Farwell Blog

Well this is the last blog of the quarter and although I’m relieved that I won’t have to rush before the 5pm deadline blogs are due I’m kind of sad that the class is ending. Coming into the class a few weeks late I missed out on a few topics but the time I was in enrolled in the class was phenomenal. I learned so much from this course about different issues ranging from plastic surgery, to the different types of addiction, to eating disorders. The material we covered correlated very well with each topic we discussed and I really enjoyed the films we watched (I’m more of a visual learner). The Kilborne video was my favorite because of the issues she went over and just because it is an interesting topic in general to discuss. Other things I liked about the course were the open discussions we had in class. This gave me insight into what others were thinking and how they related to a specific issue. Also the Carmen discussion board was great, it gave us a place to be less formal and vent on different topics that we discovered. It was interesting to see some of the things my classmates had found and their reactions.
Although the digital scrap book was A LOT of work it encouraged me to think on my own and to research different topic from a different perspective that we briefly went over in class. The research for the digital scrapbook also taught me so much about things that I absolutely had no idea about (i.e. the fact that the ink in tattoo’s can be poisonous). An issue that I wish we could have talked about more is shopping addiction, however there isn’t much publicized about it because I tried to do some outside research myself for a blog idea. I liked how you tried to prepare the class for the digital scrapbook throughout the whole course, giving us examples in class and scheduling a workshop day to brainstorm for our blogs.
During our last class today you read a piece from a book that I wanted to make a comment about. It talked about if you have an addiction to do it with a partner and at first it sounded really shocking to hear someone advise this but as you continued on I understood the point she was trying to reach and that was that a person that has an addiction is less likely to act out in front of people or when people are present and I find this very true. While you were reading I began to think about the compulsive behaviors I exhibit in my daily life and my weakness is shopping. Whenever I go shopping I never want to go with people I feel comfortable when I’m by myself. That might be due to the fact that I overspend and overbuy and don’t want to be criticized or made aware that I’m doing this. Well just like you said today you cant unlearn something you already know so for me to come to the realization of this today, in order to keep my compulsive buying under control maybe I should shop with people because I know I won’t have the same shopping behaviors as I would if I was by myself -----just a little self reflection.
Our last topic discussed was that of treatment and recovery of people suffering with an addiction. A comment was made in class that there wasn’t many example of successful treatments and I must abject because I feel that many were present throughout the course starting with Koren. There was Afeni who was addicted to drugs and who is clean now, Jill who came in and gave personal testimony, and others who I’ve mentioned in my digital scrapbook that has successfully complete treatment.
Overall I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot of great things I plan to incorporate in my life.

THANKS

After completing my digital scrap book I realized that I hadn’t incorporated Drug addiction, so I decided with my last blog to discuss how drug addiction is being glorified in rap music, reasons why and if it has an effect or not. There is a common perception that drugs and rap music are inextricably linked, but that wasn't always the case. The fact that rap music didn't always have drug references is compelling because it shows that this type of music didn't always depend on that as an art form. In the becoming of rap music artist like Sugar Hill Gang's, and LL Cool J were more concerned with rhyming over a fresh beat about normal everyday things creating a dance element for listeners The direction of the music seemed to change with the music's growing commercial success and illegal drug use became increasingly linked during this time period to wealth, glamour and social standing, marking a significant change from how it was before. On MedicalNet.com there was an article of Rap Music glorifying Drug Use. In this article it explained a study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, who found a ‘six fold increase in drug references in songs over the past two decades’.

