Culturing Beauty Class Project Fall 2007 Janice Abshire, Sheronnabah Harvey, Joanna Hogan & Deanna Yates

History of Body Image: In the Name of Beauty By Janice Abshire

Body Image in History and Myth  Kharites, two goddesses named for Grace and Beauty who sang. “What is beautiful is loved; what is not beautiful is not loved.”  King David: saw Bathsheba bathing an then sent her husband to his death so Daivid could have her beauty for himself

Cultural messages of the ultimate beauty ideal from early 1800s to early 1900s:  Women: small waist, ample hip and bosom  Men: slim and delicate; refined Actual Corset “Better to be thin than plump.” Godey's Lady's Book

Cultural message moves to sophisticated Hollywood ideal from early 1900s to present  Flappers: symbols of the rebellious 1920s  Charles Atlas, the new strong man ideal: muscular and broad-chested  Fashion designers and the skinny, modern look  Influence of movie stars: ultimate ideal of beauty and sophistication

“Improving” Our Bodies through Consumption By Joanna Hogan As the ideal body becomes smaller, a demand for products and services grows, and so does a supply

Fad Diets Fad diet: “the promotion for profit of special foods, products, processes, or appliances with false or misleading health or therapeutic claims." Often fad diet books top bestseller lists. If weight-loss is achieved, it is generally temporary Long-term health can be adversely affected

Diet Pills First diet pill is sold in 1893 under the name “Frank J. Kellogg's Safe Fat Reducer" “Safe Fat Reducer” causes heart damage and death FDA formed because of diet pill dinitrphenol Dinitrphenol taken by 100,000 people in one year. Causes blindness and death Amphetamines go on the market in 1950s; not outlawed until 1970s New “safe” pills marketd regularly

Cosmetic Surgery Barely 2 million cosmetic procedures performed in 1997 Almost 11.5 million cosmetic procedures performed in 2006 Overall most common surgical procedure is liposuction For women, most common surgical procedure is breast augmentation Overall most common non- surgical procedure is botox injection 92% of cosmetic patients are women

Bariatric Surgery Bariatric surgery bypasses or shrinks the stomach to limit caloric intake Used as a weight-loss tool for the extremely obese Between 1998 and 2002 the number of operations performed skyrocketed by 540% Risk factors include: “infection, blood clots, abdominal hernia, gallstones, nutritional deficiencies, possible nerve complications, and death”

Eating Disorders: What Makes it a Disorder? By Sheronnabah Harvey

Anorexia Nervosa “Presence of an abnormally low body weight and the intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat” Perfectionist personalities are more prone to anorexia Anorexia is an issue of control Each year about 1000 women die because of anorexia 5 out of 6 anorexics are female

Bullemia Nervosa The coupling of over-eating and then purging (vomiting)‏ Eating is usual done privately Over-eating causes guilt/shame and purging restores control Weight generally fluctuates in the “normal” range Bullemics also tend to engage in other risky behavior, such as promiscuity

Binge Eating Like bullemics, binge-eaters eat alone Food used as a coping mechanism for stress and depression Once a binge-eater begins eating in secret, the frecuency and quantity will increase over time

Other Eating Disorders NOS (Not otherwise specified): individual has some, but not all symptoms, of a disorder Bigorexia: Feeling that one's body is too small (mainly affects men)‏ Body Dismorphic Disorder: obsession with a body flaw Pica Disorder: urge to ingest substances other than food Prader-Willi Syndrome: never feeling full Night Eating Syndrome: only eating late at night

Accepting Obesity in Popular Culture By Deanna Yates

Defining Obesity and Its Risks Individuals with a Body Mass index (BMI) over 40 are obese BMI is calculated with a function of height and weight Health risks include: high blood Pressure, cardio-vascular disease, cancer, and diabetes Obesity is a growing epidemic

Contributing Factors Over-eating Non-observance of healthy foods and portions Genetics Abuse Sedentary lifestyle

Discrimination Peers – Adults, children, co-workers, strangers Health care professionals Insurance providers Employers

Personal and Cultural Acceptance Some cultures view as favorable Media plays a key role Flaws make us unique Everyone has a different body type