In “Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: The Development of Deviant Identities” By Penelope A. McLorg and Diane E. Taub, the many issues in today’s generation, as well as many before regarding societal norms state that we envision the idea of masculinity for men and thinness in women. As with many other norms, deviance, or not conforming to masculinity and thinness, results in negative sanctions. To avoid these sanctions, some turn to Anorexia Nervosa, intended starvation and excessive exercising and Bulimia, intended cycles of binging and purging/laxative abuse. Both showing forms of behavioral deviance and Anorexia embodying visual deviance. Within the past two centuries, Anorexia and Bulimia have become not just major health issues, but also social …show more content…
Conformity is the process of complying with certain standards, laws or rules. McLorg and Taub state that “As dieters, these individuals are conformists in their adherence to the cultural norms emphasizing thinness” (McLorb and Taub:210). So these people who suffer from Anorexia or Bulimia, go to extreme extents such as starvation or binging/purging, to be included in the stigma in society that glamourizes being thin. In everyday life, whether consciously or unconsciously, everyone conforms. It may be getting the same food that everyone else gets even if it’s not your favorite, or dying your hair grey because it’s currently “in”. Anorexics and Bulimics, just like you and I, may not realize what they’re actually doing.
Primary Deviance: Primary deviance is another key concept mentioned. Primary deviance in the Anorexics and Bulimics is the purposeful starvation and binging/purging. Those who suffer from these disorders do not see themselves as “Anorexic” or “Bulimic”. They receive praise from others for “looking good” and gain a feeling of self-control. A real life situation would be someone who drinks alcohol to enjoy social settings. They may begin to drink to the point of alcoholism but do not see their actions as being any sort of issue until they reach the next key concept of secondary
Bullied, pushed around, and called names. The children of today’s generation are constantly pressured to conform in these ways. In the article “The Sociology of Leopard Man” the author of Logan Feys argues that, “To be human, with individual tastes, talents, values, and aspirations that are distinct from those of others. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of the majority, the school, the workplace, the family, etc.” (par. 6).
Conformity is essential to life. Humans live in a society that functions as a whole. If there is a mistake, the entire system may fail. So, we are obligated conform to social norms and laws to stay together as a whole. There’s several types of conformity; Normative conformity,which is to give into group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the
‘I already ate.’” (Anderson 121). Readers who have suffered through anorexia, or even something as simple as a diet,
Conformity is when someone behaves the way others around them do. The article “Conformity” says “conformity, or acting the way most other people in one’s social group act.” (Harrison). This quote shows
The fact that Karen Carpenter had died due to complications of anorexia and prolonged starvation not only called the immediate attention to media, but also led to a burst of public interests in anorexia nervosa. The media widely publicized her death in articles and documentaries, emphasizing the gap between Karen’s glamorous life on surface and her underlying sense of loneliness. Newspapers called a “victim”, indicating that anorexia was something beyond one’s control and therefore was analogous to a contagious disease. The Washington Post titled the article “Anorexia in the Spotlight After Carpenter’s Death,” revealing that anorexia had affected as many as 150,060 American women. The public awareness of anorexia was further intensified when
Social Influence What is conformity? As a society today, many of us often feel pressured to change our beliefs or actions to duplicate the people that surround us. For example, high school students may dress a certain way because they see other people dressed that way and think its “cool” and want to fit in. Conformity is when we change out thoughts, actions, or behaviors to match those of a group that we want to belong to.
Bulimia and anorexia are prime examples of the apparent solution to become like others. Both men and women are under constant pressure to fit within the standards that society proclaims we should follow, but we were born to be
Anorexia applied to every little aspect in her life, which is where it differs from anorexics who are only worried about food. She found herself counting every calorie that came near her body and digging through encyclopedias for every element in her food. Her new coming skinniness didn’t come from her sister’s nickname of “Sister Infinity Fats” that even her parents joined in on, it merely formed on something Jenny considered a hobby. But her “hobby” became more than that after a while, thinking she would be “condemned to hell” for taking up so much room and felt guilty for eating. As Jenny neared college she desperately filled her schedule with every activity she could fit into her schedule from French club to drama club.
Conformity is when a group of people act or believe in the same things just to fit in with society. Sometimes it’s a good thing but other times it
Conformity, while it comes easily to many, is an unavoidable and dangerous factory mold that people unfit for society are crushed into so they can become another misshapen product of
Conformity is a behavior that has been adapted throughout the human behavior through a psychological state. Conformity is defined as a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. The desire to be accepted among groups of people in the community can be tempting by wanting to belong with others, this can be determined by people lying to make themselves sound better in the sense of stretching the truth with an event that didn’t occur. Being afraid of humiliation can cause a conformist to accept the behavior to avoid being embarrassed or harrasseed by social influence. This can be seen as bullying, peer pressure, and psychologically wrong causing the conformists to give in to the natural human
In “The Globalization of Eating Disorders”, written by Susan Bordo in 2003, the author declares that eating and body disorders have increased rapidly throughout the entire globe. Susan Bordo, attended Carleton University as well as the State University of New York, is a modern feminist philosopher who is very well known for her contributions to the field of cultural studies, especially in ‘body studies’ which grants her the credibility to discuss this rising global issue (www.wikipedia.org, 2015). She was correspondingly a professor of English and Women Studies at the University of Kentucky which gives her the authority to write this article. “The Globalization of Eating Disorders” is written as a preface to her Pulitzer Price-nominated book “Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body” which was similarly written in 2003. Through the use of many logical arguments and evidence, Bordo successfully manages to convince her audience that the media, body images and culture have severely influenced the ‘so-called’ trending standard of beauty and how it leads to eating disorders across the world.
They often have an intense fear of fat and gaining weight and often have distorted views of their own body image (Shapiro 2). Thus, they resort to severe food restriction, periods of fasting and even various purging methods for weight loss (Grilo 5). On the other hand, Bulimic patients often binge-eat and then looking for methods to get rid of the food due to guilt by various purging methods (i.e., self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or diuretics and excessive exercise) (Grilo 5). Although many say that the media causes eating disorders, studies have shown that the media is not the main cause of eating disorders. The media does have a part to play in causing the rise in eating disorders in today’s society.
Conformity is the concept of giving in to the normal standards that seem to have been set by the rest of the people around them. The major issue of conformity
The idolization of slim figures are blinding teenagers to believe it is a necessity to practice these methods. As Blaid describes society’s perspective, “If you develop an eating disorder when you are already thin to begin with, you go to the hospital. If you develop an eating disorder when you are not thin to begin with, you are a success story,”(26-27) this is to point out how society has manipulated the point of view on health conditions to be viewed as a