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Ana-Mia and the Mature Woman
I'm sure most women have heard the saying, '
You can never be too rich, or too thin'. I won't comment on
whether or not you can be too rich, but I do have some words
on the too thin part of the statement.
'Ana-Mia', refers to Anorexia, and Bulimia,
two of the most widespread eating disorders affecting our
society. We constantly hear about teenage girls succumbing
to these disorders. Our girls grow toward maturity, and find
their bodies changing, developing toward womanhood, and there
everywhere, are the images of ad models, female celebrities,
with bodies starved, with waist, hips, legs, bearing a resemblance
to those of a child. Our girls are being taught they should
strive to retain, at all costs, their 'little girl' bodies.
They are being infused with fear, at an early age, of not
fitting in, not looking like the model of acceptable feminine
beauty, set forth by a sick society.
What we do not hear about is the problem of
more mature women, falling victim. As usual, the mature segment
of our society has been overlooked, as far as research concerning
yet another health issue for women. Yet, from my own personal
research, I've discovered it is definitely a serious problem.
At a time in life, when it is so important for
women to maintain a healthy diet, many mature women choose
to follow rigid weight-loss plans, bordering on self-starvation.
Often they adopt strenuous exercise regimens as well, in an
attempt to either lose weight, or keep it off, or to achieve
an unrealistic 'perfection', as to their body. A hoped for
return to the body they possessed, ten, twenty, thirty, years
ago.
There is no one cause associated with developing
an eating disorder. Psychological factors are often mentioned
as triggers, such as a dysfunctional family or relationship,
or individual personality traits, such as a penchant for perfection.
Emotional negativity, traumas such as rape, abuse, or the
death of a loved one can result in triggering these disorders.
Most women with eating disorders suffer from these three basic
factors- low self-esteem, a feeling of helplessness, and extreme
dissatisfaction with the way they look.
Society
Present-day society may be to blame for more
than a few cases of eating disorders. This fashion and image
obsessed culture bears no resemblance to reality. We are persistently
brainwashed by the visual media. Daily we are bombarded by
enhanced images of what are touted as 'perfect women'. These
women are too often alarmingly underweight, even to the point
of emaciation. 'Thin' is perceived as the only possible acceptable
look. Grown women, starved, often to the point of resembling
pre-pubescent girls, and then cosmetically enhanced, sporting
breast implants, butt implants, etc., these women are presented
as the symbols of 'perfection' to the masses. So ingrained
in our society has this image become, it now negatively affects
every aspect of our lives, even permeating our workplaces.
No matter how unrealistic it is to believe the average female
can, or for that matter, would want to abuse her body in the
manner mentioned above, society seems to have come to the
point of no return, on this issue.
Thin Equals 'Looking Young'
For mature women, society's knife of influence
is double-edged. Not only are we being told women must have
a certain perfect body type, we are also being told that being
overly thin equals looking young. 'Lose weight, look younger!’
we see ads for diet aids promoted thus, everywhere. In such
an atmosphere, even emotionally well balanced, intelligent
women may be won over to the dark side!
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About the Author:
Jeannine Schenewerk is a freelance writer residing in Atlanta,
Georgia. She maintains an inspirational, informative website
for mature women, In Touch With Jeannine. http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeannine_Schenewerk
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