Body
Wars
By
Jennifer J. Wolfe
Throughout
the past century, every decade has been characterized by a war of some sort.
The new millenium has proven to be no different.
Modern Americans are experiencing an internal national war of our own:
the war against fat.
Millions
of Americans are affected by media campaigns, targeted at
how we should live our lives, by buying their products. These
advertisements tell us how we should behave, who we should associate with,
where we should spend our time and how we should express ourselves.
Through product exploitation, the media has bombarded our lives with
its profit-based ideology of right and wrong.
Induced
by the fashion industry and exploited by the media, the current trend towards
thinness has become an epidemic.
Bombarded by images and messages that vary in degree of subtlety, the
average American is taught the average body size is not okay.
Women have been at the forefront of well-publicized cases about eating
disorders. The death of Karen Carpenter is the most infamous.
But, what about men?
Where do modern American men fit into the scheme of the body image
wars? Current statistics tell us that of the two to six percent of Americans
suffering from Anorexia and Bulimia, ten percent are men.
This implies that of the five to sixteen million Americans that suffer
from eating disorders, five hundred thousand to one million six hundred
thousand are men.
And, we are not even counting Compulsive or Binge eating disordered
individuals.
From
the L.A. based Rader Programs, Inc. a treatment program dedicated exclusively
to the treatment of eating and related disorders, expert Dr. Jonathan Rader
provides some answers regarding the following statistics:
1/3
of American females and 1/4 of American males are on a diet at any given time.
2
out of 5 women and 1 out of 5 men would trade between 3 to 5 years of their
life to achieve their weight goals.
Diets
and diet related products are a 33 billion dollar a year industry.
When
preschool children were offered dolls identical in every respect except
weight, they preferred the thin doll 9 out of 10 times.
A
study asked children to assign attractiveness values to pictures of children
with various disabilities.
The participants rated the obese child less attractive than a child in
a wheelchair, a child with a facial deformity, and a child with a missing
limb.
20
years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman.
Today she weighs 23% less.
Dr
Rader explains, “It’s a disease, and a disease has no gender, it picks on
men and women alike.”
On the Rader Programs website [www.raderpro.com], evidence can be found
supporting this conclusion: “ Just as women once rarely acknowledged their
alcoholism, men are reluctant to admit they suffer from eating disorders.
However, societal pressures to obtain the ideal body image are no
loner gender specific.”
One
high profile Los Angeles businessman (who will remain nameless) lives within
the cycle of food and body obsession.
His entire life revolves around when he can find time to sneak away to
a private bathroom and purge.
Sometimes his vomit is laced with blood.
But this hasn’t stopped him.
He explained that his bulimia began as a teenager who struggled with a
deep-seated need for perfection.
He had struggled with his weight throughout adolescence until he
learned the secret practice of Bulimia.
His desire to be thin became an obsession, trapping him within this
deadly cycle.
The paradox of gratification from Bulimia being that a) it is a sort of
self inflicted pain (vomiting) and
b) (vomiting) emits bodily
endorphins creating a sense of euphoria.
This businessman’s extremely successful career hasn’t curbed his
addiction either.
In fact quite the opposite has occurred.
The need for a sense of control and power in the business world has
increased his obsessive behavior.
He has the desire to seek help for his problem, but fears that his
status in the public eye would be jeopardized if word leaked about his secret
diet. And
so this gentleman’s need to succeed and subsequent public exposure has
defeated any opportunity he might have to seek the remedy of inpatient
treatment and care.
Surveys
show that men suffer from eating disorders. Of the possible 1.6 million men
affected, the death rate is ten percent- astonishingly high.
So, why is it that the media only features Hollywood’s females
in weight-based stories?
Either they’re too fat or too thin…
People Magazine even had a centerfold in one of their Fall/ Winter
issues depicting the female stars popular “Lolly-Pop” look which was
applied to stars such as Tori Spelling, Angelina Jolie, Courtney Love,
Jennifer Anniston and (of course) Ally McBeal’s, Calista Flockhart. These
stars were shown as having heads too large for their “popsicle stick”
bodies. But
where’s the media when John Travolta gained a noticeable amount of weight
during the past year?
Has anyone noticed Pierce Brosnan appearing a might bit on the thin
side lately?
Or what about John Candy’s hefty frame?
Did anyone question Chris Farley’s death by drug overdose as possibly
being food related?
The
media has paid no attention to the weight of these men. Dr. Rader explains,
“Young men are falling into the potentially deadly traps of (the
compulsive restricting and/or binge and/or purge cycles) oftentimes by
having to make weight for certain sports and compulsively exercising.
Compulsive Overeating has always been a problem for men as doing things
in excess is (perceived) as a sign
of virility.
More importantly, men are often not given permission to express their
feelings and may turn to food to cope with uncomfortable feelings.
A potential roadblock to treatment for men is the outdated notion that
men are not supposed to ask for help.
Not to be able to control something in their life is mistaken as a sign
of weakness.”
We
must brainstorm a plan of attack to fend off the negative media-based messages
surrounding our culture.
