Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body

by Courtney E. Martin

  64. “Anorexia was the only way”: Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women (William Morrow, 1991), 204.

  64. one in seven Caucasian girls now start: Michael D. Lemonick, “Teens Before Their Time,” Time, October 20, 2000.

  65. “The invasion of hormones turns the child”: Emily White, Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut (Berkley, 2003), 16.

  72. According to the U.S. Census Bureau: U.S. Census Bureau, http://childstats.ed.gov/americaschildren/pop6.asp.

  72. “a deep, persistent desire for emotional connection”: Margot Maine, Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters, and the Pursuit of Thinness (Gurze Books, 2004), 21.

  76. “The things we saw women doing”: Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women (William Morrow, 1991), 204.

  77. “If we look at modern Athenas”: Marion Woodman, The Pregnant Virgin: A Process of Psychological Transformation (Inner City Books, 1985), 85.

  78. “All my life I had been a father’s daughter”: Jane Fonda, My Life So Far (Random House, 2005), 565.

  78. “Often she is caught”: Marion Woodman, The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Repressed Feminine (Inner City Books, 1980), 9.

  4. Perfect-Girl Talk

  79. In 1982 Carol Gilligan argued: Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice (Harvard University Press, 1982).

  79. teenage girls becoming ‘female impersonators’: Mary Pipher, Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Lives of Adolescent Girls (Ballantine, 1994), 22.

  86. “stress-induced vomiting”: Rebecca Traister, “Return of the Brainless Hussies,” Salon.com, May 19, 2006.

  88. 44.8 percent of girls look to their friends: Tracy L. Dunkley, Eleanor H. Wertheim, and Susan J. Paxton, “Examination of a Model of Multiple Sociocultural Influences on Adolescent Girls’ Body Dissatisfaction and Dietary Restraint,” Adolescence, Summer 2001.

  88. girls were more likely to worry: Eric Stice and Katheryn Whitenton, “Risk Factors for Body Dissatisfaction in Adolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Investigation,” Developmental Psychology, September 1, 2002.

  91. Girls Inc., though a 140-year-old organization: Girls Inc., http://www.girlsinc.org.

  5. Sex as a Cookie

  98. “Something happens to some girls”: Mary Gordon, Pearl (Pantheon, 2005), 129.

  98 “All of these are about emptiness”: Caroline Knapp, Appetites (Counterpoint, 2003), 10.

  104 the average girl lost her virginity: Jean M. Twenge, Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before (Free Press, 2006), 162.

  104. A teenage girl today is twice as likely: Ibid.

  104. Eighty-four percent of college-educated single women: Ibid., 163.

  105. 60 percent of high school juniors: Ibid., 168.

  105. “What teens have to work with”: Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture (Free Press, 2005), 157.

  106. the more dissatisfied a teenage girl is: Gina M. Wingood et al., “Body Image and African American Females’ Sexual Health,” Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-Based Medicine, June 2002.

  110. “Whereas men tend to externalize stress”: Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression—and How Women Can Break Free (Henry Holt, 2006), 6.

  112. In a study of six thousand students: Robin Warshaw, I Never Called It Rape: The Ms. Report on Recognizing, Fighting, and Surviving Date and Acquaintance Rape (HarperCollins, 1988).

  113 13 percent of college women indicated: I. M. Johnson, E. F. Morgan, and R. T. Sigler, “Forced Sexual Intercourse: Contemporary Views,” in It’s a Crime: Women and Justice, 2nd ed. (Prentice Hall, 2003).

  113. In a study of 477 male students: Scot B. Boeringer, “Associations of Rape-Supportive Attitudes with Fraternal and Athletic Participation,” Violence Against Women, vol. 5, no. 1 (1999).

  113. In a recent study, 80 percent: Leigh Cohn and Mark Schwartz, eds., Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders (Taylor & Francis, 1990).

  113. “blame their bodies”: Author interview with Karen A. Duncan, June 9, 2006.

  113. “She was self-injuring”: Ibid.

  117. Resources: http://www.addresources.org/article_medicines_mandelkorn.php.

  6. The Revolution Still Will Not Be Televised

  121. “The body has become”: Lauren Greenfield, Girl Culture (Chronicle Books, 2005), 150.

