FOOD-UE 1051 Lecture Notes - Protected Group, Cultural Anthropology, Peter Paul Rubens
22 May 2013
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Tuesday april 23rd, 2013: related readings- massara, brunberg. Food avoidance here is more cultural, look at disordered feelings/relationships with food. Food avoidance is thought of as a problem for white, female americans. Reinforced media images, barbie dolls perpetuate an ideal image: this ideal is subject to change: during the depression, skinny bodies were associated with poverty and hunger- far from attractive. Mead is a cultural anthropologist who originally studied samoan young women. Question of why we have social norms/moral imperatives about bodies not our own. There is a mainstream belief that fat people lack control, responsibility, and care for their health/well-being, and strong moral values. Anorexics are usually driven by low self-esteem and an inability to deal with certain pressures. Some areas like ballet dancing, beach volleyball, and weight class sports may cultivate feelings of distorted body image or a pressure to have a certain body type, which could lead to anorexia.
