One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder. A survey of 232 female undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university in 1994 found that about fifteen percent of the women met criteria for disordered eating---signs of anorexia or bulimia, body dissatisfaction, a drive for thinness, perfectionism and a sense of personal ineffectiveness (Harrison 1994). Their conditi

Interesting to find as well was that the males were very honest and factual when asked about their appearance. They talked more about their personalities than their bodies. However, those who described their bodies were straightforward; the fluff words did not exist for the males. One male states, "I'm laid back and mellow, and I don't stress or worry about much. I love movies and music, I love the ocean, sunsets, and working with kids. I have a good sense of humor and I am a people person. I'm said to be articulate and I think of myself as fairly intelligent. I hate mornings." This particular male chose not to comment on his physical appearance at all. However, this next male chose to talk about his body. He was very exact. "I'm 5'4", 175 pounds with a muscular body. I like to work hard and play hard." This male told of his body, was it because our society makes him feel that he can? Or is he one of the select few who are actually comfortable with his body? Most males told their height and weight, where as not one female surveyed told their weight at all.

For women this stereotypical world never gets any better. We are haunted by the fact that women earn more money than men in only two job categories, those of modeling and prostitution (Wolf, 1992). Both of these positions are prided on being thin and sexy. It is pathetic that this fact is true. Even now, where women are receiving high positions in companies, they may still be paid less then the men working below them.

Why is it that all these girls feel there is something wrong with their body? Eighty-one percent of the ten-year-olds who took a survey reported that they had dieted; this was in 1986 (Millin, Scully, Irwin 1986). I can't imagine when girls in our society start dieting now.

The average person sees between 400 and 600 ads per day that is forty million to fifty million by the time she is sixty years old. One of every eleven commercials has a direct message about beauty; this isn't counting the indirect ones. Seven out of ten girls said they wanted to look like a television character. Almost a third of the girls (31%) said that they had changed something about their appearance to be more like the TV character. Sixteen percent of girls said that they had dieted or exercised to look like a TV character.

I just fid it odd that the women's perceptions of what men want were so off. Men want someone they can have fun with, not a frail toothpick like women seem to assume men want. I was also surprised with the fact that breasts were not a key point of attraction for men. The men were also asked what their perfect girl would be like. To quote directly from one survey, "I want one who will want to learn about what I am interested in. I want one who will be comparable to my mom. My mother is the most important female in my life. I would like to have a girl that demands as much respect from me." Another male surveyed said he wants "soulful eyes and a smile that melts his heart. She is pretty but not plastic. She's laid back but still stresses and she's cute when she's angry."

Some topics in this essay:
Scully Irwin, , Bugard Ninety, Housekeeping Magazine, Journal Communication, Hillier Petrovich, Crouch Edelman, Seventeen Magazine, Perdue Kelly, Lee Anderson, eating disorders, impact lives, anorexia bulimia, comfortable body, qtd dittrich about-faceorg, believed thinner, harrison 1994, thin women, articles related, fear weight gain, weight loss, fifty percent chose, percent girls, impact lives majority, intense fear weight,