Title: Images of Eating
disorders in modern art and literature
Emergence of slender body type as a standard of beauty
for women is extremely salient in modern literature, art, and the media. Eating
disorders seem to be the product of modern society as women try more to look like the ideal dictated by the society. This paper investigates various types of eating disorders and connects them to the messages conveyed by the society trying to subdue the self of a woman. All eating disorders are connected by one simple thing. In an attempt to satisfy the whims of the society women turn themselves into products in colorful packaging with little if anything inside. Eating disorders are symptoms of an identity crisis when a person shoves off the self and focuses all attention and shifts all values toward
physical appearance rather than personality. Furthermore, eating disorders indicate conformation to social norms and standards established and viciously promoted by the society.
Before we get to the reasons why and when eating disorders occur it is critical that we discuss various types of eating disorders first. Eating disorders are devastating and harmful behavioral patterns that are marked by either subconscious or physical refusal of a body to accept food. Psychologists generally point out three major types of eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and compulsive overeating are believed to be the three most common eating disorders (Encyclopedia Britannica 2002 Deluxe). Though the disorders produce physical damage to the body, they are not in fact physical illnesses. Rather, they are mental issues that develop more frequently among females but do affect the male population as well.