Billboards, magazine covers and music videos constantly bombard today’s young women with images of unrealistically thin, female figures. It is not surprising that America’s diet and fitness market is booming and reality television shows that involve makeovers, weight loss and searches for models are watched by thousands of female viewers.
There is undoubtedly a connection between the media’s portrayal of super-slender models as the ideal, and women’s sometimes unhealthy obsession with dieting and weight loss. But blaming the media for causing dangerous eating disorders in teenage girls ignores the biological and chemical origins of the disease.
Anorexia nervosa is a disease characterized by self-starvation and an obsessive preoccupation with losing weight. Bulimia nervosa involves the binging and purging of food through laxatives and self-induced vomiting. To say these serious eating disorders are caused simply by advertisements in magazines and on television is an insult to those suffering from the diseases. According to the Discovery Health channel’s website, Anorexia is a rare disease affecting less than 1% of adolescent girls, but it has the highest mortality rate among psychiatric disorders. Bulimia ravages the system of 2-3% of girls, causing numerous health problems such as poor nutrition, gum damage, depression and sometimes heart problems. These illnesses can have numerous causes, possibly including, but not limited to, biological predispositions, hormonal imbalances, socio-cultural pressures and psychological traumas.
Whatever causes these diseases, eating disorders are not always about food as much as they are about a person in need of control or approval. Girls who have psychological problems and develop eating disorders may feel that limiting food intake is the only way to control any aspect of their lives. It isn’t always about feeling beautiful and looking like models; it is sometimes about empowering themselves in the only way they feel they can.
Young women who receive constant criticism from family members about their weight may also develop eating disorders because of low self-esteem, not strictly because they have too many fashion magazines cluttering their rooms. There is usually much more involved in causing the diseases to develop.
There must be something different about a girl who actually develops an eating disorder, versus a girl who reads the same magazines and watches the same television shows and does not develop the same disease. Since such a small percentage of teens exposed to the media develop eating disorders, the media cannot be blamed exclusively for those who do develop the diseases.
There are no medical tests to diagnose anorexia, bulimia or other eating disorders, but many doctors agree that there may be biological causes. This theory is supported by the success some patients have had when using antidepressants to recover from bulimia, according to the New York Times. However, Researchers found that the same antidepressants were not effective in treating patients for anorexia nervosa.
Some researchers believe that eating disorders result from a complex interplay of biological, chemical, and social factors. For example, social pressures, such as the media’s emphasis on thin women, may help trigger an eating disorder in a female already biologically susceptible to developing the disease. If eating disorders are not influenced by genetic, chemical, or biological factors, then theoretically, any female reading beauty magazines would be at risk for developing anorexia or bulimia, but the statistics indicate otherwise. To the best of my knowledge, there are plenty of healthy Vogue readers who are in a normal weight range.
While fashion magazines and other media outlets are not the primary cause of eating disorders, they don’t always bolster self-esteem in women or discourage unhealthy behavior or obsessions. The media’s portrayal of the perfect body as thin and even somewhat skeletal can lead to risky behaviors among young women. When society tells a woman that being size two is sexy, she will likely try her hardest to squeeze into those petite Levi’s, even if it means a diet that is not nutritionally sound. The obsession with thinness can help lead to low self-worth, unsafe dieting and body image problems among young women.
The mistake that people make is over-exaggerating the media’s impact on creating serious eating disorders. It is important to understand that the diseases are much more complex than girls reading magazines filled with skinny models, starving themselves, and dying of anorexia. The media can have a negative effect on a girl’s body image, but unless she is susceptible to an eating disorder, the effects on their own are not likely to cause anorexia or bulimia.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Happy What?
As the weather gets colder and the year comes to an end, most people start looking forward to possible snow days and to Christmas. So far we haven't had much more chance for a snow day than we did last June due to our unusual weather, so Christmas is the sure thing at the top of many people's list.
What I don't understand is the fuss made about the specific words used to wish friends a happy Christmas. Why is "Merry Christmas" so offensive? I'm a proud non-Christian and I use the phrase because I appreciate some aspects of the holiday. While I don't agree with all of the fuss made over spending money and gift-giving, I understand the concepts of spending time with the ones you love and generously exchanging gifts. That is a quality unique to Christmas, so I think I should be able to refer to it using its name.