Denise Herd, associate dean of students at the School of Public Health and colleagues analyzed 341 lyrics from the most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1997. Over that time they saw that a more positive attitude about drugs had increased and the consequences about drug use decreased. They found that of the 38 most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1984, only four (11 percent) contained drug references. By the late 1980s, that increased to 19 percent and by 1993, to 69 percent. The up and coming rappers of that time were groups like N.W.A (nigga’s with attitude), Snoop Dogg and Tupac. Interesting that Tupac would be one of the rappers included in rapping about drugs, being that he came from a drug addict mother. We briefly studied a piece on Afeni Shakur and the effects her drug addiction had on tupac and her family. Not trying to create excuses for why rap music has decided to glorify drug abuse but for most of these rappers drug addicts and drug abuse was something these rappers experienced everyday as did Tupac. Being that his own mother was a drug addict it really hit close to home for him and when able to express himself creatively he just expressed what he had witnessed in his home and life. Afeni explains how mothers are somewhat the blame for mishappenings in the black culture in Dyson’s article when saying “if the mother is central in black life, she is also made a scapegoat for the social disintegration of black culture. Single black mothers who are poor have been maligned in the media for cruelly misshaping their offspring, with some critic’s claming they are at least partly responsible for absent fathers (p 22-23)”.

Over the years the types of drugs that were being mentioned in songs have changed also. In the 80’s it was crack, in the 90’s it was marijuana and now it’s everything from cough syrup to pills. In one of Tupac’s classic songs ‘Sr8t Ballin’ some of the lyrics read:

I'm up before the sunrise, first to hit the block.Little bad mothafucka with a pocket full of rocks.And I'm totin' these thangs, get my skinny little ass kicked.And niggas laugh, til' tha first mothafucka got blasted.I put the nigga in his casket,Now they coverin' the bastard in plastic.I smoke blunts on a regular buck when it counts. I'm tryin' to make a million dollars outta quarter ounce.

Not only does this promote the usage and selling of drugs but also an element of violence is present. These positive images are hard to fully conclude why rappers rap about these things. Mother blame can play a role (as we see with Afeni), the environment rappers grow up in, if they lack father figures or not, because this is what has been done before them, or simply because it sells. Whatever the reason be we know that these images drawn by rap music can possibly have a negative affect on the black community and society as a whole as well.

Is tattoo addiction a REAL addiction?

Once thought of as a passing trend and a way to mark slaves, body art such as tattoo’s and body piercing has become more popular than ever. A large part of the consumers are repeat consumers raising the question can body art become addicting? Many people who get tattoo’s say no, because the definition of addiction in Kasl article "Defining Addictiion" states that addiction is a process that involves a slipt in the personality where life-affirming side and the addictive part become increasingly separated (p. 103)" and many people don’t want to think of themselves as conforming to this idea. A blogger on Bot Street Journal didn’t believe that tattoo’s was a form a addiction and said “Most people who get tattoos do so simply because they want them; they do not possess the weakness of character that leads addicts in the position of being compelled to do something”. This can be question because what people don’t know is that getting a tattoo releases endorphins, produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. The effect is similar to taking opiates and the "endorphin rush" produces a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain killers." Finding this out was shocking however I could understand why people then would be anticipating the next tattoo before even leaving the tattoo parlor.

Although there are some people who look at the word ‘addiction’ and get completely turned off and does not want to be associated with it, there are others who profit and make the word ‘addiction’ into a positive. Researching this topic with the word ‘addiction’ in the search bar many tattoo parlors came up as a result labeling their establishment with that word in their name. Also from reading blogs many said that tattoo addiction is the ‘healthy addiction’. Here we see how this form of addiction can quickly be incorporated and accepted into our culture as normal when in fact any type of addiction can be harmful in a way. People have also thrown the “at least I’m not addicted to drugs or alcohol” card out placing more emphasis on one addiction and leaving the other (body art addiction) out of the discussion of how harmful it can actually be. Body piercing addiction can act in the same way as tattoo addiction. What's even more common is the side effects these addictions share (kind of similar to sexual anorexia and sex addiction).

Myrna L. Armstrong, a professor at Texas Technical University School of Nursing, has been studying the psychology and social patterns behind the tattoo fetish for the last dozen years. College students, teenagers, military or career women were all surveyed and Armstrong found that about 40 percent had two or more tattoos. Why do some of these people thrive off the idea of getting tattoo’s and body piercing, especially considering the pain that is brought with the art as well as the permanent mark on your body? Some might do it out of impulse and others because this is the new 'hip' thing to do. By now we've already established that celebrities send subliminal messages to the average American, and if their bodies are decorated from head to toe with tattoo’s and body art, its obvious to predict that that’s what others would start to do. In this you tube clip you see many celebrities with tattoos that have graced magazine covers inspiring spectators to imitate. I can remember when the Rap artist EVE first came out and had paw prints on her boobs how every girl in my neighborhood went out and got the same thing. I’m not going to lie I wanted it too, for the first couple of days, and till this day I’m so happy I didn’t impulsively act on this because I believe I’d be sorry today.

