What has today’s society become? We have women hurting themselves by starvation. I mean is there anything more wrong than inflicting pain to your own body as a way of accomplishment? These eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are very serious conditions but somehow we still don’t really pay enough attention to them to finally put an end to it. We pay attention to when people do drugs because it is addicting and harmful yet even though these illnesses have similar characteristics, we do not categorize them the same.     

     We see Nicole Richie and Victoria Beckham in photos and they look as if they are about to break in pieces is someone was to touch them. That is who women look up to, especially younger women and girls. The newest trend around as of right now is to show your ribs. I ask myself, “How is that considered sexy”? To have no meat on a body apparently is attractive.     

     All over television and magazines, there is the message that says fat is not pretty and that women have to be a size 0 and based on that women get self-conscious. Not only do they starve themselves but they also indulge in heavy drinking. Sarah Kershaw wrote about how women starve themselves while drinking away. Imagine the damage that it has on a body. Women are so afraid to put anything in their mouth and the ones that drink do not eat anything to make up for the calorie intake of the alcohol.     

     A disorder such as binge eating is when a person eats so much until they can’t consume anymore and then they throw it all up. A woman named Van De Veen shared her story with Kershew and she mentioned that in a day, she would spend $80 just on junk food and then throw it up. It’s a disease that not only hurt her physically but also hurt her financially. Getting help for eating disorders is not always so easy. No matter how many times women might go and receive treatments, there is always a good chance that as soon as they get back on track, they might start starving themselves again. That is the horrible side of addiction to something, that we are never fully cured.     

     We never see the stories of real people with their addictions but we follow stars and their turmoil. Everyday, someone new is entering rehab for alcohol, drugs and disorders. As of right now, the cool thing to do is to enter rehab. We see stars entering rehab more than one time because as soon as they come out, the addiction starts up again. No matter what kind of an addiction it might be, it is a lifelong battle.     

     Women never seem to be happy about the way that they look and our society is not helping. With all the stress and trying to lose weight, women find comfort in alcohol. But it’s expected, isn’t it? I mean, how else will they ease the pain? Eating disorders have many side affects and it is time we realized that it is a serious problem and we need to stop supporting all the celebrities that make the issue worse. It is time women realized that they don’t need to change themselves and that the way that they were born to be is perfect.