The Body Politic

Anorexia and bulimia are infectious diseases that ravage mainly young females of today. The finger pointing of fault can be aimed in a multitude of directions. Mainstream culture socializes females to want, to need to be smaller than a size four. Women who are stick thin are viewed as the epitome of the female form, those whose bodies you should strive for, those who you should look up to, and model your self around. Or it could be blamed on some severe mental health issues. In The Body Politic, the author gives the literal definition of anorexia, which is "loss of appetite". I found this a bit ironic, as anorexia nervosa, the disease, is the squashing and hindering of your appetite. It is not the voluntary act of "losing" something, it is the intentional act of pushing something away, to have that control over your body, whether it being healthy or not. While everyone knows that anorexia is not healthy, that it can lead to severe health issues later in life, the mass media of our society does not necessarily chastise it. It does not push the idea of sticking your finger down your throat, or not eating for days;instead it takes a more subtle stance, and points its spotlight on those celebrities and public "figures" that do fit into the cocaine-chic ideals of a female body. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have become social phenomena. Eating disorders have become such a normalcy in American culture that the shock value of a young girl sticking her finger down her throat is almost nonexistent. In The Body Politic, the author speaks of her experiences with struggling in her anorexic days. The most obscene part of it all in my opinion is the applause and congratulations she got for her stick thin body, while she was slowing dieing. The intense obsession that we all have with the female body, and the fight to make it "perfect" is so ridiculous it's leaving poor young girls in the dust. Another point that the author brought up was that anorexia was patriarchy at its finest. "I digested the connection between a nation of starving, self-obsessed women and the continued success of the patriarchy." The ideal women that all strive to be, or fight against is one that is at the hands of the male view of what a female should be. These women who suffer from anorexia are viewed as powerless, ready to be saved and consumed by her male counterpart. Anorexia itself, is instantly gendered to the young female, submitting herself to the patriarchal views of "healthy" and "beautiful".