Anorexia is a disease of the middle classes, says Springwatch star Michaela StrachanSo, what do you think? Is anorexia a disease (it almost sounds like a luxury in this article) of the middle class, or a first (and increasingly second) world problem? If eating disorders are caused by the application of internal control in a land of plenty, as she seems to suggest:
Quote:
'I live in Africa now and there are people who cannot afford to eat, there are people starving and I did that to my body,' she said. 'But I was a product of my middle-class upbringing; it's a disgusting thing to do to your body.'
then the solution is...what, exactly? To reduce the available food supply to the "middle-class"? Is it really true that eating disorders discriminate on the basis of wealth?
I just had a perhaps similar discussion with some hostile, some sympathetic ED-focussed FB group, concerning First Nations Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who has been on a
hunger strike now for 25 days to protest conditions in First Nations communities and levels of poverty amongst urban Indians. Some members felt it was a slap in the face for someone to deliberately starve to squeeze money and services out of government when people struggling with eating disorders starve as a coping mechanism in the face of inadequate services and funding. Others (including me) felt it was important to distinguish political protest from mental illness.
What do you think? Are eating disorders a consequence of living in a nation where food is plentiful, or are they a mental illness? Is deliberate starvation for political reasons a valid form of protest to attain more funding and better services, or is it an appropriation of a serious and life-threatening mental illness?