Media and Weight
It's been the only thing on the news lately: Lady Gaga has gained weight and has told the media that she once suffered from anorexia and bulimia.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/25/lady-gaga-battled-bulimia-and-anorexia
Lady Gaga, a famous singer, struggling with ED? It is, sadly, not an unfamiliar tale. We have heard, multiple times, that celebrities are more at risk for this. Why? Because of all the pressures on them. They must look thin because they are always being watched, photographed, or talked to. They need to have the 'ideal' body - mainly, that women need to be tall, thin, beautiful, and blemish-free.
Is this possible? Obviously not. But this does not mean that the media will stop telling us that it is. And so it comes as no surprise that many female celebrities are going through ED.
Lady Gaga, in her statement, told the media that she struggled with eating disorders and is now learning to accept her body as it is. She encouraged all girls to do the same - to accept and love their body for its natural shape.
Of course, the only thing the media could do was begin releasing stories like 'LADY GAGA'S WEIGHT GAIN ' or 'GAGA GAINS WEIGHT'. Sad, is it not? Do you notice that none of these titles focus on the sad reality that she actually struggled with ED? All they seem to care about is that she gained weight because she used to have an eating disorder, and now, because she is not engaging into symptoms, she has become larger.
But is she FAT? No. She looks healthy. She does not look emaciated (note: you can still have ED if you are not extremely thin, but I'm just trying to make a point). What is wrong with the way she looks now? It is as if the media is saying that she looked BETTER and THINNER thanks to her ED - and now that she is not listening to ED, she automatically looks 'fat' or has 'gained lots of weight'.
This is terrible. I am shocked by the media and what it tells us. Instead of praising Gaga for not lsitening to ED and instead staying at her natural weight, the media goes crazy because she has gotten larger and no longer fits the 'ideal' look.
And so, we are left with one more example of how disgusting and absoluetly terrible the media is. Personally, I am proud that Gaga has admitted this. First, she has showed the media that she is accepting herself the way God created her. Second, she is saying that many people suffer from ED and are not found out about until something goes wrong. Third, she is breaking the stigma and letting people know that ED is not something to be ashamed of, and that we need to start realizing how sick the media truly is.
It really is time that we stop believing the media and letting it tell us how to look, dress, act, etc. There are so many people out there that have ED, and you may not realize it until they tell you or something happens to them. We need to start getting smarter about what we listen to on TV, the radio, in magazines, etc. The media will only show us what it wants to - we need to be smart viewers and see that the media has unrealistic and unhealthy demands for all of us.
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/25/lady-gaga-battled-bulimia-and-anorexia
Lady Gaga, a famous singer, struggling with ED? It is, sadly, not an unfamiliar tale. We have heard, multiple times, that celebrities are more at risk for this. Why? Because of all the pressures on them. They must look thin because they are always being watched, photographed, or talked to. They need to have the 'ideal' body - mainly, that women need to be tall, thin, beautiful, and blemish-free.
Is this possible? Obviously not. But this does not mean that the media will stop telling us that it is. And so it comes as no surprise that many female celebrities are going through ED.
Lady Gaga, in her statement, told the media that she struggled with eating disorders and is now learning to accept her body as it is. She encouraged all girls to do the same - to accept and love their body for its natural shape.
Of course, the only thing the media could do was begin releasing stories like 'LADY GAGA'S WEIGHT GAIN ' or 'GAGA GAINS WEIGHT'. Sad, is it not? Do you notice that none of these titles focus on the sad reality that she actually struggled with ED? All they seem to care about is that she gained weight because she used to have an eating disorder, and now, because she is not engaging into symptoms, she has become larger.
But is she FAT? No. She looks healthy. She does not look emaciated (note: you can still have ED if you are not extremely thin, but I'm just trying to make a point). What is wrong with the way she looks now? It is as if the media is saying that she looked BETTER and THINNER thanks to her ED - and now that she is not listening to ED, she automatically looks 'fat' or has 'gained lots of weight'.
This is terrible. I am shocked by the media and what it tells us. Instead of praising Gaga for not lsitening to ED and instead staying at her natural weight, the media goes crazy because she has gotten larger and no longer fits the 'ideal' look.
And so, we are left with one more example of how disgusting and absoluetly terrible the media is. Personally, I am proud that Gaga has admitted this. First, she has showed the media that she is accepting herself the way God created her. Second, she is saying that many people suffer from ED and are not found out about until something goes wrong. Third, she is breaking the stigma and letting people know that ED is not something to be ashamed of, and that we need to start realizing how sick the media truly is.
It really is time that we stop believing the media and letting it tell us how to look, dress, act, etc. There are so many people out there that have ED, and you may not realize it until they tell you or something happens to them. We need to start getting smarter about what we listen to on TV, the radio, in magazines, etc. The media will only show us what it wants to - we need to be smart viewers and see that the media has unrealistic and unhealthy demands for all of us.
