Women of all ages have one time or another felt the stress society places
on them. The image of the ideal body has
caused many negative effects on women's bodies. Society teaches these girls that
they are suppose to be thin and beautiful.
That by being thin, they will become happier. These norms, caused by
main different factors in our society, have been the reason why so many girls
and women have experience eating disorders.
This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and
is transformed from being extremely
overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the
school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more
and more confident and develops a positive self image.
Though eating disorders
are usually seen in younger women, there have been recent studying showing that
older women are starting to develop this disorders. In recent years there has
been a 42% increase of eating disorders in women in their 30s, 40s and 50s. These
types of disorders are known as midlife crisis disorders. Some of these women relapse
for earlier eating disorders, other has developed these disorders from the pressures of their lives. Whether from divorce, economic reason or not being
able to fit into clothes, this problem has been on the raise. The video from
the NBC news, discuses these factors that women face in their daily lives
that cause them to develop these disorders.
I had recently heard about this book on the news, but didn’t have time to get any details. So, I was very interested to read this post! I was shocked. The first question that came to mind was, ”What was this author thinking!?”
ReplyDeleteThe author must have realized the possible affects of this book. How could anyone justify writing a book about dieting geared towards 6-12 year olds? It scares me to think about the negative effect this book, or books like it, could have on the number of eating disorders in young people today. Our society as a whole already focuses way too much on the weight of our peers. People don’t consider the fact that you can be heavier but still be in shape. There is no reason to focus on weight when the real concern should actually be health. I think it’s ridiculous that we judge people based on their weight and body shape. As adults we have seen this occurring since our early teenage years. But now this author is exposing young children to this kind of judgment? I think that it is unacceptable, and wonder how this book got published in the first place. Who allowed this? I also hope parents do a little research before their children get their hands on this book.
I had not heard of this book until the blog post, but I am shocked that an author would write such a book aimed towards young children. Children should not be criticized for their weight, if a child is overweight then the parents should not tell the child that they are fat or need to diet. They should start by fixing their child healthier meals and partaking in more physical activity with their child, such as playing sports or going for a bicycle ride.
ReplyDeleteOften, younger children do not need to be scolded, disciplined, or told they need to change their body image because they are heavier. They need to be praised for taking part in healthier activities and told that their body image is just fine. They need to have confidence instilled in them.
As far as the word “diet”, I really despise it. I don’t think people should “diet”; I think that they should learn to eat healthier. People do not seem to comprehend that “magic” diet pills and eating curriculum are not the “cure” to obesity. If people would just eat healthier and exercise, then their goal would be achieved. It is possible to transition to being healthier in a safe manner. I can understand why women feel as though they need to take such an extreme measures, such as developing eating disorders to cope with stress or lack of self-confidence in their image. Society imposes such ridiculous standards upon women’s images. According to the article, “A Way Outa No Way”, eating becomes a “survival strategy” for women who are oppressed or abused by society. The article, “Body Politic”, also states how it is “hard to escape society’s message of ‘skinny’”.
Women need to have a message of empowerment sent to them from friends and family, because society sure isn’t going to give that to them.
I first heard about this book through morning talk shows, and of course, there was outrage over the politics surrounding the word "diet," as well as the overall message the book sends to young children, specifically girls. Although I haven't looked at the book myself, I feel like the author's intentions were in the right place, yet the execution of the idea was misconstrued.
ReplyDeleteI tend to keep up to date with health articles because weight management and health is something I worry about, sometimes more than I should. Even with that said, I believe that it would be hard to convince health professionals that Maggie's original weight was actually healthy- obesity has been linked to numerous health problems, especially obesity in young children.
Many people will make the argument, "What's 'normal?' Why does it have to be 'thin'?" I feel that in terms of body confidence and normality, if someone is happy with themselves but ALSO taking care of their bodies by eating a well rounded diet (diet not meaning restrictively here), then more power to them. I feel that the intention of the book was to show that it's important to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. I do wish that the book could put emphasis that 'diet' doesn't always have to mean restrictive eating but rather a healthy lifestyle choice, but I applaud the author for an attempt at making a difference in the unfortunate health crisis our country will face if we don't take care of ourselves.