To be or not be a woman: anorexia nervosa, normative gender roles, and feminism.
This paper reviews the characteristics of anorexia nervosa described in the DSM-III-R, relates them to normative gender roles and adolescent development, and critiques those roles on feminist grounds. Two apparently contradictory explanations for the irrational pursuit of thinness are considered: a) the anorexic thus attempts to conform to a socially defined feminine ideal; b) the anorexic thus attempts to avoid the appearance and consequences of mature womanhood. I propose that both explanations are applicable, together emplifying the ambiguity that Simone de Beauvoir considers characteristic of female experience. Because both explanations suggest a gender identity disorder, I question the fact that the DSM-III-R fails to indicate this linkage. I argue further that therapeutic considerations require efforts to alter the socialization factors that are implicative in anorexia nervosa.
Mahowald
M B
MB
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago, IL 60637.
D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012649:Self Concept; D012951:Socialization; D014933:Women's Rights