One of the biggest controversies right now in the media is Mary-Kate Olsen. One cannot go to a magazine or paper section of any local bookstore and not see Mary-Kate's battle with anorexia all over the news pages. This paper is going to discuss the social problem of anorexia. This is a very important subject to look at primarily because of how many young women, and increasingly men, suffer from eating disorders in general. The study of anorexia is relevant to sociology primarily because it is in fact a social problem that is still addressed as an individual and personal responsibility. THESIS
             Pop stars that younger kids listen to (O'Connor, D1)
             One person claims that the eating disorders run more ramped with people because they are not honest with themselves. This makes one think that anorexics cannot control their own behavior. Additionally, she goes on to say that a suffer needs to surrender and ask for help (D1). Another article sited that eating disorders comes from people that feel pressure or need for control in their lives – and anorexia fills this need (Adams, C1).
             Another view is that anorexics are responsible for their own eating disorder because they feel like they need to be perfect (vuong, Houston 1). However, isn't the idea of "perfectionism" a social word? Doesn't society and culture define what "perfect" is. How could an anorexic be individually responsible for something that society has defined? "Perfect" is also wildly different culturally. In the United States men may seem to want a "thinner" physique in a girl, but it's common knowledge in other cultures to find women with wider hips and meat on her bones – more attractive. To say the least one article says that eating disorders are a "social cause – that is, a cultural obsession with looks and thinness."
             Along with that, is the notion that it...