Asian Americans: Eating Disorders

http://www.audreymagazine.com/April2007/Feature04.asp

This is probably one of the most informative articles I have read in awhile. It focuses upon how eating disorders seem to be a growing concern for Asian American women as they try to emanate what the American culture has deemed "beautiful". I mean, let's face it: growing up in today's world, a great majority of us are constantly concerned with how we look in hopes that we don't fall outside of what is considered acceptable in regards to physical appearance: any deviation from this standard would result in personally feeling self-conscious and an outsider to the rest of one's peers. Do you remember the old saying that 'it's not what is on the outside that counts, but what is on the inside'? Realistically though, this unfortunately does not always apply...

The need to fall within the realm of "beauty" is an issue that many women are confronted with and as can be seen from this article, many feel that the only way to come even close to being "truly beautiful" is to unhealthily lose weight in order to embody America's depiction that beauty exists predominantly in those who are slim. Since Asian American women usually cannot embody characteristics that distinguish Caucasian women from other cultures (blonde hair, blue eyes, etc), weight seems to be the easiest means for these women to attain that mark of beauty.

What is shocking is that there are some who assume that Asian American women are "immune" to eating disorders but the reality is that this belief is far from the truth. There seems to be a rising trend among Asian American women to embody the Western perception of beauty and thus, puts many women in serious risk in regards to their health.

The clash of the American culture with that of one's Asian American is expected to occur with individuals of Asian descent growing up in a country with a distinct culture from that of many Asian nations. Trying to find that balance or a means of defining themselves in this complex environment is truly a difficulty that many grapple with quite often in life. But with the added pressure of living up to the stereotype that Asian Americans should be standing on a higher pedestal than that of their peers (Model Minority Myth), many feel they have no choice but to bottle up all their frustrations, insecurities, etc. and just live their lives hoping that things will fall into place one day. That, however, is one of the biggest problems: without a means of opening up and just being able to express oneself (whether it be anger, sorrow, happiness or whatnot), individuals may feel isolated from the rest of the world for they feel that they are tackling issues and problems head-on without any means of support. These problems that are rising among many Asian American women are quite prevalent among individuals of both genders in cultures all across the globe, but the reality of the situation is that unless we find a means of reaching out to those who may feel out of place and reassure them that they do not need to reshape themselves so that they can fit the "Abercrombie" look.

It's hard not to think about fitting this mold when we are constantly bombarded by the media with this but hopefully, we can steps now to educate those around us and hopefully help those we feel may be experiencing such problems. It really is amazing how powerful a listening ear can be....