Why do we feel that everyone must be included in the phrase of well wishing at the end of December? There is no inclusion of Christians during Yom Kippur in October. From what I hear from jewish friends, Hannukah isn't necessarily a big of a deal to Jews, it has been conveniently made that way by people who wish to be fair.
I think that losing the Merry Christmas causes us to lose some culture as well. Christmas, whether in the religious sense or not, has always been a part of American culture (and many other cultures). Covering all the holidays in one phrase just makes our society more homogenious. The US is supposed to be the melting pot with all sorts of cultures. We should acknowledge them individually, not by lumping them all together with a "Happy Holidays." What about the atheists? Do we need to create a holiday for them too to make us all even more similar?
How about we just call it what it's called. If you're friends with a Jewish person say "Happy Hannukah"; if you're friends with someone who celebrates Christmas, a "Merry Christmas" will do. Just don't strip a person of his identity by saying "Happy Holidays". If you don't know which holiday someone celebrates a simple "Happy New Year" works.
Merry Christmas.
What I don't understand is the fuss made about the specific words used to wish friends a happy Christmas. Why is "Merry Christmas" so offensive? I'm a proud non-Christian and I use the phrase because I appreciate some aspects of the holiday. While I don't agree with all of the fuss made over spending money and gift-giving, I understand the concepts of spending time with the ones you love and generously exchanging gifts. That is a quality unique to Christmas, so I think I should be able to refer to it using its name.
Why do we feel that everyone must be included in the phrase of well wishing at the end of December? There is no inclusion of Christians during Yom Kippur in October. From what I hear from jewish friends, Hannukah isn't necessarily a big of a deal to Jews, it has been conveniently made that way by people who wish to be fair.
I think that losing the Merry Christmas causes us to lose some culture as well. Christmas, whether in the religious sense or not, has always been a part of American culture (and many other cultures). Covering all the holidays in one phrase just makes our society more homogenious. The US is supposed to be the melting pot with all sorts of cultures. We should acknowledge them individually, not by lumping them all together with a "Happy Holidays." What about the atheists? Do we need to create a holiday for them too to make us all even more similar?
How about we just call it what it's called. If you're friends with a Jewish person say "Happy Hannukah"; if you're friends with someone who celebrates Christmas, a "Merry Christmas" will do. Just don't strip a person of his identity by saying "Happy Holidays". If you don't know which holiday someone celebrates a simple "Happy New Year" works.
Merry Christmas.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Scotia teens heil Hitler
I must say that kids today are, well, too much like they used to be.
In the modern era of this country, we like to think that we have moved beyond racism and prejudice. We look back at the police brutality of the 60s against blacks and read about the holding of Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II and think, "Gee, it was really bad back then. I'm so glad we live in a time and country where that doesn't happen any more."
Of course that is a little naive. We all know a grumpy old man set in his ways who still hates blacks or gays. But that's it, the only people who still hate and discriminate are big, fat, white, ignorant, republican males, right?
Wrong. Kids today are picking up the worst traits of the previous generations, despite the efforts put forth to educate children about racial/ethnic/religious equality. While it is scary to see kids take part in any hatred or prejudice, I think the most puzzling is the rise of neo-Naziism. Neo-Nazis don't discriminate in their discrimination. They hate most people who are different from them. When I hear Nazi, I think of hating Jewish people, but most neo-Nazis also harbor hatred for blacks, gays, foreigners and anyone else who isn't caucasion. What is scarier than this broad hatred of anyone different among neo-Nazis, is the fact that many of these lunatics are children, and they go to school. With weapons.
As a Scotia native and a loyal Scotia-Glenville student, it outrages me to see a freshman girl terrified to come to school because she is Jewish. This is 2006 in the US, not Nazi Germany. This poor girl suffers from the fear sparked by a death threat made against her by a neo-Nazi last year, when the two students were in eight grade. After the threat, the neo-Nazi's locker was searched and a knife was found. The Jewish girl must have been relieved when the anti-semitic boy was suspended for the remainder of the year for his threat.
As far as I know, the incident of the death threat and knife last year never received publicity. Maybe the Middle School is good at cover-ups. Unfortunately, they must not have been very good at permanently removing dangerous students from the district, because good old Nazi boy now walks freely through the high school hallways along with his classmates, some of whom are Jewish, black, gay and from other countries.
