I couldn't have been more than 10 or 12 when I was writing most of these; I found a journal from the 6th grade in which I tracked my food intake and calories, assorted lists scrawled in color pencil that included the words "diet," "eat right," and "lose weight," and was immediately brought back to the many times as a child I imagined myself struggling with weight. In reality, I was always a healthy child, but I allowed those concerns to exist- and for what reason?
It always seems too easy to blame Barbie dolls, and I am reluctant to do so. I believe the problem is deeper embedded in young girls than a doll or an image- rather, it is, in my opinion, a part of the very image of femininity to worry about our weight. It has become consistently more mainstream for women to openly talk about struggling with their weight and body image, and rather than receive positive feedback, it has also become normal to do so to a chorus of "me too"s. It's impossible in an environment like that for girls to grow up without internalizing struggles with body image and interpreting them as signs of maturity, as I did. I can distinctly remember viewing diets and calorie restrictions and talk about "losing five pounds" as something that I would have to do as an adult, and therefore put myself through premature dieting, and borderline starvation, at the cost of wanting to be seen as "one of the gals."
As Director of Body Image for my campus group, Women's Initiative, I learned a lot about the media, family, friends, and how everything considered "normal" in America actually feeds into unhealthy bodily standards and a fixation on appearance. One of the most interesting facts I learned about body image, through research for a media paper, was that the media's portrayal of food as a social tool and a positive lifestyle enhancer actually fueled bulimia through its juxtaposition against models and celebrities who were rail-thin being praised as "perfect."
I am not naive enough to think that the best approach towards healing a disordered-eating-prone society is simply to stop adults from talking about it; I am aware of the forces that shape our lives and know that struggling with appearance is hailed as "normal" and will be a phase of life that most women fall into harshly, with lack of information and lack of support. What I have advocated for in WI, and actively pursued as a course of action, is the coupling of that body image anxiety with real, comprehensive health education for women. Courses geared toward "keeping a healthy weight" and "losing weight" are not proactive; knowledge in how to "nurture your body" and "maintain your nutrition and health" are much more valuable and positive. My life was impacted greatly by a health course I took at The County College of Morris as a senior in high school, and I took that knowledge straight where it counted - the kitchen. By educating young girls about the benefits of healthy eating, and by encouraging them to eat enough instead of "get by;" by shifting the weight discussion to be about nurturing your physical health and not society's standards, and by eliminating the idea that numbers- be they on a scale or a measuring tape- can in any way indicate our health and social status, we can eradicate the hungers that too many of us look back on with disdain.
My promise to love my body, to treat it well, and to force society to deal with that, is the direct product of a long and tumultuous journey with my own body image, and the knowledge that perhaps, just perhaps, that action will prevent any other 6th graders from counting numbers and evaluating their worth on paper.
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