How Food Can Affect People

Food affects every part of a person's life. Whether it is the literal act of preparing/eating food, or the way we percieve ourselves in the mirror, food will always play a role. For some, these constant reminders of food play a much bigger role than the average person. When talking about an eating disorder, most people picture a white girl who sees an overweight person in the mirror when she is almost dying of starvation. Unfortunately, this is a real and true picture painted by today's society. But it is important to remember that not everyone who has an eating disorder is a female, white, skinny, or even unhappy with their body. As said in Susan Bordo's Not Just "a White Girl's Thing", "...many young college women , of all races and ethnicities, who looked just fine, but were privately throwing up and abusing laxatives..." (266). Though the stigma is around white girls, that is quickly becoming untrue. It is easy to notice the personal effect food stigma has on Bordo as she discusses what her young daughter says and notices. What takes a little bit more thought, however, is the personal guilt Bordo feels. It is impossible to 100% avoid the insecurites that big companies play with (unless you can avoid TV, radio, magazines, and billboards). Bordo seems to feel guilty that her daughter has already felt the impact that the "ideal" body has on people. It's interesting and makes one think about whether it really is the fault of parents, or the big businesses that prey on young girls and innocence. It also makes one wonder whether, based off of the rhetoric, Bordo herself has ever had a life threatening eating disorder that she feels guilty about. Bordo touches on the topic of compulsive eating, and while this is definetly an eating disorder, its not looked at as a serious problem. As Jill McKorkle says in Her Chee-To Heart, "I need oral participation, oral gratification". People who have compulsive eating are suffering with an eating disorder in that any and all available food will be eaten. In fact, I will admit that I am a compulsive eater. I eat when I'm bored, or if there is good food in front of me but I already ate. Compulsive eaters need constant stimulation, and when the stimulation dies down, food is there to pick it back up. The rhetoric of McCorkle's piece makes me wonder whether or not they have ever had a life threatening eating disorder ever as well. While the tones of the two pieces are very different, they both seem uncomfortable in their eating habits. These pieces are prime examples of what being proud of yourself looks like VS being insecure in your eating habits, a trait that is unfortunately too prevalent in the world.