Obsessions with Thinness

                          

There are three theoretical models that is used to explain and treat eating disorders. First there is the Biomedical model that uses scientific research to pursue the idea that physiological is the cause for eating disorders. In their research they felt medical treatment is the best way to go to treat peoples eating disorders. In doing so many women found it to be very overwhelming.

The second model which is called Psychological model believes eating disorders have to do with many different disorders that are brought on by biological, psychological, and culture issues. They believe the best treatment for this model is therapeutic treatment.

 Then lastly there is the feminist model that says eating problems are based on gender and that women are the primary target. This model says that thinness and beauty among women are sought out culturally, socially, and economically. With this makes them sustainable to dieting, weight loss and subsequent weight gain.

 All these model differ in what they believe is the cause and treatment. But what was noticed is that all these models neglect race, sexual orientation, and working class women.

 It is believed that between one third to two thirds of women that have been sexually abused have a eating disorder. Some of the women that they interviewed in chapter 7 Cultural obsession with thinness: African American, Latina, and white women. By Becky W Thompson say that eating helps them hide the pain or momentarily forget about there trauma that they have experienced. Others say extreme dieting and bulimia was their way of coping because they feel that their perpetrator found the extra weight to be attractive. So to feel safe that their perpetrators will no longer find them attractive because they have got rid of what attracted them in the first place.

 Racism and class standing also effect in the way of causing eating disorders, For instance with race, African and Latina women are stereotyped and are thought that fat is more expected and attractive. Once their class status changed from working class to middle class the way you were expected to look changed. In the working class if you were skinny, you were thought to be sickly and that your mother was a bad or insufficient cook. But once you enter middle class fat was frowned upon and skinniness was seen as classy.

 Carol Yager – She was born in 1960 and had a pretty disturbing childhood. Before she died in 1994 she declared in an interview that the reason why she developed an eating disorder early in her childhood is because she was sexually abused by a close family member. At her peak, Yager was estimated to have weighed about 1600 pounds, which makes her the heaviest person ever recorded in human history.                                                 

                                                            

The link below tells a womens personal story on how sexually abuse was the cause for her eating disorder. Very sad!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZnI1HQg2hM

 

Jessica

2 thoughts on “Obsessions with Thinness

  1. How can a person possibly let themselves become 1600 pounds? That’s crazy, she must of not been able to move once shit hit 400. This is medicaly impossible, i’m telling you.

  2. Good post. Certainly gives one “food for thought” 🙂
    I like the way you included pictures to emphasize your points. Kudos.

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