One Food Eating Myth

So here’s an interesting story. I recently received a booklet in the mail that advertised Pink merchandise. For those of you who are unaware of what Pink is, it’s a Victoria’s Secrets clothes brand for women. Initially I thought nothing of it (this wouldn’t be the first time my name was mistaken for belonging to a female), and decided to simply discard the booklet. However, something caught my attention. As I glanced through the pages, I noticed that all the women looked similar. They were all tall, thin, and white. The brand using tall, thin beautiful women as a marketing technique wasn’t surprising, but what was surprising was that there wasn’t a woman of color present. This isn’t to say that Victoria’s Secret doesn’t use women of different races within this brand (or any brand for that matter), but it does help perpetuate a common myth. This myth states that women not belonging to the White race do not experience body image complications.  

It’s no secret that society places an emphasis on the female body. Society constantly advertises and displays women with gorgeous looks and a thin frame. As a result, women become influenced by the expectations that society places on them, and feel that their body types aren’t good enough. This necessity to appear like the women in the Victoria’s Secrets ads (and many others) causes women, particularly White women, to develop eating disorders. But where do the women of different colors fit into this equation? This concept is addressed by Susan Boro in her article “Not Just ‘A White Girl’s Thing’: The Changing Face of Food and Body Image Problems”. Boro states that it is a common belief among people that eating disorders are only prevalent among White females, and that women of other races don’t exhibit a dislike of their body types. These women are proud of their body’s features and have a cultural permission to appear the way they do (46). Because it is assumed that women of different colors are comfortable with their bodies, they aren’t depicted as much as White women in body image advertisements. Therefore, White females are able to connect directly to the women in these ads and develop a desire to emulate the bodies they see. This, however, is not true. Eating disorders can be present within women regardless of their ethnicity or culture. Boro further asserts that eating disorders are predicated on new social expectations and the anxieties associated with attempting to obtain an ideal body (51). Women of different races are influenced by societal expectations just as much as White women. Simply because these women aren’t voicing their dissatisfactions with their bodies as much as their white counterparts, doesn’t mean that they don’t have issues with their body types.

This concept is also displayed in the popular sitcom Modern Family. The show focuses on a fictitious family, the Pritchetts, as the many members of the family navigate through life and all the obstacles that it presents. One character in particular is Gloria played by the actress Sofia Vergara. Gloria, the wife of Jay Pritchett, is a beautiful Columbian housewife. Throughout the show, characters are constantly addressing her natural stunning looks and breathtaking figure. In a sense, Vergara’s character becomes a depiction of what Columbian women look like. This would imply that all Columbian women are gifted with thin bodies and large chests. Bodies such as these are accepted by society and held in high regard. Therefore, Columbian women show no displeasure with their body types. This concept is not true. Not all women have the genetics for a thin body. For the Columbian women that do, they may exhibit distaste for them. At different points within the show, Gloria comments on how people appreciate her more for her looks than for her personality as a loving housewife. This demonstrates that having a curvaceous body has its tradeoffs and isn’t always viewed as a positive attribute by women. We can look at this issue from the other angle as well. The show also makes note of the fact that Gloria is constantly going to the gym to tone her body. This demonstrates that even though Gloria isn’t a White woman, she is still influenced by societal expectations for females to display awe-inspiring body types.

Ultimately, the pressure to acquiesce to the standards of society is felt by women of different races and ethnicities. These standards include food and exercise management in order to flaunt toned, glamorous, appealing bodies for all of society to see. However, not all females are guilty of complying with such a standard, and it’ll be interesting to see if the narrative changes in the future. Until then, my mailbox will be open.