Some entertainers even have costly cosmetic surgery to achieve that look of perfection that they idolize so much. Thanks to the media, we also have come to think that actresses with eating disorders are only in danger if they appear emaciated or gaunt in appearance. This again is simply not true. .
Here are just a few celebrities with eating disorders:.
Christina Ricci - anorexia .
Jane Fonda - anorexia .
Christ Henrich (died from her eating disorder) .
Fiona Apple - anorexia .
Paula Abdul - bulimia .
Brandy (teen singer) - diet pill abuse.
The media's portrayal of women ultimately teaches them to concentrate on their beauty and weight more than their intelligence and strength. For instance, most male role models in the media are strong, smart, and have a good sense of character, while women in the media are perceived as being weak and thin, submissive to men and highly sexualized. Most advertisements usually feature men fully clothed and confident and women are usually in bathing suits or revealing clothing. For example, in a milk advertisement, Tiger Woods is posing fully-clothed looking strong and smart, while Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is in an ad wearing only a bathing suit with an innocent smile on her face. The women are most like objects rather than human beings and this is very degrading. It's no wonder why each year millions of women spend countless hours and dollars on beauty products, try rigorous diets just to lose that extra ten pounds, or even go through painful and dangerous surgery just to achieve their goal of being "beautiful". The images and messages from the media are inevitably inescapable. .
The sad thing about these images and messages is that it is reaching girls and young women everywhere. The media uses television programs (Dawson's Creek and Friends) and magazines (Seventeen and YM) to target girls around 10-17 years of age. These ages are when girls are the most susceptible to getting an eating disorder.