The impulsiveness around tattoos is also a big concern. Many get tattoos and in a year or so later wish they never had it. This is also seen with celebrities. Angelina Jolie was once with Billie Bob Thornton and got his name tattooed on her, but now that her career has taken off and now she’s a mother and no longer with him I wonder does she regrets ever getting it? Well I think we can answer this question ourselves because I haven’t seen the tattoo on her body since she was dating Thornton, she more than likely had it removed. This process is very expensive and the average Joe normally can’t afford this procedure. This rapidly growing trend is also perpetuated in popular music. The Rap star Fabo of D4l made a song specifically about tattoos and the sexiness surrounding them. The video takes place in a tattoo parlor and displays women showing off their tattoo. The lyrics and melody of the song is very catchy and could persuade one to in fact go get a tattoo, I know when I heard the song I wanted one (I sustained though).

Viewed as the safe addiction, tattoos can indeed have a negative effect on ones health. Good health is very important, that’s why one should be very careful when deciding to get a tattoo. Tattoo inks are made of dyes created from a range of metals, which are mostly toxic. The most common effects of tattoos are hypersensitivity to the red dyes (cinnabar), and photosensitivity to the yellow pigments (cadmium, which is another toxic metal). I haven't found documentation of anyone getting cancer from tattoos, but dark inks can make melanoma, skin cancer, harder to detect. Another well-known infection from tattoos is Hepatitis. Well-known signs of an infection after getting a tattoo are high fever, puss leaking from the wound, and red streaks extending from the tattoo. Overall getting a tattoo can be a big mistake. You could possibly end up with health problems, such as getting a small innocent infection or even attracting HIV.

Being Geek, Means you Drink Drink Drink

Despite laws in every state that make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase or possess alcohol, young people report that alcohol is easy to obtain and even more accessible once you come to college. Data from several national surveys indicate that about four in five college students drink and that about half of college student drinkers engage in heavy episodic consumption. Recent concerns have, therefore, often focused on the practice of binge drinking, typically defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for men, and four or more drinks in a row for women. The operant goal of binge drinking is to get drunk. The effects binge drinking can have on college students are wide ranged and can even lead to death. In this Blog I will be talking about the importance of binge drinking has on college campuses and some of the influences, as well as including some current testimonies of student who have been effected by binge drinking.

In the Eric Digest from George Washington Univ. Washington DC. Graduate School of Education and Human Development told the horrific story of how Massachusetts Institute of Technology student Scott Krueger died in 1997 from alcohol poisoning. The freshman’s blood-alcohol level was five times the drunken driving standard in Massachusetts. He had been discovered unconscious in his room by his fraternity brothers at Phi Gamma Delta, after drinking heavily at a fraternity event. Shortly before midnight, the fraternity called Campus Police, who immediately called 911 to alert Boston Police and then went to the fraternity. Krueger was unresponsive when Boston police, firefighters and paramedics arrived a few minutes later, and was taken by ambulance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and placed on life support. His fraternity brother reported having seen him consume many drinks in a short period of time. Boston police issued citations to the house for liquor and housing code violations. The fraternity was suspended from conducting social activities pending the results of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. However Scott’s family received $6 million to settle a civil suit filed, from the university. The Krueger family used $1.25 million to create new scholarships for MIT students. Although in the end Krueger’s family was rein burst for the tragic incident of their loved one and they tried to use this experience to promote positivity with creating a scholarship fund there are still escalating numbers of incidents similar to these occurring on college campuses every year.

