Seid asserts that American society today places too high an irrational standard for women to maintain thin bodies. She says that their waif-like bodies defy biology and resemble sickness and death. Seid also claims that American culture is engulfed in a twisted belief about beauty, health, and appetite.
The author claims that during the Romantic period, thinness was considered ugly and a woman's bad luck, and 100 years ago, the female ideal was tall, full-busted, full-figured and mature. "Cellulite" was considered desirable, …show more content…
At the same time, the definition of "overweight" includes normal-sized Americans and being fat is as disgraceful as being dirty.
Seid compares The United Nations World Health Organization daily intake of calories to modern diets, stating that what the UNWHO claims as semi starvation is often more than modern diets recommend. She further states that Americans believe that permanent dieting and constant hunger are healthy and energy-giving and food does not nourish, but instead kills. When the truth is that the well-fed grow stronger, healthier and more productive than the under-fed.
Seid compares the Victorian attitude toward sex to today's attitude towards food; stating that in the 19th century, control of one's sexual instincts is as important as today's belief of controlling one's appetite. We seem to feel more civilized when suppressing a basic "animal"