My body is not built of twigs
how could twigs carry my soul?
I am not small, or delicate, or light.
My feet do not move with a grace you would recognize
my body is not built of twigs
how could a body of twigs bear children?
My body is covered in a network of scars, and stretchmarks
these scars and stretchmarks are beloved
they tell a story
My body is made of steal
By: Elizabeth Wilde

Rage Against An Anorexic Society
by: Beth

A sinister smile stares at me
from the semi-gloss pages of a magazine.
She proudly declares, "I see my ribs.
That makes me beautiful."

And I believe her, I soak it all in,
the meaningless truth in her words,
Soak it deep into my soul
with countless other persuasions.

So sick of wanting, too tired of wishing
to be skin and bones.
I hate conforming my God-given body
into what society wants to see.

Yet I starve myself instead of my addiction.
I'm addicted to a notion
Of a tall, slender vision I can't be,
My one and only impossible dream.

I want to learn to love myself,
break away from the nothingness I've become.
For who wants one more empty skeleton
when beauty lies within.

©2002 Beth. Reprinted with Permission.

This is an image of Katie Couric that was edited to make her look considerably smaller due to concerns about her waistline. You can read more at http://photoshopnews.com/2006/08/29/katie-couric-beforeafter/.

I am not immune

after days of looking at this stuff I have to say that even when I was looking at these images with a critical eye I was never immune to them. I spent a lot of the time thinking about my own body and wondering how I would measure up. I also noticed some profound things when I took a look at pictures of today's waifish models and sat them next to an image of Kate Winslet who I would consider both beautiful and thin.

This is me trying to atone for all of the super skinny images I propagated by putting them on this blog.

The Ultimate Problem

Really I do not believe that it is the fault of the media that anorexia exists. It is a psychological problem that is caused by a variety of factors. The problem is that for people likely to develop the disorder and those who aren't the media is adding another layer of dissatisfaction, and by portraying unrealistic expectations of the female body it is creating negative self-esteem for so many young women. So in an effort to be part of the positive exchange of images here are a few pictures of those who are healthy and beautiful.

Pro-ana/ Pro-mia

When I accessed these kinds of websites my computer issued me four or five warnings telling me that the information I was about to view was not healthy information and that if I were under 18 I would need parental permission to view it. Great, they sure kept me off there. These websites are incredibly disturbing and judging by the esthetics used by many of them including a picture of a bleeding rose they know that the information they are relaying is both dangerous and disturbing. The problem is that this is part of what makes them so popular, it's all part of this Heroin-sheek motif the fashion industry is so fond of. Hurting oneself to achieve this beauty at any cost. Anorexia and Bulimia have been given personified nicknames Ana, and Mia, as though they are the friends and companions of these girls.

Hegemony

So all of these repressentations of women are forcing women to buy into an ideology that worships hyperthin versions of women's bodies which aren't possible for many and unhealthy.

Why?

Here are two images of Kate Bosworth, one from her breakthrough movie Blue Crush and one from recently. It begs the question: why? Why did she feel that there was any need for her to loose weight. She now looks skeletal and unattractive.

So on from the model debate there are lots of other places to look where women are getting mixed up ideas about what is attractive. Take Victoria Beckham. She has openly admitted that she eats only pretzels and diet coke. That sounds like an unhealthy diet to me. She also says that she hasn't tasted water in years because she can't stand the taste.
Nicole Richie recently checked herself into a facility to assess why she has been unable to gain weight. Anyone who has payed any kind of attention to the media over the past five years will find this strange. Nicole used to be overweight, so it seems that at one point she was able to gain weight and now she can't. I hardly think it was a huge leap the media made when they assumed that Nicole was getting treatment for an eating disorder when this news broke.

BMI of at least 18 disqualifies Kate Moss.

The Spanish fashion industry has banned the appearance of models with bmi of less than 18 from it's Cat Walks. This has further ignited the debates about size zero models as it disqualifies such regulars as Kate Moss.

