Breaking Body Image Barriers

16-year old, Christina Catalani, doesn’t diet.  She doesn’t watch her weight.  She’ll admit that she eats from the time she wakes up in the morning to the time she goes to bed at night.  Her mother says that when Christina has her girlfriends over they eat faster than she can put food out for them.  “I don’t mean they just have some chips and dip, I mean they eat!” she says.  Christina is pretty satisfied with her body and she seems to think that most of her friends feel the same way.   

Then her mother begins to talk about a certain girl that used to be part of the clique.  “She would come here to hang out and while the other girls were eating, she would just sit there.  I would ask her if she wanted something to eat and she would say, ‘No thanks, I’ll just have a glass of water.’  She must have been a closet eater, though, because she gained weight little by little and then over the summer, she just stopped hanging out with the girls.  I never see her anymore.” 

It seems that Christina might represent the average high school girl while her girlfriend  represents the unhappy and unfortunate minority.  Is it surprising, then, that according to recent body image research, two-thirds of all high school females are either dieting or planning to diet?  This means that more than half of all high school age girls are dissatisfied with their weight, with the seeds of dissatisfaction rooted during the preadolescent years (7-12), and sometimes tracing as far back as five years of age. 

Body image and the changing standards of society are certainly not new ideas; however, as teens seem to be growing up much faster in today’s media-driven world, the pain of self-hatred and a lack of self-confidence are becoming more and more real for them.  Some may say that the pressure of having a “perfect body” is so overwhelming in today’s society, that it has become the majority of what teenage girls think about on a daily basis. 

“I think that girls my age, and in my high school, think about their body image non-stop,” says Erin Keane, a high school freshman.  Erin attends Washington Township public high school and feels strongly about the need for girls her age to obsess about their weight and body image.  Her sister, Catlynn, a senior, shares a similar perspective.  “I think that body image is important to girls in my school.  The people I go to school with are very superficial and image is all they think about,” she says. 

As far as the dieting habits of the two girls, neither claim to be concerned with them, only with being healthy.  However, both have noticed the image-driven eating habits of friends and other classmates.  “I don’t feel it’s necessary to diet, because I don’t over-eat and I’m phyisically active.  On the other hand, many of my friends feel its necessary to diet because they think they’re fat, when in fact, they weigh less than me… but just have less self-confidence,” says Erin.   

The extremity of this obsession with dieting and trying to attain a perfect body can be seen in the increasing numbers of girls diagnosed with anorexia, bulimia, and various other eating disorders.  These cases are still considered a small minority in the face of the “average” teen girl.  Nonetheless, two-thirds of high school age females diet or plan to diet, revealing the “average” teenage girl as one who is considerably dissatisfied with her body and often taking unhealthy risks as a means of overcoming this lack of confidence.   

Studies have even shown that girls who try to lose weight are more likely to gain weight over time, making the challenge to meet such high standards practically impossible.  “All of the girls in my school are perfect and I am the opposite,” says Catlynn.  She also says that many of her friends feel it necessary to diet, but can never fully “go through with it because they always get hungry.”  Add together the constant hunger and lack of energy that comes with dieting, and the barrage of constant food-related media experienced on a daily basis, and the result is a formula for failure.   

Most teenage girls are not even remotely aware of the dangers associated with dieting.  Aside from the physically and nutritionally harmful aspects, are the mentally detrimental effects.  By limiting calorie intake, the body is deprived of essential body chemicals that regulate brain activity, moods, and emotions, leaving dieters at a higher risk of depression. 

When asked about female celebrities they most admire, all three girls mentioned singers or actresses who exude the standards of perfect body image.  Christina chose Ashanti because of her “sex appeal,” Erin chose Jennifer Garner for her beauty and “muscular build,” and Catlynn chose Cher for her ability to look “awesome” even though she is “fifty-something.”

 Does the media hold sole responsibility, then, for the way that young girls are obsessed about their inability to achieve such perfection?  These three teenagers seem to agree that the biggest influence on their self-image is television, movies, magazines, and music.  “Reading beauty magazines make me feel like I need to better myself, like I’m not good enough the way I am.  I feel determined to ‘fix’ what’s wrong with me, even though nothing’s really wrong… it’s just not ‘perfect,’” says Erin.  And while Christina considers herself pretty self-confident, she is a witness to the influence of media on other girls who are “worried about their bodies…and they’re only teenagers.” 

A lack of respect for one’s own body throughout high school leads to even more complicated issues further on in life.  Most college females fear the notorious Freshman Fifteen, and they continue to battle the pressures of weight and size as they get older.  They linger between the realization of real freedom and the unconscious internalization of the “thin ideal,” rooted in the painful struggle for a perfect body throughout their teenage and high school years.  