  122. The seventeenth season of The Real World: Kay Arthur, “On MTV’s ‘Real World’ Paula Meronek Deals with a Grim Reality,” New York Times, May 2, 2006.

  123. she admitted to Vanity Fair: Evgenia Peretz, “Confessions of a Teenage Movie Queen,” Vanity Fair, February 2006.

  123. “Fashion insiders have whispered”: Leslie Bennetts, “Nicole Richie Talks About Her Weight, Being a Role Model, and What Happened with Paris,” Los Angeles Times, June 2006.

  123. “I think she’s motivated to be scary-little”: Ibid.

  123. “eats the worst foods”: Ibid.

  124. “putting a sledgehammer to your vocal cords”: Ericka Sóuter and Monica Rizzo, “Katharine McPhee’s Bulimia Battle,” People, June 22, 2006.

  124. “everyone look like”: Jeff Leeds, “As Pop Music Seeks New Sales, the Pussycat Dolls Head to Toyland,” New York Times, April 17, 2006.

  126. there are females in top positions: Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2043236.

  128. Hispanic, Asian-American, and Native American girls tended to report: Dianne Neumark-Sztainer et al., “Ethnic/Racial Differences in Weight-Related Concerns and Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls and Boys,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research, November 2002.

  128. In her 2000 study, Dr. Ruth Striegel-Moore: Denise Brodey, “Blacks Join the Eating-Disorder Mainstream,” New York Times, September 20, 2005.

  129 Other studies she has conducted: Farai Chideya, “African- American Women and How They Confront Body Image, Eating Disorders, Obesity, and Cultural Stereotypes,” National Public Radio, June 9, 2005.

  129. “What we think drives”: Ibid.

  129. “unrecognized by the health-care system”: Ibid.

  129. In a recent Florida State University study: Quoted in Denise Brodey, “Blacks Join the Eating-Disorder Mainstream,” New York Times, September 20, 2005.

  140. “It’s acting. Halle Berry can go on film”: Quoted in http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/7252004.htm.

  140. “This is a grown woman that told me”: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6011814.

  140. White Chocolate has made a cottage industry: Author reporting at the New York City National Organization for Women panel on Love Your Body Day, October 20, 2005.

  140. “I’m not representing anybody”: Sonia Murray, “No One Is Exploiting Me: Some Women in the Business Deny Claims They Are Mistreated,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 27, 2004.

  140. “These girls are smart entrepreneurs”: Ibid.

  141. “Hip-hop culture is the 800-pound gorilla”: Anya Kamenetz, “Russel Simmons, Tax Man,” Village Voice, April 13, 2005.

  141. “Adolescents are not inventing this culture”: Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture (Free Press, 2005).

  142. “Proving that you are hot”: Ibid., 33.

  142. “Raunch culture, then, isn’t an entertainment option”: Ibid., 40.

  7. What Men Want

  146. Men’s Health is filled: Men’s Health, http://www.menshealth.com.

  147. three of the four afflicted main characters: Review of Starved, People, August 8, 2005.

  147. 1 million men have eating disorders: “Officials See More Eating Disorders in Men,” Associated Press, September 21, 2004.

  147. The age at which men develop: Margot Maine, Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters, and the Pursuit of Thinness (Gurze Books, 2004), 57.

  147. “New terms
such as muscle ‘dysmorphia’”: Ibid., 91.

  150. Girls Gone Wild empire: Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture (Free Press, 2005), 12.

  150. Maxim has a section specifically: Maxim, http://www.maximmagazine.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=6956.

  150. “23 ways to get bare-faced confidence”: Cosmopolitan, UK edition, January 2005.

  153 Harrison, one of the men Paul interviews: Pamela Paul, Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families (Henry Holt, 2005), 97-103.

  154. the most downloaded woman: Lauren Greenfield, Girl Culture (Chronicle Books, 2005), 32.

  160. girls and boys as young as five years old: Simon Gowers et al., “Children’s Perceptions of Body Shape: A Thinness Bias in Pre-Adolescent Girls and Associations with Femininity,” Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, October 2001.

  160. “Who wouldn’t want to have sex”: Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy, “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein,” December 10, 2004.