Storm Models

Interestingly this agency keeps turning up over and over again in articles about the size zero debate. It seems that they are catching heat for their Model Lily Cole. Such people as Rouland Mouriet have stood up for her saying it is unfair to blame her for anorexia. I hardly think that anyone is saying that. i would even say that people in many cases are concerned for Lily's own health, as well as the health of people who are consuming images of her.

Women Just Can't Win.

Here is an article which I think raises some vital issues. The problem is that we consume so many media messages about the ideal body that we can't possibly win with ourselves when our idea of what is beautiful or good is changing so constantly.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4153/is_20060801/ai_n16654925

Apples and Tomatoes

It's important to understand that eating disorders occur for all different reasons. In the case of Fiona Apple it was an attempt to control men's reaction to her. After she was raped at the age of twelve.
Control is a common theme in eating disorders and a desire to gain control is one of those personality traits I mentioned in the post about the Diathesis-Stress model that is very common in those who are likely to develop an eating disorder.

Another side to the debate.

This is an article that brings up some interesting points about the availlability of sizes at Wal-Mart vs. Marc Jacobs.
http://www.piercemattie.com/blogs/2006/10/what_happens_after_zero.html

Jean Paul Gaultier's commentary on the size zero debate.

From what I read about Gauiltier's controversial move people seemed to believe that he was trying to make a point in favour of larger women's beauty. I am unsure if this is what he meant. The campaign against size 00 models isn't a campaign to have obese women replace them. People want healthy repressentatives of womens bodies and neither extreme is healthy.

The Last Model

The effects of anorexia are so severe that in it's final stages the body begins basically consume itself. You can see in this model, Alyona, that her body has begun this process. Liz Jones noticed her at the Jonathon Saunders show. She was given a position of honour bringing up the rear of the end procession. Jones was so horrified by how emaciated she was that she decided to discover her name.

Bad Role Model, Good Model?

I was unable to make this a link but you can copy and paste it to access the article.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=406198&in_page_id=1879

The Diathesis-Stress Model

In order to understand the media's influence on body image and more specifically on the development of eating disorders, you need to have an understanding of some basic psychology.
Like most disorders Anorexia can be explained by two factors, genetic predisposition and stressful life situations.
People who develop anorexia often share similar psych profiles, and personality traits the most important of which is a tendency towards secretiveness.
These sets of genetic predispositions which include personality traits combined with environmental factors resulting in a disorder is called the Diathesis-Stress Model. This means that there isn't a single factor that results in an eating disorder nor can either factor in isolation result in an eating disorder. This explains why not all people with genetic tendencies toward these disorders develop them and why not all people who have stressful life situations develop them.
The media and more specifically the fashion industry would fall under the stress aspect of the development of an eating disorder.
When women who are not healthy continue to be placed in a position where they can be viewed and idolized by young women it creates an unhealthy belief about what a woman's body actually looks like. This reinforces peoples belief that they can become a fantasy that does not exist.

The death that sparked a debate

Luisel Ramos died at age 22 , moments after she stepped off the catwalk after living months off of diet coke and lettuce. Her death has sparked numerous debates in the fashion industry about the use of underweight models.
Some members of the fashion community have been ill receptive to the idea of using models of more substantial weight, citing such reasons as that the clothing wouldn't properly fit larger women.
This begs the question: Why are designers making clothing that fits such a small segment of the population? The answer to this is elitism. By glamourizing a rare body type the fashion industry creates an elite body type which can be achieved only by few.
The problem is that people will naturally want to try and be like these women who are able to achieve this body type. This results in a negative body image which can antagonize people's preexisting tendencies towards eating disorders.

Rest In Peace

Ana Carolina Reston passed away this week at 80 pounds. The 21 year old model refused to eat anything but apples and tomatoes.

Are We Kidding Ourselves?

In this blog I am going to attempt to tackle some very serious issues about body image in modern women. I will also adress eating disorders and their growing prevalence and the psychological issues at play when a person developes one. I will also go into detail about body dismorphic disorder a far less talked about disoreder but one that is crippling.