Recent cases at University of Michigan and University of Colorado, both football crazed schools where weekends of big wins are often dictated by the campus Greek system have also shown that binge drinking may result in death. With these studies we see a continuous pattern and that is the Greek affiliation with binge drinking. Contrary to the ideals and foundations of Greek membership, Greek members living in Greek housing is the strongest single predictor of binge drinking on college campuses. From my personal experience rarely do fraternity and sorority members have a social activity when alcohol is not present. Alcohol plays a large part of the Greek socialization process. Greek members also believe that alcohol facilitates the brotherhood/sisterhood bonding process and enhances social activities. The social norms of Greek membership appear to greatly influence the attitudes and expectations of Greek members regarding alcohol use. I agree with the article when saying “institutions should begin to examine the accountability, or lack thereof, that fraternities and sororities have to their members”.

During the course we discussed binge drinking quite a bit and even read the self testimony of Koren in the book Smashed about her binge drinking episodes during college. She also was into Greek life which isn’t surprising after study the influence Geeks have on college drinking. The article also points to the fact that drinking more than likely began in high school saying, for many Greek students, binge drinking began in high school and continued throughout college. Of Greek men who lived in fraternity housing, 60% considered themselves binge drinkers in high school while only 38% of sorority women living in sorority houses participated in binge drinking in high school. However both genders in Greek organizations out-drank their non-Greek counterparts.

Besides the death that can occur from binge drinking there are less server things that are common such as rapes and sexual assault. Suite101.com states Every year, almost 100,000 U.S. students between the ages of 18-24 are victims of a sexual assault or date rape in which alcohol is involved. Sexual violence is an epidemic on college campuses, and the overuse of alcohol makes sexual assault much more likely. This statistic is part of a larger one--the estimated 700,000 students who are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. Other issues can include academic consequences. It is proven and I have observed that alcohol can play a role in decision making and often times after a night of binge drink one is hung over and don’t get up and go to class which can cause issues with student’s grades. One can also become easily addicted to alcohol. I know for most of my friends if they don’t drink before going out they can’t have fun or enjoy themselves so for them they consume large amounts of alcohol to relive the thrill whenever parting, and depending on how much parting is done a week this can become a dependency. Legal issues can also be a factor, especially considering that the legal age to drink is 21, which most college freshman and sophomores aren’t when they began college. The expense can vary as an issue. For most occasions drinking is provided at a party or social event therefore college students usually don’t come out their pocket to buy drinks. However if you become addicted or are the supplier of the alcohol then this can become an issue. And weight gain, the number one reason that has sustained me from drinking at parties or period. Most people don’t think about how this could effect you in the long run, however when one is binge drinking they are consuming so many calories which more than likely aren’t going to be burned off the next morning (due to sleeping in late because of a terrible hangover). There are many more health complications such as cirrhosis of the liver, vital organs began to fail, and also sexual performance can be negatively effected.

In the video “30 Days: Binge Drinking Mom” we watch in class I was kind of surprised to see little or none of these effects occur with Jessica. She bragged about being a binge drinker and how she could still get up and go to class and maintain her grades. Her weight and size of her body seemed to be fine and she didn’t speak much about hangovers. However for her mom who had decided to go on a 30 day binge drinking project to prove a point to her daughter (which in my opinion didn’t work and just had a negative effect on her youngest son) did suffer from the effects of binge drinking. The stay at home mom had began to slack on her house duties and almost all the time had a hangover and vomited. Although the point she was trying to make wasn’t reached the topic of genetics was sparked. A recent study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism finds that a link exists between binge drinking and an individual's genetics. Individuals inherit either long or short versions of a specific gene, one from each parent. They can have either one short gene and one long gene, or two of the same length. Researchers discovered that the students carrying two copies of the short version of the gene are more likely to binge drink than others. So although there are issues or environment, Greek influence and peer pressure on college students there is this aspect of genetics that can play a role.

Alcohol-education programs for freshmen are becoming more comprehensive, making sure more students understand the dangers of binge drinking. I know here at The Ohio State University there are what we call “alcohol alternative” programs that R.A.’s and other organizations put on during the weekend to help students stay in the dorms and away from drinking. Besides the role of the universities I strongly feel that parents should educate their students on the effects of binge drinking before entering college, and have an open relationship with them to discuss issues if their child does decide to drink.