  8. All-or-Nothing Nation

  167. “The slender girl in our culture”: Kim Chernin, The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness (Harper & Row, 1981), 71-72.

  167. “This is a culture where”: Marya Hornbacher, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (HarperPerennial, 1999), 154.

  170. “According to the ‘set point’ theory”: Susan Albers, Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food (New Harbinger Publications, 2002), 123.

  171. “Our understanding of how and why”: Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/sum_intr.htm.

  171. “Fat is a social disease”: Susie Orbach, Fat Is a Feminist Issue (Berkley, 1978), 6.

  173. 64.5 percent of U.S. adults: American Obesity Association, http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml.

  173. “Fat is the leprosy of the 1990s”: Mary Pipher, Hunger Pains: The Modern Woman’s Tragic Quest for Thinness (Ballantine, 1997), 91.

  173. According to the World Health Organization: World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/en.

  173. According to the National Institutes of Health: Sharron Dalton, Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools, and Communities Can Do to Control the Fatness Epidemic (University of California Press, 2004), 25.

  173. inexplicably, the NIH spends: American Obesity Association, hhttp://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/Obesity_Research.shtml.

  174. 30 percent said they would rather be thin: Emma Bothorel, Lizzie Dunlap, and Melissa Walker, “Love Your Body: Body Image Survey,” ELLEgirl, February 2006.

  174. Dieting is ineffective 95 percent of the time: National Eating Disorders Association, http://womensissues.about.com/cs/body image/a/bodyimagestats.htm.

  174. That means, in America alone: Ibid.

  174. Thirty-five percent of those who diet: Ibid.

  174. 25 percent of those who diet develop: Ibid.

  174. “The dieting mindset is akin”: Albers, Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food (New Harbinger Publications, 2002), 2.

  174. In a two-year study by nutrition researchers: Quoted in Medical News Today, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=25384.

  174. Being fat, he argues, is not equivalent: Steven Shapin, “Eat and Run: Why We’re So Fat,” New Yorker, January 16, 2005.

  174. being underweight actually kills: Ibid.

  174. “like saying ‘whiter teeth’”: Quoted in ibid.

  174. Even a group of researchers at the Centers for Disease Control: Ibid.

  175. “The perception is that fat folks”: Author interview with Wendy Shanker, January 17, 2006.

  175. “Above all, the fat woman”: Susie Orbach, Fat Is a Feminist Issue (Berkley, 1978), 33.

  176. “There is such an emphasis on the body”: Author interview with Dr. Janell Lynn Mensinger, June 23, 2006.

  177. “She segued right into talking”: Ibid.

  177. “Despite the nondenominational nature”: Natalie Angier, “Who Is Fat? It Depends on Culture,” New York Times, November 7, 2000.

  177. Dr. Michael Myers, a physician who has been treating obese women: Weight.com, http://www.weight.com/psychosocial.asp?page=3.

  180. The 250 ads the average American: Consumer Reports, http://www.consumerreports.org.

  180. “Many people believe that having”: Author interview with Sharron Dalton, February 1, 2006.

  181. “The best lesson that I learned touring”: Author interview with Wendy Shanker, January 17, 2006.

  184. “Here’s where the all-or-nothing thinking”: Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression—and How Women Can Break Free (Henry Holt, 2006), 115.

  188. “inevitable. The cultural pressure is internalized”: Author interview with Susie Orbach, June 1, 2005.

  9. Past the Dedication Is Disease

  192. One in 27 high school girls: “The New Girls,” O: The Oprah Magazine, May 2004. notes

  192 “Across socioeconomic lines”: Ibid.

  192. 13 percent of female athletes: “Girl Athletes and Eating Disorders,” Dads & Daughters Newsletter, March 1, 2002.

  192. out of 695 male and female athlete respondents: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, http://www.anad.org/site/anadweb/content.php?type=1&id=6982.

  194. “They’re everywhere”: Joanna Cagan, “Objects of the Game: Olympic Female Athletes Are Disrobing for the Cameras at a Record Pace,” Village Voice, August 30-September 5, 2000.

