THE EVOLUTION OF THE ASIAN BARBIE DOLL:ANOREXIA NERVOSA FROM FEMALE DISEASE TO CULTURAL IDEAL
...sult in death, caused by medical difficulties, starvation, or suicide. Victims of this disease are usually adolescent girls and young women from the West. The Evolution of the Asian Barbie Doll Medical studies show that anorexia nervosa is caused by a combination of several factors such as genetic, biological, psychopathological, personal, familial, religious and social/cultural (Simpson 66-68; Sones, par.5). An example would be that of a 21-year old Filipina who was diagnosed to have anorexia nervosa and was thrice confined to the hospital. Unlike most patients who suffer from fat phobia and excessive exercising, she refused to eat because she was afraid that she might get pregnant. She wanted kill the baby because she was date raped a few months before the condition (Noel). In this case, anorexia is not a result of cultural pressure, rather a psychological outburst of fear and trauma from the incident. It is undeniably true that cultural context is not only the sole basis, because if media’s influence is only to blame then all young women should be suffering from the disease. However, the argument is not about what is the primary cause for anorexia nervosa. Rather, it is about who the main culprit is for its widespread increase in Asia. In the Western culture now, almost all women are fixed to have this “anorexic perspective” with regards to their weight and appearance. A survey conducted by Real magazine in November 2002 revealed that 91% of the 5000 women in the UK were discontented with their hips and thighs. Sixty percent of which were depressed by their figure. Only a shocking 3% were happy with their body image (Sones, par. 2). Furthermore, over half of American women said they would be much happier about losing weight, instead of success in their careers or in their love life (Stoller, par. 9). This social perspective is characterized by an increased tendency towards the idealization of thinness, which is being equated with beauty, achievement and success (Nasser ix). Obviously, there is a present distorted Western culture and image of beauty. But this anarchic, Westernized concept of thinness and fragility is nothing new. It dates back in the nineteenth century among high and middle class women (Simpson 65). Historical fashion artifacts such as corsets, brassiers, garter belts and heels prove this, as these garments were designed for women to appear taller and thinner. Schwartz and Barrett suggests that “women are taught by society and their families that success, intimacy, security and life satisfaction are gained through becoming and staying thin and attractive” (qtd. in Killian, par. 13). With this ideology, women become conditioned to have a fear of fatness and a desire to become thin so that they may live up to the standards set by their culture. But this beauty belief is no longer confined to the sphere of Western society. The thin fashion, the fat phobia and eating disorders are now found to be evident among socioeconomic strata and ethnic groups within and outside Western society, including Asia. In 1987, reports show that there is an emergence of disordered eating behaviors among Japanese people, and a prevalence of such disturbance in Japan could be even higher than in the West. This finding is tremendously troubling because, in the past few decades, Asian cultures, like Japan, have long been considered immune from such eating disorders. This is mostly because of their diverse cultural values, which oppose the West’s concept of beauty as thinness. Some Asian cultures even associate obesity with desirable, womanly sexual characteristics. The Chinese, in particular, saw plumpness as positive ideals of wealth, fertility and femininity. But today, surprisingly, there was found to be a “cognitive fear of fatness” among Hong Kong Chinese female graduates (Lee 42). The rising statistics of fat phobia and eating disorders in Asia is greatly attributed to the modern culture of Westernization and globalization. The imitation of Western economic systems by these Asian countries, with the addition of the undeniable influence that deregulated media possess, the once, unique national culture is eventually transformed to a standardized, homogenous, global ideology. And because of the dominion of Western societies in practically all fields of life (i.e. global capitalism, internet, media, advertising, etc.), there is no stopping the influx of their cultural values of slimness and beauty even among far-reaching countries. Thus, Asians and other nationalities become compelled to compete and be in vogue with the world. They fall into this faux faith that in order to fit in the global society, one should rigidly diet and adapt Western standards of beauty. They are now trapped in this Western culture-bound syndrome (Banks 34) of thinness and starvation. Furthermore, the culture of fashion starvation has been further worsened. It was predicted that as fashion became more accessible and mass-oriented to women, more victims of anorexia nervosa would also be expected (Nasser 3). This prediction was confirmed by the steady increase of anorectic patients over the past 50 years. From a subtle psychopathological disease, it has evolved and has been publicized as the universal pop culture among adolescents and early adults. This social phenomenon is chiefly caused by powerful, controlling forces embodied by mass media and the fashion industry. Anorexia Propaganda The death of Davide Sorrenti, a 20 year-old fashion photographer, who died due to heroin overdose last February 1997, showed evident proof that Calvin Klein ads, featuring sickly, waif-like models, have the capacity to turn people into drug addicts and anorectics. This issue created a debate with regards to the power of advertisements and fashion magazine images (Sullum, par. 2). Former President Clinton asserts, “The fashion industry is increasing the allure of heroin among people,” and adds that it “…glamorizes addiction” (Sullum, par. 3). He blames the media images of disoriented concepts of beauty that are virtually seen by all young people. Media, however, counters this argument by declaring that advertisements and fashion magazines are merely endorsing the commodity, which is the main objective of the whole ad in the first place. They claim that they do not have any objective of proliferating a negative culture of drug use or anorexia. However, we cannot deny the fact that advertising and communication is such a powerful and phenomenal medium of expression and influence. The mere overwhelming number of ads in billboards, in the internet and on television is simply unavoidable. “How could something so widespread, so much part of contemporary existence, and something which businesses worldwide continue to invest in massively, have no effect (“Advertising: Effects” 184)?” Proclaiming that advertisements are innocent is too simplistic, even offensive. Advertising is indisputably “…a part of the interstitial tissue of daily life on this planet” (“Advertising: Effects” 183). Before television was introduced in 1995, nobody in the Pacific Island of Fiji were dieting. But after merely three years of media installment, an appalling 74% of the young female islanders already felt being “too big or too fat” (Beam, par. 5). In another study conducted by J. Society of Clinical Psychology, on the other hand, it was shown that looking at photographs of thin fashion models made women feel depressed and shameful of their body figures afterwards (Nasser 57). This distressing finding makes us question: what potent power do ads and images really contain? A study of modern social semiotics helps us answer this question. Kress and van Leeuwen defines this as “a process of representation in which the makers of signs seek to make a representation of some object or entity and in which their interest in the object, at the point of making the representation, is a complex one, arising out of the cultural, social and psychological history of the sign-maker” (6). This means that sign-makers, or advertisers and fashion artists, make intelligent and crafty decisions in choosing their semiotic mode or image. It is because inside each sign, picture, or image is a subliminal message and persuasive purpose, aimed to convince, manipulate or transform the viewer. Furthermore, signs have three main functions. Ideational function speaks of the value of ads to represent something in the real world. The interpersonal function, on the other hand, brings about the communicative force of ads to convey and dispel the meaning it holds to society. Lastly, the textual function gives ads the compelling power to influence and convince the consumer or viewer (Kress and van Leeuwen 7). These fundamental functions give ads the ability to dictate what to buy and what to follow. Aside from cultivating an artificial desire for a product, viewers also subconsciously fall into this false attraction and belief of the entirety of the ad. This entirety or “w...