose 50 pounds overnight. And this is subjected to our children as what is in because its what is in the magazines for them.