The three theoretical models used to explain and treat eating disorders are biomedical model, psychological model and the feminist model. The biomedical model focuses on scientific research, while ignoring many social, historical and cultural factors that influence eating patterns. The psychological model states that eating problems are “multidimensional disorders” that are influenced by biological, psychological and cultural factors. The biomedical model as well as the psychological model tends to neglect women of different ethnicities, lesbians and working class woman, which is where the feminist model comes into play. The feminist model explains why woman have the highest level of eating disorders and how sexism may relate.
Sexual abuse has been shown to have a direct correlation with eating disorders. This is because they did not have control of their bodies, so eating becomes an anesthetic that calms them. They turn to food the way others turn to drugs or alcohol. This is also because they try to make themselves “unattractive” in a means to prevent this from happening in the future; especially in the case of incest.
Racism and class can contribute to eating disorders as well. Some cultures dictate you must be thin, while others believe is a more curvy body. Many cultures have strong ties to eating, and are centered around food. You also have conflicting messages, where your family may think you need to gain or lose weight, while people at school may say the opposite. When you watch a movie or look in a magazine there are so many bodies to compare your own too. A simple diet with minimal weight loss resulting in positive comments may lead to obsessive dieting leading to an eating disorder. While those who live in poverty often over eat as food is easily accessible and inexpensive.
With this being said it would be impossible to try and treat someone with an eating disorder with only one approach. You would need to treat mind, body and soul to fully treat someone with an eating disorder. A combination of all three models, as well as supportive family and friends would be required.

The three existing theoretical models used to explain eating disorders are the biomedical model, psychological model, and a third model, which looks at them in a more sociological sense. The biomedical model explains disorders as purely physiological, and does not pay attention to possible sociological causes. The psychological asserts that eating disorders are caused by a wider range of issues, such as some cultural ones, but is still fairly narrow in scope. Feminists have given us a third model for study, which takes into account many cultural, historical, and such sociological factors. The key point of this model, though, is the claim that eating disorders are specifically related to gender, NOT to race.

Sociologists first began looking into the connection between sexual abuse and eating problems in the 1980s. There certainly IS a connection: studies indicate that between one and two thirds of women with eating disorders have been abused. Abuse often results in binge eating; food is the most readily available “drug” to numb the horror of abuse. Sexual abuse also sometimes results in excessive dieting and bulimia.  This happens when women believe that their (over)weight is the cause of the abuse.  However, this can eventually also lead to binge eating and oscillating weight.

Racism and classism are also sometimes causes of eating disorders. Racial minorities may see being thin as the only way to become prettier: If white girls are thin, then it becomes essential for racial minorities to be thin as well. Classism makes things even more confusing. For lower working class people, chubbier children will be seen as well fed and healthier. But in higher class families, people are expected to have a certain degree of thinness. If one’s class fluctuates –and this applies mainly to racial minorities—then one is more likely to develop eating disorders, as one tries to compensate for the out-of-whack expectations that change as one’s class does.

BY ROY

PS: A special “thank you” is due to Professor Adams for sorting out all my technical issues. Your help was most appreciated!

               The three theoretical models used to explain eating disorders are the biomedical, physchological, and the feminist models.  The biomedical model looks at the physiological causes and dangers of eating disorders, whilst ignoring the social and emotional factors that may influence an individual. Its focus is on the treatment, rather than the prevention.

       The psychological models says that biological, psychological, and the cultural factors are the reasons why their are eating disorders. It does not acknowledge the other half. This half being woman, woman of color, lesbians, and or working class woman.

       The last being the feminist approach which says that eating problems are gendered. The most people with this disorder are women.  Sexism and other enforcers are the contributing reason to a society that portrays women as only one way, thin and pretty.

       Sexual abuse is the most common reason women develop eating disorders. Most woman were young when they were abused and found food as a way to numb the pain; similar to how an alcoholic leaves it in the bottle. Being young, food was familiar and a easily attainable. It was also something that could be done at any time or anywhere without to much notice. Eating and binging was also a way to become thinner, which was thought of as a reason of why the abuse happened. The abuse wouldn’t happen if they were thin and pretty was the mindset.

       Even though sexual abuse is the main contributing factor for these  disorders; racism and class standing also play a factor. The body image that is seen by different cultures be-it, black-white, white-black, latina-chinese, etc, plays a role society wise how people are seen. Just as important is, if you are up and coming and everyone around you has a different body image or expectations of how body image should be, it puts extreme pressure to be one of the “in crowd”.