In today’s society, it’s no wonder girls are caring more and more about their physical appearance.  How do we teach them?  How do we make them see that a beautiful female is more than a Britney-Spears-body and an endless diet?  Strong female roles are the key to self-confidence, and breaking down the barriers of media-driven body ideals will keep teen girls from falling into the tragic struggle of perceived exterior inadequacy and ugliness.

To Draft Or Not to Draft: Resolving US Military Issues

In the wake of September 11^th and the occupation of Iraq, The United States military faces a struggle of retaining manpower and bridging defensive gaps.  Active-duty soldiers have been forced into longer assignments while families wait patiently at home for their loved ones to return, only to once again, bid them farewell for another demanding fulfillment of duty.  In terms of numbers, the United States forces have been stretched to the limit, and continue to search for new ways to increase military enlistment. 

As the possibility of the United States as a weakened superpower penetrates both government and society, debate over possible resolutions to this looming problem has caused a stir among military and civilians alike.  Perhaps the most controversial of these is the reinstatement of military conscription.

It has been nearly thirty years since the United States has eliminated military drafting after the Vietnam War.  Public support for government and military officials declined heavily during the war as draft calls intensified, taking a severe toll on the morale of both the country and those drafted soldiers off in battle.  “The opposition was manifested in a variety of ways: …sit-ins at selective service offices, the burning of draft cards, demonstrations on college campuses, and weddings to take advantage of marital deferments.”[i]  As the Vietnam War came to an end, the United States realized the ineffectiveness of its forced military participation, and the draft was lifted.

Since then, the country has operated on an All-Volunteer Force and has continued to gain both international power and public support.  As some would argue, the U.S. military has rebuilt its strength and success based on this freer force of military enlisted.  According to former Secretary of the Army, Louis Caldera, “today’s all-volunteer military recruits only motivated, trainable people who, by definition, have other options but who choose to stay in the military  because they find satisfaction in serving their country.”[ii]

However, it remains that the strain on military troops grows larger and larger as the need for more soldiers in new and old areas of occupation continues to increase.  Lt. Gen. John M. Riggs argues “I have been in the Army 39 years, and I’ve never seen the Army as stretched in that 39 years as I have today.”[iii]  Reservists are putting in more time than they imagined upon enlistment, and new “stop loss” policies have prevented soldiers from leaving active-duty even when their service agreements are up.

New York Congressman, Charles Rangel, has pushed the issue even further, believing that without the re-instatement of the draft, our nation’s freedom will continue to be a product of socioeconomic imbalance.  “I strongly believe that fighting for our country must be fairly shared by all racial and economic groups… the burden of service cannot fall only on volunteers who, no matter how patriotic, are attracted to the military for financial reasons.”[iv]  This argument follows the fact that statistically, larger numbers of lower-class citizens make up the enlisted population because they are more prone to seek out the monetary advantages of enlistment.  Rangel predicts that without the draft, “we will be a nation in which the poor fight our wars while the affluent stay home.” 

This is precisely why legislation for the reinstatement of the draft was introduced to Congress by Rangel.  Additionally, a bill was introduced in the Senate in early January by Senator Fritz-Hollings that would “provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.”[v]  Under this bill, every citizen, regardless of class would be responsible for contributing, in some capacity, to the military force that defends and supports the nation.  With these added numbers of non-active and active draftees, relief could be provided for those soldiers spending exhausting amounts of time in the line of duty.

In opposition to this Senatorial legislation, Libertarian presidential candidate, Aaron Russo has formed a petition that outlines this new legislation as an “infringement on our personal freedoms.”[vi]  This continuing debate draws on the experiences of the Vietnam War, and the country’s aversion to sending unwilling men, by lottery, into the fatal throws of battle.  This petition serves the argument that enlistment in United States forces should remain a choice rather than an obligation, as the nation’s very basis for military power is to retain its commitment to freedom itself.

The debate over military conscription continues to become more luminous as the issue of limited manpower and a strain on active troops becomes more problematic.  Government legislation will ultimately decide the fate of our national obligations and responsibilities as citizens.  The question remains: Is military drafting justified in its effort to provide relief and balance socioeconomic situations, or is it a direct violation of the very freedom our military serves to defend?

Life Lessons From A College Student

With these lessons for life, I know my short time here has left lasting impressions on my head and my heart. College is more than a frat party or a classroom, it's like a pre-school for the Real World. It has equipped me with the basic social tools and lessons I need to make it in that big ocean of responsibility and life. I know I'll spend my last two weeks here as if the end were coming all too soon, but with every last night at the bar or late-night cram session for exams, I'll know it's only the beginning, and I'll thank college life for the wonderful memories and the lessons I'll never forget.