Bulimia
BULIMIA
Countless women have formed an unhealthy relationship with food. The rising obsession with thinness in our society has caused young women to feel fat or obese, even if they are of healthy weight. Now, being thin, which is perceived as one and the same with self-discipline, is the preferred aspiration. Mitchell (1990) said that young women are expected to be attractive and domestic in traditional feminine roles, also to be independent and to seek vocational parity with men (p. 5 and 6). There is much evidence to suggest that there is a cultural preoccupation with thinness in our society.
Women with bulimia, purge with vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics and sometimes giving themselves enemas. Some vomit even after a normal meal, heading for the bathroom after the last bite. Occasionally the vomiting becomes involuntary, and they can not keep themselves from purging after eating. They may exercise compulsively to burn off what they ve eaten. Mitchell (1990) said that bulimic women doubt about their femininity and have poor relationships, conflict with their parents, social impairment, low self-esteem, and a sense of personal ineffectiveness (p. 29). Bulimia can cause gastrointestinal problems during adolescence from pressures including the social emphasis on slimness.
For the last 25 years, the American population has embraced an extremely thin ideal for women. Harrar, Konner and Loecher (1996) said that according to one study, women s magazines have included ten times as many ads and articles promoting weight loss as men s magazines (p. 53). Another factor in the feminization of disordered eating is the difference in what little girls and boys learn as they re socialized. Men are not taught that the way their bodies look is important to the same degree women are.
Among adult women, the culture s fascination with youth may also figure into eating disorders. According with Harrar et al (1996) like it or not, thinness is equated with youth, and
Countless women have formed an unhealthy relationship with food. The rising obsession with thinness in our society has caused young women to feel fat or obese, even if they are of healthy weight. Now, being thin, which is perceived as one and the same with self-discipline, is the preferred aspiration. Mitchell (1990) said that young women are expected to be attractive and domestic in traditional feminine roles, also to be independent and to seek vocational parity with men (p. 5 and 6). There is much evidence to suggest that there is a cultural preoccupation with thinness in our society.
Women with bulimia, purge with vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics and sometimes giving themselves enemas. Some vomit even after a normal meal, heading for the bathroom after the last bite. Occasionally the vomiting becomes involuntary, and they can not keep themselves from purging after eating. They may exercise compulsively to burn off what they ve eaten. Mitchell (1990) said that bulimic women doubt about their femininity and have poor relationships, conflict with their parents, social impairment, low self-esteem, and a sense of personal ineffectiveness (p. 29). Bulimia can cause gastrointestinal problems during adolescence from pressures including the social emphasis on slimness.
For the last 25 years, the American population has embraced an extremely thin ideal for women. Harrar, Konner and Loecher (1996) said that according to one study, women s magazines have included ten times as many ads and articles promoting weight loss as men s magazines (p. 53). Another factor in the feminization of disordered eating is the difference in what little girls and boys learn as they re socialized. Men are not taught that the way their bodies look is important to the same degree women are.
Among adult women, the culture s fascination with youth may also figure into eating disorders. According with Harrar et al (1996) like it or not, thinness is equated with youth, and
Bibliography: Mitchell, J.E. (1990). Bulimia Nervosa. University of Minnesota Press Harrar, S., Loecher, B., & Konner, L