“People told me that I resembled a concentration camp prisoner, a chemotherapy patient, a famine victim or a fashion model” (Chernik, 105). I thought this quote from Abra Fortune Chernik’s personal recount of her experience with anorexia is incredibly helpful in illustrating the burdens placed upon women and their body image in society today. This jab that Chernik takes at society’s interpretation of beauty and ‘normality’ is easy to overlook at first glance, I know I did. However, there just isn’t something right about this statement and I was drawn back to it after realizing my blunder in accepting the statement as ordinary. By placing the fashion model next to others who have suffered from tragedy Chernik highlights how much of what we consider normal today has serious problems at its roots. Chernik argues rather persuasively that just like the suffering that was forced upon these other people, whether it be by disease or evildoers, is just like the pains that society forces woman to go through by striving for unrealistic and truthfully unnatural body images. While I do not necessarily want to go as far as saying that society of today has the malicious intent or destructive power akin to Hitler or cancer I do think that Chernik proves there are serious issues that need to be addressed. I think much of what Levy examines in her text dealing with the different outlets for women of all types to express themselves and be who they want to be, i.e. as bois or at cake parties, refutes Chernik’s all encompassing description of society as a destructive arena.
Similar to Chernik’s description of how women are guided in society to literally constrict their figures Laurel Gilbert highlights the constrictions placed upon the feminine role. Gilbert provides a unique perspective as a lesbian/bisexual and single mother through which she reveals how her life has been continually considered far from normal and laden with ‘handicaps.’ In her writing I think Gilbert’s most persuasive commentary is her description of the contrary responses her drama teacher and her art teacher gave her. Upon getting pregnant Gilbert was faced with progressive people like her drama teacher that pushed her towards a future they told her “future’s changed, but it’s not over” (Gilbert 81). However, Gilbert seemed to more commonly encounter those like her guidance counselor who were telling her to resign to a lifestyle as a housewife and to go out looking for a husband. The image of a single mother trying to continue her education while raising a child was considered a deviation from society’s view of normality and is indicative of the narrow path society finds comfort is guiding women along.
Similar to Chernik’s description of how women are guided in society to literally constrict their figures Laurel Gilbert highlights the constrictions placed upon the feminine role. Gilbert provides a unique perspective as a lesbian/bisexual and single mother through which she reveals how her life has been continually considered far from normal and laden with ‘handicaps.’ In her writing I think Gilbert’s most persuasive commentary is her description of the contrary responses her drama teacher and her art teacher gave her. Upon getting pregnant Gilbert was faced with progressive people like her drama teacher that pushed her towards a future they told her “future’s changed, but it’s not over” (Gilbert 81). However, Gilbert seemed to more commonly encounter those like her guidance counselor who were telling her to resign to a lifestyle as a housewife and to go out looking for a husband. The image of a single mother trying to continue her education while raising a child was considered a deviation from society’s view of normality and is indicative of the narrow path society finds comfort is guiding women along.
I think both Gilbert and Chernik provide valuable firsthand descriptions of how they encountered struggles in their lives due to a narrow held definition of the female in society. It is because of this peg holing that many women consider themselves ‘different’ or ‘weird’ and the task of changing this definition, while it may be difficult, is definitely possible.
While reading Abra Chernik’s article, I was extremely disturbed by the scene she described at the mall with her mother. After spending two months at the hospital for an eating disorder, the author remembers being granted permission to visit the mall. In the course of the short trip, Chernik managed to branch off from her mom to get her body fat tested in a fitness store. Upon evaluating the 5’9” and 99lbs girl’s measurments, the man conducting the testing congratulated Chernik for her ten percent body fat, saying, “unbelievably healthy! The average for a woman your age is twenty-five percent. Fantastic!” (106) I was surprised to hear the low weight of the author for a person of her height and even more taken aback by the reaction of the testing attendant. There is no doubt that Chernik was visibly unhealthy looking at this point of her life – she was still living in a hospital. However this small fact did not stop the unknowing man of his error.
ReplyDeleteUntil Chernik finally realized her eating disorder in its entirety through her writings, society encouraged her to continue the unhealthy lifestyle she had acquired. While the media constantly presents us with starving women as the ideal body, it is important to remain above such programming to the best of our abilities. Chernik proposes, “losing our weight boosts self-esteem, while nourishing our bodies evokes feelings of self-doubt and self-loathing” (109). This statement reveals the negative reinforcement society continues to offer on issues of weight loss and body image. Because it is so easy to fall into the trap of this vicious cycle, Chernik uses her own story to save others from her mistakes.