The American Dream: Week 6

Not until seventh grade was I exposed to girls wanting to be skinny. I had gone to public elementary school but in sixth grad and half of seventh I went to a Christian private school. Which was fun while it lasted; I was at the time a firm believer in Christ. I had settled into a group of friends 3 girls that seemed very nice and in fact one would be my very best friend till my move to Florida in 10th grade. During one of my first lunch experiences with them, one girl (I honestly can not remember who it was) said that she was not going to eat lunch because she wanted to loose weight. I was shocked, the highest pant size there had to of been a 4. I am proud to say that I gladly ate my lunch that day however, I am sad to say that soon I was skipping lunch daily to “fit” in. I do not know when I stopped pretending to hate my body but soon after I did actually believe the lie that I was not skinny enough.

It pained me to read “Sleeves”, Amy Hunt’s view of her body makes her not participate in class or in the “real” world. She is forced to write on a blog where no one will ever know it is her. No one will ever know how her body looks. What I really loved about her writing is that she uses “fat” as a sentence throughout the essay. Amy shows us that being fat is a defining characteristic, so much so that it is perfectly fine as a statement. It does not need a subject, or an article because as her life has told her, when you are fat you are nothing else. Amy also expresses issues with girls who “complain” about their weight openly because they actually have nothing to complain about. She states “Only the skinny can joke about how fat they are because they know how much they aren’t; all they want are the compliments…. But still they say, ‘Man I’m so fat,’ while they clench the tummyskin that is so perfect, which causes me to wonder, If they’re so fat, then what could you call me? And how is it that I’m overweight yet the most invisible one of all” (3-4, Red). The issue of “skinny” girls joking about their weight is something I participated in all the time during high school. I never thought about how it would make others feel or how I was perpetuating this “skinny” ideal until I read that. Amy also makes it clear that being overweight is like being invisible, her emotions are not thought about when shopping with friends or when discussing boys, clothes etc. She is oppressed in ways that remind me of my own oppression as a queer woman of color.

Something I still rarely understand is anorexia and bulimia; I honestly think it is because I was raised in a home that rarely had “good” food. Food was and still is an indulgence for me. I would like to see a study on the SES of patients with bulimia/anorexia faire with those who are overweight. This is mostly because I think we as a culture have forgotten that eating disorders are usually more about control than looking a certain way. We as Americans want to call the shots want to be the boss, and a way that we have direct control is through our bodies. What better way than to show how much control we have than through becoming “beautiful” controlling your beauty. Having that kind of “power” within our society could make you God; you can be ‘in’ and you can get their all by yourself. The American Dream; taking chances being ruthless and above all looking good while reaching your goal.

We see issues of control in Meike Schleiff’s essay, she states “Priorities have continue to shift from qualities like leadership, kindness, honesty to the extremes of ownership, personal property, and being thin” (31, Red), “I reasoned, gaining control over my body, growing smaller and withdrawing would help” (33-34) and lastly “I gained weight back and felt less in control than I had before” (34). Meike says that a very controlling boyfriend in college was the one who started her dieting, and exercising more. This is very common among girls who suffer from anorexia or bulimia, as well as those who suffer from OCD, Anxiety disorders. The main point of this was to explain that while we as a society do place a huge emphasis on weight, specifically thinness, we need to understand that as we try to work against this image we also need to say that being in control is not the optimal situation. We need to show young girls that they can be carefree and still be strong, beautiful leaders.


a. estrada

Comments

Venessa Thomas said…
Hey love! I believe alot of us didn't deal with body image until we reached middle school. It really didn't matter in Elementary School. Your post really exposed the reality to me that most girls deal with weight problems. I have had a few friends that have had weight problems, but I honestly think it may be an issue that MOST girls deal with. I can relate to you that I stopped eating to "fit in" When I think about it. I was always skinny, had a nice body, but I was eating very little everyday. Please tell me what was the point of this? You say, you don't understand anorexia or bulimia. I think you have to get into the minds of those girls, and the people that they are around. To some people, being skinny, nice coloring, pretty is all they care about. It's really a shame.
Turnbullet said…
YES! I agree. We do need to teach our girls that being "thin" isn't everything. Instead we should teach the general benefits of good health, including proper nutrition and exercise.
I think we should always teach girls that there is much moe to life than looking a certain way or being a certain size.
jen t said…
I was thinking that maybe instead of just promoting health and fitness, schools should in some way teach what it is the body is capable of when you challenge it. So many girls think they're incapable of achieving athletic goals, that maybe we should be showing them how to set goals athletically. This might put a bigger focus on self-motivation and goals to be proud of rather than have it be about the end product of "a better looking body". Its just an idea, but it might be worth a shot.

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