Does the fashion industry encourage eating disorders?

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Does the fashion industry encourage eating disorders?

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Everyday we are bombarded with thousands of airbrushed and unattainable images. Women’s bodies are used to sell everything from chocolate to couture.

Many analysts believe that the distorted reflection of beauty, beamed back on society, is purely used for economical purposes. By presenting us the general public with heavily airbrushed and ‘perfected’ images- unattainable beauty; the cosmetic, beauty and diet product industries secure profit and continuous growth.
So are the pictures in the glossy magazines to blame?




YES


The industry isn’t always so flawless. The nature v nurture debate is key here.
The images within the pages of magazines are to all but an extremely small number of women completely and disturbing unattainable.
Although anorexia is the illness that receives more coverage, bulimia is actually a lot more common.
Bulimia is estimated to affect around 2% of women aged 15 to 40.
Anorexia is estimated to affect between 1 and 5 teenage women in every 100,000.

The culture of Thinness is unacceptable. Researchers have found that women’s magazine as opposed to men’s have ten and a half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss; this set along side the images of the ‘perfect’ body surely is a recipe for danger.

Thin is IN, well within the glossy pages and advertising it seems to be.
I was shocked when I found that 20 years ago, the average model weighted 8% less than the average woman BUT todays weigh 23% less. A true representation, I think not!
Advertisers seem to believe that thin models sell products.

When I was teenage I like many others looked to models, singers and actresses as role models and with the trend of ‘thin is in’ these ‘role models’ are seeming to be getting smaller and smaller.
Women see these females, in their retouched state mostly, and come to the conclusion that they need to look like them in order to be beautiful. They want to attain the skeletal frames as they feel this is the only way they can be truly accepted by society. Utter rubbish!
It is more than likely that these women are unhealthy and unnaturally thin.
Young women do not seem to grasp that trying to obtain these ‘goals’ set by the thin crowd bring hand in hand a lifetime of health problems and in the worst cases even death.
Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders Inc, an American research group states in a recent report that 1 out of every 4 college aged women use unhealthy methods of weight control. Methods that include; skipping meals, binging, fasting, laxative abuse, vomiting and excessive exercise.
In a recent Channel 4 documentary ‘Dana: The 8 year old anorexic’ Dr Dee Dawson, Medical Director of the Rhodes Farm Clinic which treats young girls with eating disorders, said: "I'm in no doubt now that the average age is falling. We are seeing more 8, 9, 10-year-olds than we have ever seen before." What is society doing to our children?

Images have painfully caused the real woman’s body to be almost invisible within the media. Who draws the line between what is fat and what is thin?
Being part of the nationwide search that has without a doubt redefined the meaning of beauty was an honour. There needs to be change and it needs to happen now.


The restricted, stereotyped and narrow images of what beautiful is continues to increase within the pages of the magazines.
I know first hand how the images can promote eating disorder through ‘thinspiration’.
The pro-ana (promoting anorexia) movement is distributed over the net, through ‘support’ groups centred around web forums and social networking sites.
Members of these groups share crash dieting techniques and recipes (67% of sites in a 2006 study), advise on how to best induce vomiting, giving tips on hiding weight loss and affirm ‘attractiveness’ plus much more horrifying material.
These sites are littered with thinspiration. Images act as an encouragement. Images or video montages of slim women, usually celebrities and models. The ‘secret society of starving’ has ill individuals spending hours measuring themselves up to unattainable goals and airbrushed ideals.
The Academy for Eating Disorders takes the position that "websites that glorify anorexia as a lifestyle choice play directly to the psychology of its victims", expressing concern that sites dedicated to the promotion of anorexia as a desirable "lifestyle choice" "provide support and encouragement to engage in health threatening behaviors, and neglect the serious consequences of starvation."

The pressure to be thin is more relevant now than ever, this coincides with the increase in advertising and images we are subject to every single waking hour. Coincidence?

Models in the pictures feel the pressure too. In November 2006, 21 year old Brazilian model Caroline Reston who worked with many top agencies including Ford and Elite, died of a kidney malfunction. This 5’6, 88 pound model suffered from anorexia and her condition deteriorated her kidneys which led to her painful death.
Is Beauty killing Beauty?




NO


There are numerous groups and experts that argue against the idea that the media correlates with body image issues. Their claims are that eating disorders are deep rooted.
Eating disorders can be seen to be a psychological imbalance in the brain starting at birth.

Eating disorders are complex conditions that are a result of a variety of long standing behavioural, emotional, psychological and interpersonal factors.
Individuals suffering with eating disorders often use food and its control as an escape. The excessive control of food can compensate for feelings and situations that may otherwise seem overwhelming.
I know for a fact that I used dieting, bingeing and purging to cope with painful emotions. I wanted to feel in control of my life, exam stress, personal issues and as a result suffered from extreme low self confidence. My behaviour and poor coping methods damaged my physical and emotional health and along side with it my self esteem, as lack of it.

Scientists believe there are possible biochemical and biological issues that cause eating disorders, which would get the fashion and beauty industries off the hook.
There is also current research that indicates that there are significant genetic contributions to eating disorders.
Depression, anxiety, anger or loneliness are all psychological factors that can contribute to the illnesses.
I felt inadequate, although I don’t believe that the images I saw within the magazines were the root cause of my disorders however I’m aware that they did hinder my recovery.
If you are suffering from low self-esteem seeing images of size 6 models will not cheer you up.

Disorders can arise from interpersonal factors such as troubled family or personal relationships along side a difficulty in expressing emotions.
Individual suffering who have had a history of physical or sexual abuse will of course not blame the beauty industry.
However the images we all see is altering the perception of what beautiful is. So the interpersonal factors such as a history of being teased or ridiculed based on size or weight are purely based on society’s ideals.

Women may use images to stick on their fridge as a way of diverting their hands from the chocolate éclairs housed within. I am aware that it is important to note that many of the women dieting will never fall into the dark depths of eating disorders but SOME will. The industries that present their products to the population need to have a duty of care. If the imagery used is enhancing someone’s ability to practice unhealthy food restriction then surely they should fix up.


In conclusion I believe that each case is different and the beauty industry isn’t solely to blame.
Eating disorders are complex conditions that seem to be the result of a variety of potential causes. If I’m honest it took nearly 2 years of Cognitive behavioural therapy to understand why I was making myself sick and punishing myself. I was crying out for help and wanting to have a control over my life which was obsessive and immensely harmful.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an umbrella-term for psychotherapeutic systems that deal with cognitions, interpretations, beliefs and responses, with the aim of influencing problematic emotions and behaviors

Behaviours can spring from environment.
I’m not going to lie social factors did contribute to my eating disorders.
Cultural pressures, especially in the West, seem to glorify ‘thinness’ and place getting a ‘perfect body’ on a pedestal.
There are narrow definitions of beauty as a result society thus women are only being presented with a small spectrum of body weight and shapes. The average size in the UK is a 16!!!
There is a worrying trend that cultural norms disturbingly value people on the basis of what they look like and not inner qualities and strengths.

‘Miss Naked Beauty’ challenged conventional notions of what is ‘beautiful’. To do this it turned the traditional beauty contest on its head.
It is important to understand what it is to be naturally beautiful!

The dark side of the beauty and fashion industries rears it’s ugly head occasionally, the death of a size zero model for example.
The problems need to be tackled and fast.

Eating disorders are serious, what ever the cause, and require professional help.
They can create a self-perpetuating cycle of destruction.
Research does indicate that exposure to airbrushed, thin and young bodies is linked to depression. There are also links to loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy behaviour in women so a change needs to happen and the female form in all its colours shapes and sizes need to be celebrated.