Food Insecurities and Body Image

Jessie Melincoff

In our modern day society, we have trained women (and men) to see the “perfect body” as one image. This image reflects being thin, toned, and muscular. This image does not involve curves, wide hips, or big butts. Consequently, as a society, our relationship with food has become so insecure that we’ve seen a rise in eating disorders across all races, ages, and genders.

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The media sends unhealthy messages to people starting at a very young age that puts into question how we should be looking at the foods we eat. In magazines, we see ads promoting indulgence and “treating” yourself to processed or sweet foods that we’ve been trained are bad for us. On the other hand, we are faced with messages about dieting and exercising to become the “perfect you”. As Susan Bordo states, “It’s easy to see why so many of us experience our lives as a tug-of-war between radically conflicting messages, and why it’s not a ‘paradox,’ as it is often represented, that we have an epidemic of obesity alongside increases in anorexia, bulimia, and exercise addictions this culture” (Bordo, page 272).

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More recently, we have seen the media step away from the “skinny girl” image and begin to favor the muscular, toned athletes. This new body type is better, in many ways, because it teaches women and men the importance of physical health and fitness. Before I came to college at UVM, I joined Champlain Valley CrossFit in Williston. Looking back on the four years that I’ve been going to this gym, I’ve realized how drastically it has changed my views on body image. Prior to CrossFit, I ran everyday with hopes to be skinny. I now understand how unattainable and unhealthy this desire was. I will never be tall and skinny because my genetics are not built for that. Something I’ve come to understand and appreciate is not how my body looks, but how it performs. When my body is performing to the best of my current capabilities, I am proud of how it looks. On the other hand, Bordo argues that, in some ways, this fitness craze is hanging on a very thin thread. Yes, women are beginning to workout, eat healthy, and feel good, but there is a thin line between that and spending an excessive amount of time at the gym. When you cannot go to the gym, she says, some girls are then very depressed and insecure (Bordo, page 266).

I believe that the catch phrase  “strong is the new skinny” is a huge improvement from “skinny is beautiful”. Although I do understand that there are extremes to anything in life, whether women are starving themselves to become thin or overexercising to attain the perfect muscular body. One of the most important things we can do is to teach younger generations that dieting is not about loosing weight to look better and skinnier. Dieting should be re-valued as eating nutritious foods and loving the way you feel. As a culture, we must reinforce that food is GOOD and that every human being looks different, and that it’s okay! There has to be balance, moderation, and realism in our relationship with food and our bodies. 

Sources:

Counihan, Carole. "Not Just "A White Girl's Thing": The Changing Face of Food and Body Image Problems." Food and Culture: A Reader. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 1997. Print.