The Pressure of Being a HOT Mama

Having a child is one of the most beautiful things a women can experience. Along with the baby brings on new experiences, new challenges and also a new body type. It is often depressing, especially to first time moms, when their bodies do not spring back into pre-pregnancy shape, often leaving them with sagging breasts, stretched abdomens, and an overall out of shape body. Motherhood now has a new shape. Many women, although excited about newfound motherhood, are tramatized with insecurity after childbirth due to excessive weight gain in areas which may not have been troublesome before. Women primarily seek two forms of surgery as postpartum "tune-ups", abdominoplasty, commonly referred to as a tummy tuck, and breast enhancement surgery including breast lift and breast augmentation.

We see the issue of the media again coming into play on women and their body image. It's so amazing how celebrity moms drop all their weight within months even weeks. These pressures are so heavily put on the average post-pregnant mom to get back down to their normal size if not smaller. The difference between the celebrity mom and the average mom is that celebrity moms usually don’t undergo plastic surgery, they just hire the best personal trainer and nutritionist there is, while average moms don’t have those resources nor the time to incorporate that type of living into their new lifestyle so they opt for the surgery. However "Good Morning America" medical correspondent Dr. David Katz says there are dangers to new moms if they lose weight too quickly. Katz also had tips for getting back to a healthy weight after giving birth, recommending weight gain during pregnancy between 15 and 30 pounds. A healthy weight loss after giving birth is one pound per week. The best way to lose is a healthy diet, portion control and moderate exercise. These practices as I said earlier would be very difficult for a new mother to find time to do. Also breastfeeding can burn 500 calories a day and this is something that the average mom as well as the celebrity mom can do to lose weight although losing weight too quickly can dry up breast milk, or compromise the nutrients in the breast milk.

The hype centered around mothers loosing their baby weight has inspired Florida plastic surgeon Michael Salzhauer to author the book My Beautiful Mommy, a book aimed at 4-to-7-year-old kids to help them understand plastic surgery. My Beautiful Mommy tells the story of a little girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck and breast implants (this combination is referred to as ’mommy makeover’) along with a nose job for good measure. Before the woman goes into surgery, she explains to her daughter, "You see, as I got older, my body stretched and I couldn't fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better." It's unclear why the mother also chooses rhinoplasty, but she does tell her daughter that the nose will appear "different, my dear—prettier!". The publication of "My Beautiful Mommy" shows that plastic surgery belongs on that laundry list of issues (drugs, sex, alcohol) for parents to discuss at the dinner table and also reinforce the rules of women and beauty. There are some mothers who aren’t fans of the children’s book and say they’ll never read it to their children.

Although abdominoplasty and breast augmentations are the most common forms of cosmetic surgery after childbirth one of the least talked about areas of cosmetic plastic surgery is reconstruction of the external genitalia know as labial surgery, labioplasty, labial reduction, vaginal tightening, and vaginoplasty. It’s not uncommon for women who have given birth to suffer from slackness in the pelvic floor and vaginal muscles. Some may even develop incontinence, which can be embarrassing and damage self-confidence. Taking the surgical route has not only boosted sexual pleasure, it has prevented further genital discomfort and embarrassment. During delivery, tearing and stretching of the genitalia may occur resulting in an abnormal or unattractive appearance. Sometimes an episiotomy is performed which heals poorly, distorting the vaginal entrance. Although I understand what Dr. Salzhauer is trying to do with the creation of his children’s book I would be totally appalled if he came out with a book to explain labial surgery or anything of that nature. That’s where the line should be drawn. Its already bad enough that we are enforcing these images of cosmetic surgery at a young age but if there was something explaining why mommy would have surgery on her private area (because that has nothing to do with your body image and how you look, but how sexually pleasing you are) that would send all kind of negative messages to a daughter and how she should be sexually.

After reading the posting on Carmen from the class I have to say I’d agree most with Jamie Doster when saying “I really don’t know what to think about this article. It was shocking to me. I do understand the need for parents to express to their child what they are going through when they have surgery. But overall, I think that children should grow up believing that they are beautiful and that beauty comes from inside. I think this book gives the wrong impressions to kids, and can increase the desire for kids either male or female to want to have “perfect bodies”. I think this could increase the want for plastic surgery in children, and could cause many problems in the future”.

