In doing my readings for class, I find it hard to wrap my mind around some of the topics being discussed. The book is called Women’s Conflicts about Eating and Sexuality. Some of the preconceptions about women are so off, it’s astounding. Even I, as a woman had preconceptions that are totally false. I learned that over 2 million women suffer from eating disorders in the extreme. This number in NOT counting the millions of other women that are obsessed with food, hunger, and deprivation. Many self esteem issues revolve around weight and being accepted. As bad as it sounds, to be socially accepted in The United States these days, their is a “thin” ideal that people think women should live up to. Everyday in magazines, on T.V., and in advertisements everywhere you see unrealistically think women with unmarked bodies. These bodies are not realist at all. Every woman has a few marks or a bit of flab. Human’s have created this image of a “perfect” woman that no one can reach. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder so it is impossible to have an image that is perfect for everyone. My question is, why thin in considered more beautiful than other body types? And why are larger body types referred to a “disgusting” or “unappealing”?
The fear of becoming fat and “losing control” is something that women try to avoid at all cost. There is this idea that if you are larger than “normal” then you will be undesirable and unlovable. The thought that being physically alluring will guarantee love and acceptance is strange, and I wonder how this thought came to be? Being deprived of food is a choice that a lot of women choose over being satiated by what they want. They restrict their bodies from what it craves, therefor sealing the fate of being skinny just as long as they remain in starvation. What an interesting trade off, don’t you think? Food for love. Either or, not both, but why?