_aculture where there is a tremendous obsession with

- food and weight and pressure on women to be thin and

not have fat bodies,’’ says Carla Rice, program coor-

' dinator for the National Eating Disorder Information

| Centre. Women are taught to find value in their appearances. **‘A fundamental difference occurs be- cause men grow up to learn what they dois most important,’’ says Rice. Women, on the other hand, get their self worth from their appearances. Girls and women make up to 90 10 95 percent of those strug-

gling with anorexia and bulimia. Ten to twenty per

cent of women engage in many of the behaviours

: associated with both eating disorders. Seventy per

;

cent are preoccupied with their weight and 90 percent of women are dissatisfied with their bodies.

“It is not surprising that most women in our society are dissatisfied with their bodies, given that less than 5 per cent of us fit the ideal’’, says Carla Rice, Coor- dinator of the National Eating Disorder Information

_ Centre. This ideal is that of an adolescent or underde- _ veloped body. ‘‘This isa complete denial of the mature women’s body, thus, it is a denial of woman- hood itself,’’ Glendon student Melissa Barrett wrote

_ in Excalibar last year. ‘‘It’sno wonder we’ re all scared to get fat,’’ said a bulimia sufferer who wished to remain anonymous. ‘‘Everywhere we look, we see beautiful, slim women. The media links beauty to success and power’’. ‘‘The media doesn’tcreate these attitudes,’’ Rice said, ‘‘but responds and reinforces them. the media picks up society’s values and throws them back in our faces.’’ Last week the Body Images

Support group celebrated Fearless Friday, a day when dieters are encouraged to eat what they want without feeling guilty and without fearing weight gain. ‘‘Peo- _ ple have to learn not to blame themselves for failing | at dieting and to accept their bodies,’’ said Rice. The day also marked the conclusion of eating disorder awareness week, which featured information cam- _ paigns by the Support Group and national organiza- _ tions. This year’s motto was ‘ ‘Taking up spaceina _ Slender society--celebrating our natural sizes.’’ The _ goalisto reduce the prevalence of anorexia, bulimia, _ dieting and body image problems through a public, _ education program emphasizin g social factors causing _ theirdevelopment,’’ said Rice. There is help available _ to people who suffer from eating disorders,’’ said the _ bulimia sufferer, ‘‘The problem is in realising that _ you do have a disorder that has to be dealt with. Most _ women refuse to admit they have an eating disorder,’’

~

UPEI X-P RESS

IDGE

RERWA by Mike Goshko and Rob E

ae i ~ Settee Laie = Ps rts a eee

January 23, 1992

Keger's foolish belief in Super sti Loy Spells disaster -for the -Lloyds.

A Note From your Arts' Rep

Hello! Welcome to 1992. My name is Scott A. Campbell and I am one of your four arts” reps onthe UPEI Student Council. My job isto represent all members of the Faculty of Arts. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, complaints, or good remarks please contact me at the Barn (Student Union Office) by leaving a note, or you can contact me by leaving another note at the Robertson Library. I will try my best to resolve any problems and/or answer questions, and remember: this is your university. You have arightto know anda right to get involved. Get Involved!

My experience oncouncil has been quite excellentso far and I remind everyone that it is not too early to start thinking about running in the next general elec- tion,

Arts Rep. Scott Campbell

Page 19