The statistics Courtney Martin points out at the
introduction of her book did not shock me at all, I mean is it really that
surprising that 90% of girls believe to be overweight? Women are obsessed with
weight and body image, because for most of them at the end of the day “it is
not our kindness or courage that we count, it’s our calorie intake”. It doesn’t
surprise most of us I would believe, but does it mean it is all right? Is it
acceptable that girls, even those not diagnosed with eating disorders, obsess
over every little thing they put in their mouths? In average women spent 100
minutes a day contemplating food and hating their bodies, if they live up to 85
years old, that’s 3 years wasted of a whole life. This really isn’t okay.
Among many of the points Martin made about sports during
this past decade, one of the most interesting ones in my opinion was how female
athletes became sex symbols. It became common for women to obtain more
attention from the media, and the population in general, for their looks rather
than for their career accomplishments. For example, who Martin talks about in
the book is Brandi Chastain, and how after her team’s victory on the female
world cup in 1999 she took her shirt off showing her black sports bra, and
right after she was found posing naked for a magazine. Sports became extremely
tied up with looks and the ideal body image, and it is an issue that consumes
athletes. Athletes are usually perfectionists, they are overly competitive, and
what this book helps prove is that so are anorexics. Athletes become to see the
disease as something they are also competing with, and they even get to the
point where they start to compete with their own teammates as stated in the
reading. To prove this point, one of the girls states in the book “anorexia
felt empowering, because I constantly needed to win”.
As if no one was already was putting enough pressure on
women and their body image, now there are people even focusing on the proper
way pregnant women should look as well, which makes perfect sense for this
author to say that “no body” escapes. As the author first states, women viewed
pregnancy as a time were they could have a break from all the pressure with
looking good, they could focus on themselves on different aspects and on the
healthy development of the baby, but now they are expected to be fit during
some of the nine hardest months of their lives. Magazines claim that any
pregnant women should be prepared for their labor, meaning that they should
physically train for it. Honestly, it just sounds too me a little absurd that
they expect pregnant women to have the legs and arms of a top model, because
the lack of energy a women must feel during those nine months just make this
all sound unbearable. A women shouldn’t need to have toned muscles during
pregnancy to feel beautiful, being pregnant is the quintessence of being a
woman of being feminine, it is already beautiful on its own natural way.
Lily Cannon
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alines comment on how it didn’t surprise her at all that 90% of girls believe to be overweight. I know looking around Conn and the girls I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them had eating disorders. I know in my quad some nights my roommates and I do at times treat ourselves to late night snacks but only to keep us up to do more work or either paint each other’s nails. Although there are comments on how we are such “fat asses” I don’t take it personally at all just as a joking matter. I do believe that there are certain people in which you shouldn’t say that around or to because they might take it personally however most girls degrade themselves to each other. The question is is that a good or bad thing?
Charlotte Sargent
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aline that women are obsessed with their weight and body image and it is a thought that constantly consumes the minds of women. It is crazy to think that 90% of girls believe to be overweight, but I can believe it. I probably didn’t go a day of high school without hearing some sort of comment about someones weight or what a person was eating or ate that day. Usually the comments were about a girl who didn’t eat a lot or was very thin; the comments were usually negative and in a sense putting the girl down, most likely because of the feeling of competition. If the comments about food intake weren’t directed towards another girl, I typically would hear someone say “I ate so much today, I need to workout,” something along those lines. It always bothered me to hear girls say those things, but it’s the pressure from society, peers, and teammates that drives women to feel this way. Athletes have an extreme amount of pressure from themselves, coaches, and teammates and as Aline said, athletes are usually perfectionists and extremely competitive. The quote she used “anorexia felt empowering, because I constantly needed to win” stood out to me because I find it quite disconcerting that someone could feel so competitive with themselves that they would severely damage their bodies in order to win.
Kelsey Warkentin
ReplyDeleteLike Aline, Lily and Charlotte, I was not surprised at all that 90% of women think they are overweight. But what is the normal weight? The media skews what the "perfect body" should look like so women are getting out of hand. Most of those women in the 90% range are probably just where they should be. My best friend from high school has an amazing body. She used to be a little chubby in middle school, but dropped it come freshman year. Although because of her past experiences with her weight, she continued to scrutinize herself even when she was perfectly fine. She kept losing more and more weight throughout the duration of high school. She would complain of headaches and I would always tell her to just eat more, but she didn't listen. While she wasn't anorexic, she did have severe body-image issues that I still saw when I was home a couple weeks ago. I used to get so frustrated because I thought she looked beautiful, but now I have a better understanding of why she felt the need to keep losing weight. Like the quote Aline included "anorexia felt empowering, because I constantly needed to win", my friend was in control of something in her life and it felt good to her.
Aline's perspective on the first article is very interesting. The fact that women waste 3 years of their lives contemplating food is ridiculous and a waste of time. Just like the article states, instead of focusing on the war in Iraq, women are too consumed with planning their next trip to the gym or what they are going to eat. Women have their own "mental wars" about their body image that can be extremely debilitating. Also, just as Aline said, female athletes can be considered perfectionists. Therefore, their body image is reflective of this nature. Female athletes are sexualized by society due to their seemingly flawless, athletic physique. This focus could be the leading cause of eating disorders in female athletes. pregnancy is a time when the female body goes through changes to meet the needs of the fetus. Women shouldn't be focused on their physical appearance during this time, rather, they should be focusing on staying healthy and relaxed in order to have a save pregnancy.
ReplyDelete