Anorexia and Women of Color: Response to article on eating disorders in Africa

» ydnic - Response to article on eating disorders in Africa

I wanted to respond to the article by Mark stuart Ellison on eating disorders in Africa. The article mentions that cases of anorexia were observed in Ghana where girls were said to fast for religious reasons and for self control. For this reason the reaserchers want us to reconsider the idea that eating disorders are caused by the obsession of thinness perpetuated by the media.
I object. First off, anorexics are usually secretive of their behavior and will not easily admit to starving just to maintain a low weight. If we were to ask a group of underweight american girls why they don't eat much, they would also probably find excuses that defend their behavior.
Also, this past summer I spent a few weeks on the west coast of africa where I found the middle class women to be very concerned with body image and beauty. I encountered quite a few average or underweight young women who had the same weight issues as their western counterparts ( constant dieting, important weight fluctuations, refusing to eat so called fattening foods). Rural africans are confronted with the same images as we North Americans are. I would not be surprised if eating disorders became more and more prevalent
as our occidental values become omnipresent.

-- posted by ydnic