  194. To date, Olympic and professional athletes: Ibid.

  194. “crouching”: Mark O’Keefe, “Sexploitation or Pride? Female Olympians’ Revealing Poses Stir Debate,” Newhouse News Service, 2000.

  194. a group of fourteen- to eighteen-year-olds felt: Steven Thomsen, Danny Bower, and Michael Barnes, “Photographic Images in Women’s Health, Fitness, and Sports Magazines and the Physical Self-Concept of a Group of Adolescent Female Volleyball Players,” Journal of Sport & Social Issues, August 2004.

  198. investigators found that perfectionism: Vikki Krane et al., “Relationships Among Body Satisfaction, Social Physique Anxiety, and Eating Behaviors in Female Athletes and Exercisers,” Journal of Sport Behavior, September 2001.

  198. The Centers for Disease Control recommend: Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/recommendations/index.htm.

  200. About 80 percent of the girls and women: Renfrew Center http://www.renfrew.org.

  200. inpatient services can cost: National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, http://www.anad.org/site/anadweb/content.php?type=1&id=6982.

  200. At Mirasol: Mirasol, http://www.mirasolteen.com/enrollment.php.

  200. Ninety-six percent of eating-disorder professionals: David France, “Anorexics Sentenced to Death,” Glamour, November 1999.

  202. Dr. Craig Johnson, who studies women and sports, explains: Girl Athletes and Eating Disorders,” Dads & Daughters Newsletter, March 1, 2002.

  203. “by exercising excessively, with their dads”: Margot Maine, Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters and Food (Gurze Books, 1991), 126.

  207. the female athlete triad: Elizabeth Joy et al., “Team Management of the Female Athlete Triad,” Physician and Sports Medicine, March 1997.

  208. There is a type of anorexia: “Eating Disorder Athletes: Female Athletes Who Are Obsessed by Food and Body Weight Can Develop Anorexia Athletica,” Peak Performance Online, http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0301.htm.

  208. 93 percent of trainers felt: J. L. Vaughan, K. A. King, and R. R. Cottrell, “Collegiate Athletic Trainers’ Confidence in Helping Female Athletes with Eating Disorders,” Journal of Athletic Training, January-March 2004.

  10. The College Years

  211. this kind of neurosis usually starts: National Institute o
f Mental Health, Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions (2001), http://www.nimh.nih.gov/Publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm.

  211. Ninety-one percent of women surveyed: National Eating Disorders Association, http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41138.

  212. 56 percent of college first-years: Melody A. Graham and Amy L. Jones, “Study Refutes Commonly Held Belief That Freshmen Gain Significant Amount of Weight During Their First Year,” Journal of American College Health, January 2002.

  212. “this annual weeklong bacchanalia”: Alex Williams, “Before Spring Break, the Anorexic Challenge,” New York Times, April 2, 2006.

  212. “contagious”: Ibid.

  212. Stonehill College . . . was sued: “Stonehill College Denies Enrollment to Former Student Because of Anorexia,” Chronicle of Higher Education, January 19, 2001.

  213. women have outnumbered men: U.S. Department of Education, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000030.pdf.

  213. 60 percent of women were trying: Megan Madden, “Eating Disorder Rates Quadruple at Penn,” Daily Pennsylvanian, February 24, 2005.

  213. At Georgetown, as many as 25 percent: Laura Martin, “Eating Disorders Ignored by Brown,” Brown Daily Herald, September 24, 2004.

  213. Take twenty-three-year-old Jennifer Boevers: Lori Head, “Mills College Students Respond to Death of Alumna from Anorexia,” Mills College Weekly, December 23, 2004.

  216. 42 percent of undergraduate women: Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, The F Word: Feminism in Jeopardy (Seal Press, 2004), 67.

  216. “social scene in which women feel pressed”: The Women’s Initiative, Duke University, http://www.duke.edu/womens_initiative/.

  217. “If I had to pinpoint a defining moment”: Caroline Knapp, Appetites (Counterpoint, 2003), 9.

  218. women both in and outside of sororities: Kelly C. Allison and Crystal L. Park, “A Prospective Study of Disordered Eating Among Sorority and Nonsorority Women,” International Journal of Eating Disorders, April 2004, 354-58.