Recently, some other neo-Nazis from Scotia-Glenville did make the news. Two freshman neo-Nazis caused the high school to go into lock-down last week. One overdosed on pills for whatever reason, and the administrators searched the locker of the boy who provided the drugs, also a neo-Nazi. The boy's locker contained a grenade from World War II, gun powder, and a knife with a six to eight inch blade. The newspaper and broadcasts did not mention that the individuals were part of the neo-Nazi movement.
The Holocaust was one of the darkest periods of modern human history. Students spend a lot of time learning about how terrible it was. I remember learning about the genocide in my English and history classes, and then again in German class. My German teacher warned that everyone needs to learn from the mistakes of the past, and never repeat the horror of exterminating six million people. I'm a little scared that after all the education, there are still people who call themselves Nazis. Maybe we need to educate kids earlier. If that doesn't work, how about permanently getting rid of people who threaten little Jewish girls with death.
I sure am glad we keep that Village of Scotia gang problem under control by not allowing hats or bandanas at school. I feel safe.
In the modern era of this country, we like to think that we have moved beyond racism and prejudice. We look back at the police brutality of the 60s against blacks and read about the holding of Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II and think, "Gee, it was really bad back then. I'm so glad we live in a time and country where that doesn't happen any more."
Of course that is a little naive. We all know a grumpy old man set in his ways who still hates blacks or gays. But that's it, the only people who still hate and discriminate are big, fat, white, ignorant, republican males, right?
Wrong. Kids today are picking up the worst traits of the previous generations, despite the efforts put forth to educate children about racial/ethnic/religious equality. While it is scary to see kids take part in any hatred or prejudice, I think the most puzzling is the rise of neo-Naziism. Neo-Nazis don't discriminate in their discrimination. They hate most people who are different from them. When I hear Nazi, I think of hating Jewish people, but most neo-Nazis also harbor hatred for blacks, gays, foreigners and anyone else who isn't caucasion. What is scarier than this broad hatred of anyone different among neo-Nazis, is the fact that many of these lunatics are children, and they go to school. With weapons.
As a Scotia native and a loyal Scotia-Glenville student, it outrages me to see a freshman girl terrified to come to school because she is Jewish. This is 2006 in the US, not Nazi Germany. This poor girl suffers from the fear sparked by a death threat made against her by a neo-Nazi last year, when the two students were in eight grade. After the threat, the neo-Nazi's locker was searched and a knife was found. The Jewish girl must have been relieved when the anti-semitic boy was suspended for the remainder of the year for his threat.
As far as I know, the incident of the death threat and knife last year never received publicity. Maybe the Middle School is good at cover-ups. Unfortunately, they must not have been very good at permanently removing dangerous students from the district, because good old Nazi boy now walks freely through the high school hallways along with his classmates, some of whom are Jewish, black, gay and from other countries.
Recently, some other neo-Nazis from Scotia-Glenville did make the news. Two freshman neo-Nazis caused the high school to go into lock-down last week. One overdosed on pills for whatever reason, and the administrators searched the locker of the boy who provided the drugs, also a neo-Nazi. The boy's locker contained a grenade from World War II, gun powder, and a knife with a six to eight inch blade. The newspaper and broadcasts did not mention that the individuals were part of the neo-Nazi movement.
The Holocaust was one of the darkest periods of modern human history. Students spend a lot of time learning about how terrible it was. I remember learning about the genocide in my English and history classes, and then again in German class. My German teacher warned that everyone needs to learn from the mistakes of the past, and never repeat the horror of exterminating six million people. I'm a little scared that after all the education, there are still people who call themselves Nazis. Maybe we need to educate kids earlier. If that doesn't work, how about permanently getting rid of people who threaten little Jewish girls with death.
I sure am glad we keep that Village of Scotia gang problem under control by not allowing hats or bandanas at school. I feel safe.
Monday, December 4, 2006
Secretaries shouldn't ruin my day
Most of a student's time at Scotia-Glenville High School is spent in class learning or spending time with classmates. However, there is also the occasional interaction between students and the administration. If a student is lucky, these interactions are kept to a minimum.
There are many reasons that one might be find himself in the office dealing with the staff. Sometimes a student is called down for a note or because he is in trouble. Other times a student may have a question to ask the secretray or dean. In my experience, no matter what the reason for being there, I leave the office much less calm and much less happy.
