Sociology

The world gives so much attention to physical appearance. In the five articles analyzed, authors tackle how people alter their physical appearances to adhere to societal standards. This paper discusses and gives insights into the implications that the author provides in the articles they wrote.

Sexuality, Racism and Eating Disorders
Much has been said about eating disorders and their fatalities but until now, there is a considerable dearth in studies exploring eating disorders among lesbian women and women of color. In the article, A Way Outa No Way, Becky Thompson explores not only the experiences of the said women in dealing with eating disorders, but also the connection among sexuality, racial discrimination and eating disorders. Involving 18 African-American, Latina and white women, the study reveals that sexuality and race are significantly related to eating disorders among women.

It is a given fact that bulimia, anorexia, excessive dieting and the likes usually result out of womens internalization of the societys concept of beauty in thinness. However, Thompson reveals that apart from this, sexual abuse is one important factor relating to eating disorders. Specifically, 61 percent of the respondents were sexually abused, and most link their eating problems with their past trauma. Meanwhile, racial discrimination also serves as another factor to eating disorders, according to African-American and Latina respondents. Based on these findings, it can be viewed that vanity or the wish to be beautiful is not the root cause of trying to be slim. As the author notes, some women were raised in families and communities where thinness was not a criterion for beauty. Yet they still developed eating problems. (p.197) This strongly suggests that more than striving to be beautiful, it is acceptance that women with eating problems strive and long for. In their attempt to gain the respect of the community or society to which they belong, many women submit to the culture of thinness, thus develop eating disorders.

Having noted sexual abuse and racial discrimination as some factors resulting in eating disorders, readers should take action not to allow children, especially girls to encounter traumatic experiences. Considering this, a counter study should be conducted to find out if absence of such traumas or societal acceptance prevents occurrence of eating disorders.     

Culture Tells It All
People have always been mindful of their physical appearance. Many enroll for gym instruction and take diet pills or slimming teas just to get a thin figure. Surprisingly, while many strive to have a slim or skinny body, Latinas like Christina Haubegger (1994), prefer to be fat or a little overweight. In her article titled, Im Not Fat, Im Latina, the author reveals complacency in being fat basically because her culture dictates that women like her who are bien cuidados are better than skinny ones.

This revelation strongly implies the role of culture in shaping peoples belief about beauty and in the growing concern about women with eating disorders. It points out that as the American population nods in awe at skinny bodies, it contributes to the growing cases of women with bulimia, anorexia and other eating disorders. Meanwhile, as Latino men chase well-fed or overweight women, they tolerate obesity in setting a different standard for beauty. Notably, in both scenarios, culture plays as the main factor that dictates whether women should be skinny or overweight. This implies that in order to solve the problem of skinniness or obesity, culture should emphasize that average weight and healthy lifestyle are the real standards of beauty.

Shadow and Paranoia
The history of the United States accounts numerous efforts to attain equality among races, especially between the natives and the African Americans. While equal rights have been given to the latter and people of other cultures, there still exist the feeling of discrimination implied by the way people perceive African Americans. In Brent Staples (1996) article, Just Walk on By, he describes a different kind of discrimination he suffers from whenever he walks the city streets. Perceiving the paranoia that people have when they see black men, he usually takes precautionary measures to avoid being mistaken for a killer, criminal or mugger.

The article serves as an eye-opener to allnative Americans, African Americans, or people of other cultures. First, it presents the truth about what most African Americans feel, being mistaken for a bad guy. As Staples express, Such episodes are not uncommon. Black men trade tales like this all the time (206). This demonstrates that after all the efforts to destroy the wall between the races there still exists a different kind of discrimination that treats black men as shadows in the dark.

A Painful Tyranny
I have always believed that undergoing medical treatment and surgery is a personal choice. Every person should be given the privilege to say no or yes to surgery. In the case of children, they should reach the proper age to decide whether they want to undergo surgery or not. However, this is not the case in the U. S. In The Tyranny of the Esthetic, Martha Coventry (1998), reveals how genital mutilation or the cutting of clitoris causes a lifetime trauma to those who underwent surgery.
The essay opens with the authors revelation of her personal experience of undergoing surgery of her clitoris. Later, she presents other cases of girls who underwent the same surgery but were found to have a different case from the author. Unlike Coventry, they were found to be boys owing to the lack of ovary and uterus. This major contrast leads the author to argue that cases should be taken differently, and in her case, she did not need the surgery.

In the next part, Coventry discusses the improvements in the surgical approach. This time, professionals such as doctors, psychologists, and social workers collaborate to discuss the best solution for individual cases. Nevertheless, this does not deny the fact that such alterations will eventually cause trauma to the patient, whose opinion was not considered during the decision-making. In this regard, genital mutilation or a simple cutting of the clitoris as others may call it, is still against human rights. In a broader sense, it is closely similar to transgenderism or the process of changing gender. If the United States is really a democratic country, it should stop this practice as soon as possible, and let alone children to decide for themselves which gender they would choose when they grow up. 

The Pueblo Paradise
People have always longed for a paradise, a world without suffering, where people live in harmony and love. In our history, many sages including Christ, Buddha, Allah, Gandhi, etc. have attempted to construct a world like this but attempts have seemed futile. In Leslie Marmon Silkos (1996) article, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, the author reveals that a perfect society existed in the Laguna Pueblo community.

As Silko describes, the Pueblo community regarded each member with respect. People did not give attention to physical beauty and appearance, rather to inner beauty and attitude. They treated women with respect, and saw them as powerful figures in the community, who can labor just like men. They were allowed to marry anyone they chose, regardless of age. To them, differences were nonexistent as they did not compare between people and things. Aside from treating genders equally, they saw those with physical and sexual disabilities with respect. They regarded them as their mediators to the Creator. These values that the community upheld led them to achieve solidarity, and marked the difference between them and the Western world.

In the Western world, there is always chaos as people paid importance to physical appearance. As Silko notes, people always compare one with another, see differences between people, which always results in discrimination. Such practice hinders people in general to achieve the paradise that they always wanted. Therefore, if the aim is to attain a perfect world of peace and harmony, people should remember not to discriminate, but to bear respect with everyone, regardless of differences in culture, physical appearance, and ability.