Body Image Issues As Society's Shadow

The body as the shadow takes on a metaphorical appeal as one’s physical appearance has come to dominate their role in society. Women in particular are especially vulnerable to being labeled by their body type. Human civilization has advanced considerably through science. Mankind can control nature, machine, and animals but we are still seeking the breakthrough to control our bodies. Being fat is a function of genetics. Unfortunately, the battle of the bulge is being lost in America as obesity skyrockets. Our bodies hold much meaning in the greater cultural context. Upper class women are expected to be thin, lean, and poised with perfect grooming. Lower class women are also expected to be fat, sloppy, and awkward in their physicality. Fat is not just a feminist issue. It is a cultural shadow that causes obesity sufferers to be dehumanized and blamed. The popularity of weight loss programs and reality shows with celebrity personal trainer Jillian Michaels only highlights the modern Western cultural obsession with body weight.

The body is a shadow because on the physical and emotional level we eat for comfort. The foods we choose, often high starch carbohydrates and sugars, work to sooth anxiety, grief, and a whole host of emotional disturbances. Our shadow issues, those painful concerns we refuse to face and confront, are often what’s behind the food addiction of obesity. There is also the chemical changes that alters our hormone under stress from emotional strain that shows up on our bodies. Fat may be genetic but there is also a side to it that deals with discomfort in our own bodies. Abuse victims subconsciously become fat to avoid being looked at or to hide from the world. It’s about the unsaid. Our bodies are also shadows for our evolutionary objectives. Women and men spend countless hours and money on improving their appearance. It’s not for themselves but to attract a mate. Isn’t that what all species do? Why else do we project such analysis on overweight former beauties on Kirsty Alley? Fat is about power and for women and men its beauty that opens all the doors.

The PBS documentary “Fat” chronicles the complex social and medical issues around obesity. While it is easy for outsiders to blame the victim, fat is a combination of genetics and lifestyle that is sometimes out of the control of a person. People go to extremes to obtain the ideal body weight from liposuction to lap band, crazy diets, three hour a day workouts, fighting the fat is a full time job. Fat cells never go away even if the fat melts. People are terrified of it returning. Our shadow as a culture is about love. As the comedienne, Mary DiManno, stated she was not giving herself a chance to have a life and love with the weight on. People didn’t think she had feelings because of her weight.

The shadow of the body is one where people as a collective consciousness is seeking control. The kind of control whereby they are able to mold themselves into who gets the most attention for their looks. Good looks equals better treatment. Beauty alone can transport a foolish and directionless girl to fame and fortune. Just look at the talentless models of Hollywood. Just as easily as looks and a great body bring power and admiration the dreaded fat can take it away. Carnie Wilson ballooned again and became a joke. Delta Burke went from Southern Belle to hoarder and freak when she became a plus size. Diego Maradona lost his international Latin sex symbol status when he lost the trim lean figure of his World Cup glory. Fat is about sexuality. Babies can be fat. Fat in the right places turns a girl into a woman. Fat adults are seen as non sexual beings. Our shadow is primal when it comes to the body. It’s about love and sex. All our species hang up on both matters find their focus on the body. It is the canvas of individual and societal issues around standards of femininity and masculinity.

Richard Gloucester personified the role of the body’s shadow in the 1996 version of Richard the Third. Deformed but charismatic, his mind makes up for what his body lacks to disastrous results. His mind seduces Lady Anne though his appearance would make others assume otherwise, His body, deformed, contains a mind clamoring for a position in a world that often does not grant much to the disabled. The self destruction of Richard 3 reflects how the lengths we go to outdo our bodies can create tragedy of huge proportions. Liposuction can cause death in rare cases and so too does an obsession with overcoming the limitation that one’s body imposes on them.