For starters, I usually walk in to the office to be greeted by. . . well, nobody. The deans are usually off in their offices dealing with other students and the secretaries seem content to ignore me and hope that I will go away. After seceral seconds of awkward silence and creative body language intended to draw attention to myself, I often have to speak up to get any attention. If I'm lucky, the secretary will look up on my first attempt to speak. I use the term "lucky" loosely because our interaction is usually less than enjoyable whether I'm answered on the first attempt or not. After someone looks up I usually get a "What do you want" spat out at me in a less than friendly tone. Regardless of what I say and how politely I say it, the next response is usually brief, rude and often not helpful.
Now I know that secretaries are just one part of the school's staff, but they are usually the ones (besides the teachers) who interact with students the most. Perhaps if someone is interacting with students every day of her career, she should learn to have decent, polite exchanges with the teenagers. The workers know that applying for a secretarial position at a high school will involve interacting with students, so maybe the job should go to a person who is more respectful to students.
Teenagers do not enjoy being treated like babies. The school secretaries have a tendency to talk down to us and treat us like we are ignorant. The office is the equivilent of my homeroom because I am not in school in the morning for regular homeroom. Several weeks into the school year I brought in a permission slip to a secretary who is supposed to act as my homeroom teacher. She looked at me with disgust as she said "I won't take this, it's supposed to go to your homeroom." I opened my mouth to try to explain that the office is my homeroom but she beat me to it and added that I really should pay attention to the directions. Perhaps she should pay attention to her own homeroom students. When I finally was able to tell her that she is indeed the person I should be giving the permission slip to, she grabbed it from me and said "Oh, ok," without a hint of apology or remorse for treating me so rudely.
Situations like that anger me because they are so unnecessary. I left the office that day, as I often do, in a bad mood. Had the secretary smiled to acknowledge my presence, used a friendly tone and listened to me I would have left the office feeling much better. A few simple changes would make all the difference. Why is it so hard for a person to be decent to another person?
There are many reasons that one might be find himself in the office dealing with the staff. Sometimes a student is called down for a note or because he is in trouble. Other times a student may have a question to ask the secretray or dean. In my experience, no matter what the reason for being there, I leave the office much less calm and much less happy.
For starters, I usually walk in to the office to be greeted by. . . well, nobody. The deans are usually off in their offices dealing with other students and the secretaries seem content to ignore me and hope that I will go away. After seceral seconds of awkward silence and creative body language intended to draw attention to myself, I often have to speak up to get any attention. If I'm lucky, the secretary will look up on my first attempt to speak. I use the term "lucky" loosely because our interaction is usually less than enjoyable whether I'm answered on the first attempt or not. After someone looks up I usually get a "What do you want" spat out at me in a less than friendly tone. Regardless of what I say and how politely I say it, the next response is usually brief, rude and often not helpful.
Now I know that secretaries are just one part of the school's staff, but they are usually the ones (besides the teachers) who interact with students the most. Perhaps if someone is interacting with students every day of her career, she should learn to have decent, polite exchanges with the teenagers. The workers know that applying for a secretarial position at a high school will involve interacting with students, so maybe the job should go to a person who is more respectful to students.
Teenagers do not enjoy being treated like babies. The school secretaries have a tendency to talk down to us and treat us like we are ignorant. The office is the equivilent of my homeroom because I am not in school in the morning for regular homeroom. Several weeks into the school year I brought in a permission slip to a secretary who is supposed to act as my homeroom teacher. She looked at me with disgust as she said "I won't take this, it's supposed to go to your homeroom." I opened my mouth to try to explain that the office is my homeroom but she beat me to it and added that I really should pay attention to the directions. Perhaps she should pay attention to her own homeroom students. When I finally was able to tell her that she is indeed the person I should be giving the permission slip to, she grabbed it from me and said "Oh, ok," without a hint of apology or remorse for treating me so rudely.
Situations like that anger me because they are so unnecessary. I left the office that day, as I often do, in a bad mood. Had the secretary smiled to acknowledge my presence, used a friendly tone and listened to me I would have left the office feeling much better. A few simple changes would make all the difference. Why is it so hard for a person to be decent to another person?
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