Anthropology

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Browsing Anthropology by Author "Bauchinger, Iris Maria"

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    The role of culture in the development of eating disorders with special attention to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
    (University of the Free State, 2002) Bauchinger, Iris Maria; Esterhuyse, Petro
    𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 This study is an exploratory, empirically based investigation into the connection between culture and anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as found in three selected female groups. The specific objectives of the research were to obtain perceptualconceptual information concerning the individual's experience of her self and the body image; to investigate the influence of familial factors such as the family environment, parent-child relationship, parental styles, discourses on weight, food consumption, and lifestyle present in the family; and to examine popular cultural influences, like the pressure for thinness expressed by peer groups and the visual as well as printed media. The literature study included subjects such as the relationship between food and culture; the history, characteristics of and approaches to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa; beauty standards and the fear of obesity in the Western culture; and the nature and influence of socialisation agents. The empirical research was carried out among 24 Caucasian females between the ages of 14 and 28. Three different groups were formed with Group 1 consisting of females already diagnosed with an eating disorder; Group 2 comprising young females working part-time or full-time for a model agency; and Group 3 comprising young females who are members of a dance school. Quantitative research information was obtained through the use of three standardised questionnaires, namely the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the Socio-cultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ), and Eating Attitudes Test (EAT 40). However, the main emphasis in data gathering was qualitative in nature. For this purpose, a structured questionnaire was drawn up to obtain information on cultural influences. This was followed by semi-structured, in-depth interviews with all the research participants. Results of the analysed data revealed that the participants have a thorough knowledge on calorie intake, dieting and various methods of controlling weight. All the participants are preoccupied and dissatisfied with their body size and shape. They have an almost irrational fear of obesity and go to extreme lengths to maintain a slim and slender physique. Consciously or unconsciously, they all acknowledge the ideological influence of the Western ideal of thinness, which is transmitted, in equal intensity by family, peers and the media. Assumptions that women should eat less than men and watch their weight are rooted in the family experiences of most participants. This deep-seated belief in restraining women consequently influences the participants to model weight conscious behaviours practised in the family home. In order to conform to the societal pressure to be thin and to attract male counterparts, the participating girls also encourage each other to lose weight by suggesting dieting behaviour. Competitions are held between peers regarding the most attractive female physique and teasing behaviour is said to occur in the event of girls not achieving the ideal. In addition to family and peer influences, the media also enhances behavioural modelling by presenting a largely unattainable ideal of the thin, beautiful, successful superwoman. Participants idealise and glorify the slender ideal and stars' and fashion models' bodies presented on television and in magazines are the ultimate in preferred physiques. In addition, dietary products advertised by the media are often bought and seen as the last solution in the ongoing struggle to be slim. The essential conclusion is that eating/body problems among Western women cannot be understood outside the cultural settings in which they occur and will not be solved unless cultural agents like the family, peers and the media undergo a paradigm shift regarding the dangerous side of the slender female body ideal. ___________________________________________________________________