The Extremes That People Go To
If you have not seen this already, I suggest you do. WARNING: this is just sad, plain wrong, and terrible.
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/beauty/nerina-orton-britain-8217-tiniest-waist-203600464.html
The story, as you can see, is that a woman tried to shrink her waist by wearing a corset for nearly an entire day. Apparently, this did the trick. She shrunk her waist to a tiny size. Interestingly enough, the end of the article mentions that she had anorexia nervosa (AN).
What bothers me about this is not that her waist is so small. It is the fact that she went to such an extreme to do so. She manipulated her body to get a small waist - in such an unhealthy manner. Sad, isn't it? What does this say to people today about their body size? That we have to go to such terrible ways of changing our bodies because we need to look a certain way? And what about the fact that this story made the news? It is REALLY so wonderful that she has done something like this, and that she is famous for letting ED drive her to do this?
I was shocked when I saw this. I mean, is it one thing to have a natural waist that small - but it is certainly another thing to do this to yourself. It makes me wonder - I was so terribly sick this summer, I was dying, and I had every possible organ fail on me. But did I make the news? No. Why? Because the media does not care if someone is sick and dying - they care about someone who is sick and who is doing such extreme things that seems interesting to others.
NOTE: I am not saying that I wanted to make the news. I'm just trying to show that the media really filters what it wants us to see. Clearly, this story of this girl was interesting because of the extreme and horrible things that she did to her body. And yet, she stands very proud about it because she has nearly broke the world record for the smallest waist. Really, is this something to be proud of? That an eating disorder is controlling you and that the world can now see how sick you are?
And what message does this send to all of us, sitting here and reading about this woman's actions? Does it not send out a terrible message to everyone about manipulating our body shapes? How does this compare to what we are trying to tell our loved ones - to love themselves for who they are? This is just disgusting. I am horrified.
I think this is a perfect example of 1) how ED can really take control and make people so awfully sick; and 2) how the media so negatively affects us and promotes unhealthy lifestyles or actions in order to change our bodies to unrealistic ideals.
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/beauty/nerina-orton-britain-8217-tiniest-waist-203600464.html
The story, as you can see, is that a woman tried to shrink her waist by wearing a corset for nearly an entire day. Apparently, this did the trick. She shrunk her waist to a tiny size. Interestingly enough, the end of the article mentions that she had anorexia nervosa (AN).
What bothers me about this is not that her waist is so small. It is the fact that she went to such an extreme to do so. She manipulated her body to get a small waist - in such an unhealthy manner. Sad, isn't it? What does this say to people today about their body size? That we have to go to such terrible ways of changing our bodies because we need to look a certain way? And what about the fact that this story made the news? It is REALLY so wonderful that she has done something like this, and that she is famous for letting ED drive her to do this?
I was shocked when I saw this. I mean, is it one thing to have a natural waist that small - but it is certainly another thing to do this to yourself. It makes me wonder - I was so terribly sick this summer, I was dying, and I had every possible organ fail on me. But did I make the news? No. Why? Because the media does not care if someone is sick and dying - they care about someone who is sick and who is doing such extreme things that seems interesting to others.
NOTE: I am not saying that I wanted to make the news. I'm just trying to show that the media really filters what it wants us to see. Clearly, this story of this girl was interesting because of the extreme and horrible things that she did to her body. And yet, she stands very proud about it because she has nearly broke the world record for the smallest waist. Really, is this something to be proud of? That an eating disorder is controlling you and that the world can now see how sick you are?
And what message does this send to all of us, sitting here and reading about this woman's actions? Does it not send out a terrible message to everyone about manipulating our body shapes? How does this compare to what we are trying to tell our loved ones - to love themselves for who they are? This is just disgusting. I am horrified.
I think this is a perfect example of 1) how ED can really take control and make people so awfully sick; and 2) how the media so negatively affects us and promotes unhealthy lifestyles or actions in order to change our bodies to unrealistic ideals.