        The models to prevent and treat this work, but don’t work at the same time. We need a hybrid approach, lets say Bio-psycho-femino model. This like any disorder or disease needs to be treated as a whole, otherwise it is like giving motrin to a cancer patient as their only form of treatment.

Zach

In the world of five dollar foot long subs, supersized drinks, and going to all you can eat buffets as a challenge rather than a meal choice, food isn’t an issue in this great country of ours. Some countries a meal comes after a day of walking to get water or hunting for your food but in America the 5-5-5 deal at dominos can easily be ordered from the comforts of one’s own couch. Now with all this accessibility you have to understand that with one blessing comes a curse as well. Obesity is at an all-time high and obesity directly corresponds with eating disorders.  Eating disorders can be anything from gorging to purging. ‘CULTURAL OBSESSIONS WITH THINNESS:’African American, Latina, and White Women” by Becky W. Thompson gives us three approaches to eating disorders: Biomedical, psychological and a feminist approach. The biomedical approach acknowledges scientific research that which measures the physiological causes of eating problems and the damage it can do to ones body. The Physiological approach is a mixture of biological, psychological and cultural issues. The problem with the Physiological approach is that it doesn’t acknowledge race and gender. The feminists look at gender and race and how society affects the eating disorders.  The chapter talks about how black women have different pressures than just do to race. African American women are more accepting of obesity as they are known for being strong and self-driven.

Another very strong point is how sexual abuse can lead to gorging oneself. This is because when someone is sexually abused they can feel so used up that they find themself in a situation where depression isn’t just an emotion that they suffer with from time to time, its life 24/7. This numb feeling is so exhausting that when indulging in food gives a feeling of satisfaction that can be misinterpreted as love and the disease begins. Women are prone to these eating disorders because of the fact that they are constantly being depicted as sexual figures in society. The stereotype in culture of the “perfect woman” leaves the average female completely hopeless and facing a challenge that they will not meet. Even the women that are used in magazines and commercials are altered digitally to take off of their “imperfections”.  As long as there are insecurities in our culture you will continue to find and abundance of eating disorders.

Have you ever experienced or observed the struggle a person faces when dealing with weight issues? For many, weight gain and loss is similar to a rollercoaster ride at an amusement park. The ride excels an individual from one extreme to another, struggling to achieve and maintain thinness, which is acknowledged as beauty and success, through the eyes of our society.

Understanding eating disorders, through research, is critical to learning the attributes that contribute to the design of the struggle. Three theoretical models used to explain and treat eating disorders are the (1) biomedical model, (2) psychological model, and (3) the feminist model. The biomedical model presents “scientific research about the possible physiological causes of eating problems and the physiological dangers of purging and starvation”. Critical review of the biomedical model, argues that it “ignores many social, historical and cultural factors that influence women’s eating patterns”. The psychological model exemplifies eating disorders as “multidimensional disorders” which are shaped by “biological, psychological and cultural factors”, constructive “in its exploration of effective therapeutic treatments”. However, critical review of the psychological model argues that, “like the biomedical model, tends to neglect women of color, lesbians and working-class women”. In addition, the third theoretical model is the feminist model, which “asserts that eating problems are gendered”. This model “explains why the vast majority of people with eating problems are women, how gender socialization and sexism may relate to eating problems, and how masculine models of psychological development have shaped theoretical interpretations”. This model proposes that “thinness is a culturally, socially, and economically enforced requirement for female beauty”. A critical review of the feminist theoretical model argues “bias in research has consequences for women of color”. This statement is supported by Thomas Silber who “asserts that many well-trained professionals have either misdiagnosed or delayed their diagnoses of eating problems among African Americans,” which as lead to “be more severe due to extended processes of starvation prior to intervention”. Research that recognizes African America women, Latinas, and lesbians in effort to “seek to understand how race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality inform women’s experiences and influence theory production”.

Furthermore, there is an association between sexual abuse and eating disorders, linking sexual abuse “to the origins of their eating problems”. Some women have stated that they resort to binging to help “anesthetize their feelings” while others sedate themselves through eating to “alleviate anxiety and combat loneliness”. Thompson argues that eating disorders are survival strategies, exemplifying food as a resource that provides comfort and security to an array of issues including sexism, heterosexism, and abuse.

Moreover, racism and class standings contribute to eating disorders. For example, “an African American woman, remembered when her white grandmother telling her that she would never be as pretty as her cousins because they were light skinned”. In addition, her grandmother objected to her weight” leading Joselyn to “think that even though she could not change her skin color, she could at least try to be thin”. Class standing than impacted Joselyn’s self-concept. For example, when her father’s business began to prosper, their immediate social circle of people and standards also changed. The “class expectations that their parents experienced exacerbated standards about weight that they inflicted on their daughters”.