Sexual Anorexia

Many people may be more familiar with the type of anorexia that occurs when a person, obsesses over how to avoid food. Over time, this eating disorder can lead to numerous health concerns and even be fatal. This condition has a parallel known as sexual anorexia. Sexual anorexia occurs when a person , most often a woman fails to possess a healthy, sexual desire. This person will most likely be unaware of the hidden drivers that compel their behaviors. These people can be in loving marriages, but have no interest in expressing any type of sexuality. They will often fail to initiate sexual contact. The couple in the sex addiction therapist, Patrick Carnes article “Sex as Deprivation” struggled with sexual anorexia almost causing their marriage to end. I will be using examples from Shannon and Ben’s situation and quotes from Carnes to illustrate just how troubling this disorder is.

Many of the disorders/addictions discussed during the course consisted of someone overindulging in a substance of some sort but with sexual anorexia it is actually refraining from sex and any type of sexual contact. There are different ways this problem can manifest itself. It can be as extreme as complete avoidance from any type of sexual pleasure including masturbation, or as subtle as limiting sexual expression to sexual encounters. Oftentimes, there is an underlying social phobia or extreme shyness. There could have been a devastating rejection or trauma that resulted in subsequent avoidant behavior. There are many reasons why avoidant behaviors exist, but most often regardless of the original cause, there seems to be a resulting fear of intimacy that lies at the heart of the problem. Sometimes the risk of criticism and rejection is too great to bear, so the individual withdraws in self-imposed exile from people. In “Sex as Deprivation” this theory is again perpetuated saying “ Sexual anorexia usually starts with abandonment or betrayal. Sexual abuse would do it. But so would a profound rejection by a love one - or exploitation by a loved one (p.39)”.

The impact of sexual anorexia on marriage can be profound. This condition can force an unhealthy celibacy onto the spouse, or worse, help lead the spouse to pornography, masturbation, or extramarital sexual involvement. These behaviors, in turn, further hinders intimacy in the relationship and can facilitate a destructive cycle that threatens the marriage. Fortunately for Shannon and Ben this was not an issue. However Shannon’s first marriage ended because of her battle with sexual anorexia. After he divorce Shannon fell into a deep depression. She began to have affairs with married men at work and indulged in heavy drinking and bar hopping. Shannon said “Within three months I was out of control. I was stunned at how fast it went. From not being able to stand the thought of sex, I went to being obsessed with having it. (p.51)”. With this we saw how a sexual anorexic could easy conform to a sex addict. Both sexual anorexics and sex addicts feel powerless. They both end up in despair and with great life damage.

With any form of anorexia, control is a key contributor. With anorexia nervosa we seen how a person could use eating to control a part of their life the same type of thing occurs with sexual anorexia. A quote from Carnes says “for anorexics in this mode, the denial of sex is not only about sexual safety. Their internal logic dictates, “if I give in and have sex, nothing else is mine.” part of the terror around sex is that they will be used again. But the deeper terror around sex is that they lose control on the one area in which no one can take control away by force, they cease to be a person (p. 39)”. This way of thinking is very extreme and even questionable. In the quote it said no one can take the control one have’s over their sexual being so what would a sexual anorexic think or how would they feel if they are raped? Would they then feel like they have lost total control of themselves or would it not be considered the same thing because it was taken by force?

Just like any other disorder sexual anorexia can be treated. Treatment will start with counseling to help determine the cause. After determining the cause the patient would need to be willing to open up and give up the sense of placing total control on sex and eliminating self-hatred if present. Molly the women in the story Escape from Intimacy who battled with sexual anorexia in Shaef’s article “Sexual Addiction” was considered a lucky one. “Through her recovery work with her co-dependence she was able to name her addiction and begin a twelve-step program around her “sexual anorexia”(p.18)”. Sexual acting out may be a more serve sexual addiction however sexual anorexia can have some of the same effects on people and cause harm to the persons life.

