20th Century Ideal Body Size example essay topic

Too "Close to the Bone": The Historical Context for Woman's Obsession with Slenderness By Roberta Sied In the article "Too "Close to the Bone": The Historical Context for Woman's Obsession with Slenderness" Roberta Sied stresses that the 20th century ideal body size is not healthy and can be deadly. It would seem today that eating disorders are on the rise. While this may be true, the numbers may appear to grow only because more cases are being brought out into the open. One interpretation of an eating disorder is termed as a relationship between the person and food that appears abnormal. An estimated amount of between 1/2% and 3% of teenagers will be diagnosed with Anorexia. This may not sound like very many people, but numbers have increased, between the 1950's and mid 1970's.

What is Anorexia? The word Anorexia itself means, "lack of appetite". A disorder characterized by fear of becoming fat and refusal of food, leading to debility and even death. What is Bulimia? The word bulimia means pathologically insatiable hunger, especially caused by a brain lesion. A disorder characterized by compulsive overeating followed by vomiting: sometimes associated with anxiety about gaining weight.

History of Body Ideals before the 20th Century In the article... Sied mentions "Although styles of dress have tended to change at every-quickening tempo since the 12th century, body ideals have changed slowly. By looking at visual evidence provided by paintings of dressed people and of the nude, we can see that never before have men and woman desired a body so "close to the bone" (show visuals) Why the obsession with thinness? We know that people with eating disorders often use food and the control of food in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem overwhelming.

It can be several things that can cause an obsession: low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy or lack of control in life, depression, anxiety, anger or loneliness or a quest for perfection. A history of being teased or ridiculed based on size, weight or appearance. And even sexual abuse. Why more woman then men? Men suffer from anorexia and bulimia but in smaller numbers. The ratio of woman to men is 10-1 but there is growing evidence that numbers for men are also rising.

Usually young girls moving from childhood into adulthood suffer from eating disorders. Roberta Sied mentions in the article "One reason is biological", she points out that woman tend to think they don't "measure up" even as young as age 5. Women today are greatly affected by the need to look perfect. What woman doesn't want to look like Victoria Secret models like Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Gisele Bundchen? According to a recent survey in GLAMOUR magazine, the survey shows that out of 33,000 females who participated... 85% were not happy with their body and overall appearance.

Women of our generation suffer from the impacts of having a poor body image, and would go to any lengths to get the look of the latest cover girl model even as far as gastric bypass surgery.