10/23/12
You’re Only Pretty if You Are Skinny
Ever since the dawn of time, body image has played a major part in society. How someone physically looked directly related to their rank in society. In medieval times, the paler and heavier someone was, the more money they had and in turn was in a higher class. Someone who had tan skin was working outside all day. In that time people only worked because they didn’t have money to support their family. In turn, because they did not have a sufficient amount of money, and they worked outside for hours upon hours at a time, they were usually very skinny. It was very easy to tell who was who in the medieval time. In today’s time it is not as easy to tell a person social status based on their looks alone. People of all shapes and sizes come from different backgrounds. In the medieval time, the larger you were, the more respect you got. Today it seems to be the opposite. Society has turned weight gain into a big issue, and it is no longer acceptable to be a heavier person. Now, it seems like people will do anything to fit into society’s view of beautiful. Even if that means going to the extreme of not eating for long periods of time, or purging after eating a big meal.
On October 2, 2012 Carrie Arnold wrote Is Anorexia a Cultural Disease? for the Washington Post. She recollected a time in her life, where she had been at war with her own mind and body. She goes on to explain how she viewed herself, and how she finally made the decision to cut food out of her life. Arnold continues her article by giving statistics on anorexia, and bulimia in America. Arnold ends her article by saying that eating disorders are glamorized by the media because of the celebrities who suffer from them.
Eating disorders aren’t all about being thin. Contrary to what some believe, over eating is also an eating disorder. According to Nation Master’s