*The actual article I used for this blog is on carmen under another class, therefore I was unable to link it to this page. However if you need to review this article I can somehow set up arrangements to get it to you*

The Media is the Culprit!!!!!!

The influence of the media on the exposure of eating disorders cannot be refuted. From an early age we as women are bombarded with messages and images that reinforce the idea to be happy and successful we must be thin. Today, you cannot read a magazine or newspaper, turn on the television, listen to the radio, or shop at the mall without being assaulted with the message that fat is bad and thin is good. The most frightening part is that this destructive message is reaching kids. Adolescents often feel fatally flawed if their weight, hips, and breasts don’t match up to those of models, singers and actors. With the fashion industry seemingly pushing for smaller and skinnier models and the press portraying them as something special, there is plenty of blame for an eating disorder. Television shows continue to feature impossibly thin actors in lead roles. Not only is their pressure to be thin but also an issue to be beautiful. More recently, reality shows such as "The Swan" and "Dr. 90210," which feature plastic surgery and major makeovers, have been criticized for promoting unhealthy body image. In "The Swan," young women are separated from family and friends for several weeks to undergo an intensive diet and exercise plan. Hair stylists recommend hair extensions and highlights, and plastic surgeons perform breast augmentation, facelifts, Botox and collagen injections. The end results are showcased in a beauty pageant, where formerly "ugly ducklings" compete against each other for the title of "The Swan."In this you tube video it shows just how the media has an negative effect on women and girls. it was very interesting to see how little girls began to pick up on the ads that led them to wonder down the make-up aisle of stores instead of the toy aisle. Watch here and take a glimpse at how media has such an effect on young women’s lives.

Celebrities are no less susceptible to eating disorders than the rest of the population in fact eating disorders within the celebrity arena is on an increase. One of the tragic and most publicized celebs that suffered from an eating disorder was Karen Carpenter. She went on a water diet to lose weight and, as she put it, to appear more attractive. She continued to diet even after losing 20 lbs, until her death at the age of 32. She died of cardiac arrest due to anorexia and weighed only 80 lbs. A more current celebrity Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice of Spice Girls ) has admitted for the first time that she suffered from an eating disorder. She made the revelation in an extract from her autobiography, Learning to Fly. Beckham has denied that she had anorexia in the past, she has described her illness and said that for a time she was "obsessed" with her appearance. In this you tube video it shows the different celebrities that have an eating disorder and most of the images or pictures in the video have been used have been featured in magazine, have been snapped on the red carpet or has in someway been exposed through the media. After looking at the video there’s no wonder why women feel pressured to be thin. If marketing firms and advertisers see how big of a health concern the ads they promote can have on women why do they continue to pump out ad after ad? Jean Killborne seems to sum it up in her thoughtful essay “Still Killing Us Softly: Advertising and the Obsession with Slimness” saying “The current obsession with weight is enormously profitable for many corporations and for the media in general. The diet industry has tripled in the last 10 years, increasing from a $10 billion industry to a $33 billion a year industry (p.399)”.

No discussion of body image and the media would be complete without referencing Becker’s landmark study comparing rates of eating disorders before and after the arrival of television in Fiji in 1995. Ethnic Fijians have traditionally encouraged healthy appetites and have preferred a more rotund body type, which signified wealth and the ability to care for one’s family. Strong cultural identity is thought to be protective against eating disorders; there was only one case of anorexia nervosa reported on the island prior to 1995. However, in 1998, rates of dieting skyrocketed from 0 to 69%, and young people routinely cited the appearance of the attractive actors on shows like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place" as the inspiration for their weight loss. For the first time, inhabitants of the island began to exhibit disordered eating.
Eating disorders are generally believed to be the result of unresolved psychological and emotional issues. The person who is suffering will normally discover that losing weight either through extreme dieting or binge-eating followed by vomiting and/or the use of laxatives establishes a form of control unavailable to the person suffering in any other area of their life. Once an eating disorder takes root, body image becomes distorted and the individual begins to feel she or he can never be thin enough. We have to keep in mind that eating disorders are not simply about food and weight but are an attempt to use food and weight to deal with emotional problems rather it be self esteem or issues of depression.