The body image war is a battle that will continue for as long as we buy
what the media is selling. The battle with weight that men must fight is
reminiscent of the popular 60’s folk song “Where Have All the Flowers
Gone,” depicting the cycle of birth, death, and the Vietnam War. Unlike
Vietnam, the battle to “be” a
certain way is a much subtler force than compression bombs and napalm.
Mankind’s needed defense must be even subtler still.
The necessary defense tactics we must deploy consist of
philanthropically developed and guided souls (soldiers), whose aim through
creative unselfishness must be to elevate the population through selfless
empowerment of others. Let’s
stop condemning our differences and start empowering each other with
our differences.
Until the media changes its ways, the voices of those afflicted with
body image and food addictions need to be heard.
Who will speak up for the men?
Denim Day
On April 20th 2000 a panel of speakers joined together with a group of women to discuss one of the most serious issues pertaining to women today. It is one of our greatest enemies and sadly the leading cause of death among women in the United States. Violence against women is prevalent in a culture where it not only seems to be widely accepted, but for the most part completely unpunished. A lawyer from Legal Aid joined our group, Susan Milman; to discuss the legal actions a woman could take when faced with violence of any sort. Liz Jones, from Soujourn, explained what her organization did to aid women and their children in their fight against domestic violence, and Patricia Prickett, from The Safe Women’s Project was on hand to share some of the frightening stories of women faced with such violence. The discussion was filled with personal experience, outrage about the injustices, and a definite fear factor that emanated throughout the room. But that was the reason we were there, to bring to the table topics which scared us, and pertained directly to our womanhood. We reflected on ways to combat the trauma after such violent experiences that so many women endure, and the solutions were plentiful. The Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center was kind enough to lend information about where and how to seek help, and the speakers were a vital asset in that area as well. But the topic of prevention seemed much more complicated and left most of us with pessimism that is hard to cope with when it comes to our safety and our lives essentially. The one male who joined us said something that was hard to forget. He said that it was like we were the Church preaching to the choir, and these were facts that we knew already and issues we were acquainted with. The problem must be thrust into the world of education and most importantly a male’s education, since they are the primary offenders. So, while I walked away with a true sense of accomplishment because something official actually happened on our campus to reestablish awareness about such issues facing women, out work is far from over and it seems that we must make more defiant efforts to gather men and women alike for discussions such as these.
Gotta
Dance
Story
and Photos by Allan Hurwit
Traditional ballet uses poses, steps, and a variety of leaps, turns,
and a variety of leaps, turns, and other movements, accompanied by music, to
tell a story.
Modern dance grew out of ballet because dancers and choreographers
wanted more creative freedom to express moods, feelings, and ideas as well as
tell stories.
Modern jazz grew out of modern dance in order to incorporate movements
that went with America’s unique, home grown, syncopated jazz music.
Ethnic or folk dance is what its name says – dances of the “folk”
– the people.
In teaching these major forms of dance, the main goal of the SMC Dance
Department is to try to meet the students’ individual needs and help them to
grow and develop according to their goals.
Students can study and practice dance as a creative art form, to become
performing professionals, or for pure pleasure.
They can also learn to appreciate and better understand the dance and
music of other people and their cultures.
Learning about other cultures through dance is a great way to break
down stereotypes and bridge the gaps between peoples and countries.
The Dance Department is part of Theatre Arts.
The instructors are all highly skilled and trained professionals who
are also performance artists with extensive practical experience.
For example, Dance Program Director, Linda Gold, has a Master’s
degree in dance from UCLA.
She has danced professionally with groups like Joffrey Ballet and
Wolftrap and heads her own dance group.
Judith Douglas has a Master’s degree in dance from USC, and spent
many years dancing in and producing ethnic dance presentations before joining
SMC. She
is in charge of ethnic dance.
Dance department students mirror the SMC student body in that they come
from various countries and backgrounds.
They have a wide variety of goals ranging from teaching dance to being
dance professionals.
Nina Nakajima is from Japan.
She has been at SMC for two and a half years and is earning her AA
degree in dance.
Nina would like to be a professional performer.
She feels that, “Dance is an honest, pure art, and that it makes me
feel strong and happy when I dance.”
Jessica Shim is a theatre and dance major.
She is working toward a BA degree in theatre and dance and wants to be
a professional actor/dancer.
She finds dance exhilarating and says, “It gives me discipline and
focus as well as the pure pleasure that comes from moving well.”
Anjini Mohan Desai came from India with her husband four years ago.
She has been taking dance for two years and is working toward a
performing arts degree in music and dance.
Presently pregnant, Anjini will take time out to have her baby and then
continue with dance.
She feels that, “Dance relaxes and energizes me and makes me feel
like I’m part of the music.”
The dance program offers an AA degree and, equally important, a wide
variety of practical performance opportunities and experience.
Students can participate in dance meetings, festivals, and
presentations such as the American College Dance Festival and the local
Synapse Dance presentations.
Another dance program at SMC can be found in Community Services.
They offer swing, ballroom, salsa, and Hawaiian dance classes.
So, if you “gotta dance,” SMC is the place.
Nina Nakajima in Modern Dance class
Jessica
Shim and Anjini Mohan Desai in Ballet class
Cheryl
Clark teaching Modern Jazz