Anorexia
Saturday, January 01, 2000
It is horrifying to see a fine young woman reduced to a ghost of herself by the starving syndrome anorexia nervosa.
Teenage is a tough time, prone to self-doubt. The media bombard young people mercilessly with models of correct appearance. Many people are physically unable to match the current image.
I tell my daughters not to judge themselves by the fashion, but to value a strong body and a happy disposition. A father versus the advertising industry.
But young men too are brainwashed by the TV screen and the magazine photos as to how women should look. And no amount of fatherly advice will deafen young women to the remarks of young men!
Media have largely replaced extended family. So if our civilisation is to be caring towards its young, media must assume the responsibility of aunts and uncles.
Fashion says some are okay and others not. Let us no longer expose the young to this form of discrimination. Sure, it occurs naturally in the school playground - but when commerce takes over, there is overkill, and you can’t answer back.
Let advertisements, glossy magazines and TV dramas routinely include people of different shapes and sizes in a true mix of heroes and villains - just like the real world.
Philip O'Carroll