In conclusion, Thompson maintains that women’s eating problems are a response to poverty, racism, acculturation, and social class inequality. We might explain the low rates of eating disorders among Black, ethnic, and low-income men as they may resort to other obstructive avenues of behavior, in which they dominate the higher percentage. We often use first impressions of people, especially appearance, to form a theory about who that person is. However, we must remember how important it is to judge a person based on their character, and personality while remaining conscious of not falling into the realm of “judging a book by its cover”.

BY JESSICA

According to the American Anorexia/Bulimia Association, seven million woman and one million men, ages 10 to early 20’s, suffer from eating disorders. Seeing Ourselves used three different models explaining eating disorders, biomedical model, psycolological model, and cultural of thinness model. Biomedical adopts medical treatment and stradegies that can help woman be less traumatized by this disorder. Psychological model explores effective therapeutic treatments except tends to neglect woman of color, lesbians, and working class woman. Culture of Thinness model is a key reason why eating problems predominate among woman. In this reading it says due to stereotypical thinking that these eating problems are restricted to white woman, African Americans and Latinas once diagnosed, their problems seem to be more severe. I’d have to agree because we as students learn in sociology how race is a big part of life. The darker your skin the “uglier” you seem to be. Which obviously isn’t true but thats how a majority of our society thinks. With that been said, I think African Americans and Latinas try to follow a white womans way of living. For example, when a white woman is thin, an African American or Latina feels as if she becomes thin then maybe society will look at her as “beautiful.” And thats the problem with cultural obsessions with thinness! Skinny does not equal pretty but most people think that is the case. And that’s exactly why eating disorders is and will continue to be huge problem in today’s society.

Many women and men are fixated on how they look and how people perceive them.  The physical appearance is the first thing we see when meeting someone and then follows conversation and their personality.  Looking a certain way is very important to people.  It ranges from the type of car you drive to the new “it” item your wearing this season.  Models are known to be thin especially runway models that have to be 10lbs thinner than commercial models.  Labels with can be a girls worst enemy. The idea of having two digits instead of one is subconsciously telling him/her to lose weight.  The smaller the number the better fit of the clothes and how much prettier he/she is.

Eating disorders are a growing concern many people at some point in their lives have had one whether they realized it or not.  Not eating for days, eating and then forcing themselves to get sick, hoarding food, using food as punishment are examples of a eating disorder even if your not a size 2.

Pressure from cultural backgrounds can play a role.  Having thin family members and expectations of how you should look.  They may see them living an unhealthy lifestyle and have little respect for someone who doesn’t take care of themselves.  Their actions and words can be demeaning and make the person feel even more insecure and develop low self-esteem.  With low self-esteem the person feels useless and tries to please everyone and including herself to any means.  Drastic measures may occur to make the person feel better about themselves and to prove to others they are worth something.

Biomedical, psychological and feminist models differ. Biomedical “offers important scientific research about possible physiological causes of purging and starvation.” But what makes this model different from the rest is that this model has nothing to do with the history, socialization or cultural factors of this disorder. This model is mainly to focus on using medical treatment to help women get over their disease or trauma. Psychological model is influenced by the “biological, psychological and cultural factors” everything that the biomedical model does not refer to. The interesting fact about these two models is that they both “neglect color, lesbians and working class women”. The feminist model believes almost all eating disorders occur in women and not men. This model anylizes how “sexism” may relate to eating problems and how men make a huge impact of the women’s eating disorder. A women believes that in order to get a man and feel beautiful that she needs to be skinny if she’s not then women believe the men would dump her for a skinner more attractive women.

According to Thompson eating disorders are a survival technique. My view on this statement is that people eat when they are depressed, bored, scared, happy, nervous, ect. Eating is a crucial part of our lives. So when something bad happens to someone like getting sexually or physically abused , I don’t blame a person just wanting to eat. Eating makes all your worries and pain go away. But once they get themselves under control and stop eating they realize what they have done and they have this fear that they will become heavy, so they will go into the bathroom and purge.

Racism and Cultures have a lot to do with eating disorders. For example the italian culture is made of up food. Every Italian restaurant or family you go to you never get a small meal. It is always huge and you could can never finish it! How can someone be skinny with all that food they eat everyday? Over in Africa they have no choice but to be skinny because there is less food and they exercise everyday they walk everywhere they go and such. Certain Cultures do have a rule about being this perfect barbie doll skinny.  

By:  Nicole V