Society and Beauty Essay -- Feminism Feminist Women Criticism

Two very qualified women go to a business office for a job interview. The job entails a lot of contact with people. Both women are upbeat and perky and have almost identical experience in the field; the only major difference between the two women is the way they look. One woman is tall and slim with an attractive face. The other is a heavy-set "Plain Jane." The attractive woman got the job. Unfortunately, in society today looks are very important. It is a fact that people who are good looking have an easier time excelling in their careers and in life in general than people who are not. This is a sad and very shallow fact that shows society has really not come that far since the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. Society has moved from discriminating because of color; but what is on the outside is still what really counts to many people. She knew what she had to do before it was too late, and she rose up with difficulty and walked across the thick carpet to the bathroom, and flicked of the light... She left the water running out of habit, though this time it wasn't necessary since no one was around to hear the sounds from the bathroom. When she had finished the glass of water she lifted the lid of the toilet and knelt down before it, her face within the bowl. She pushed down of the back of her tongue in the exact right spot, and the brownish liquid gushed out of her (Chernin 30). This journal entry, written by a young woman in college, is about a typical day during her battle with an eating disorder. We live in a society where a woman can never be to thin ... ...23 May, 2000. <http://www.anred.com/defs.html> "Eating Disorder Definitions." Definitions According to Hazel. Hazel's Eating Disorder Support Center. 22 May, 2000. <http://members.aol.com/hazel16042/define.html> Epstein, Rachel. The Encyclopedia of Health: Eating Habits and Disorders. Chelsea House Publishers. New York. 1990. Jones Jr., Frank Allen. "Anorexia Nervosa." Microsoft Encarta: 1997 Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Microsoft, 1996. Moorey, James. Living With Anorexia and Bulimia. University Press. New York. 1991. Nardo, Don. Overview Series: Eating Disorders. Lucent Books, Inc. San Diego. 1991. Pipher, Mary. Hunger Pains: The Modern Woman's Tragic Quest for Thinness. Ballantine Books. New York. 1995. Sonder, Ben. Eating Disorders: When Food Turns Against You. Franklin Watts. New York. 1993.