Eating Disorders in the Developing Woman Essay - 2637 Words

In recent history, the idea and overall concept of feminine beauty has been slowly sinking toward a far less healthy, overly thin model. When humans first evolved over 25,000 years ago, women with large, ample breasts and hips were seen by society as very sexually appealing symbols of fertility. Fertile women were considered to be the ideal for any man. Thin women were not considered beautiful because they did not appear healthy enough to raise and provide nourishment for their family. Slim women were also often times considered poor because in the eyes of society, they could not afford enough food to keep their body full and healthy. pDuring the Renaissance era, beautiful, elaborate paintings from world famous artists, Micheangelo among†¦show more content†¦A woman called Twiggy by the press was one of the most popular fashion models in the 1960s. Twiggy was a very appropriate title for her, considering her stick-thin body. She slowly began exposing more and more of her ske letion-esque stature to the camera, and to the world, no doubt inspiring young girls to become like her, because she was in style, yet she was strikingly different; but perhaps most importantly: She was beautiful. The ultra-skinny image, although not a healthy one, is still consistently portrayed today in the media. While researching articles for this paper, I came across a magazine headline that read, You Can Never Be To Thin, in bold, capital letters. Unfortunately, some women actually began believing that statement, and a great deal of them have since suffered from Anorexia nervosa and some have even died of starvation. Can you imagine starving yourself to death? It is terrifying to me that young minds are so easily driven to take drastic measures when they are told that they will be accepted and loved by society as soon as they are thin. Teenagers are directly targeted because, being at a very impressionable time in their lives, they tend to conform to whatever is currently cons idered fashionable by their society. pAlison Bell hit the nail on the head when she wrote in an article for TEEN magazine in 1999, We live in a society where it is considered standard for a teenager to worry excessively about her body especially atShow MoreRelatedThe Psychological Effects Of Eating Disorders1324 Words   |  6 PagesEvery woman in her life has a moment when she looks in the mirror and feels fat, or opens a cosmopolitan magazine to see a size 00 girl advertising a new diet and starts to feel insecure, or goes to every length on earth to lose weight, but what women don t realize is that those are all influences leading to eating disorders. Women are strongly affected by eating disorders in North America. 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The media sets out tons of images and videos of a way an average woman should look like when in reality what the media is showi ng is unrealistic goal to achieve. Whit the media showing off only one body image or what they would say â€Å"perfect,† body image they can cause serious problems mentally and physically in a women’s mind and body. One of the serious problems that can happen mentally in a woman’s mind is developing low self esteem and ultimately depression. With the media showing picturesRead MoreInfluence Of Society On A Teenager1039 Words   |  5 Pagesbeautiful. In the 1980’s it was considered beautiful to be a curvy woman. A woman with a large chest and full hips was the ideal women, such as Selena Quintanilla. The difference between then and now is, women could escape this if needed. Today it is impossible to ignore the stick thin, supermodels, such as Kendall Jenner. They are on TV, Clothing stores, and magazines. 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