“My father made me bulimic”
These words belong to the legendary actress Jane Fonda. Winning the Oscar for Best Actress twice, Fonda openly stated in a 2011 interview with American Harper’s Bazaar that she was pushed into bulimia by her equally successful actor father, Henry Fonda. Jane Fonda, born in 1937, said in that interview: “According to my father, the most important thing in this life for me was how I looked. He was a good man and I loved him very much, but he gave me messages that a father should never give; Like, “If you don’t look perfect, you have no chance of being loved!” In another interview, Jane Fonda makes the following statement: “I was taught that if I wanted to be loved, I had to be thin and beautiful. This led to many problems, such as bulimia nervosa.”
Jane Fonda is an activist as well as a successful actress. She explains the reason for sharing this very private information about her life is to raise awareness among young people and parents about concepts such as “looking thin” and “beauty taboos”.
Although many years have passed since Jane Fonda’s struggle, who is 86 years old today, unfortunately some things never change: 10 years ago, supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid experienced a similar problem with their mother Yolanda Hadid, who was also a model. The origin of the concept, which came to the forefront again this year on social media with the hashtag AlmondMom, goes back to this: In 2013, on the show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”, when Gigi Hadid was only 18 years old and was hungry, her mother Yolanda told her to eat only half an almond. When Gigi said that half an almond was not enough for her, her mother told her: “Then eat a few almonds by chewing them for a long time!” And from here, the concept of #AlmondMom emerges, which is used for mothers who are overly controlling about food for their children.
Why did #AlmondMom goes viral?
So, why is this concept going viral again on social media, even though 10 years have passed since this incident took place? Gen Z embraces the concept of body positivity (#bodypositivity), challenging the body perception imposed to date. The concept of body positivity adopts a philosophy where being healthy is essential, not everyone has to look “thin”, and focuses on loving your own body as it is. However, some Generation Z mothers still defend the outdated belief that appearing thin is more acceptable, whether healthy or not. They exhibit this by excessively intervening in their children’s eating habits, posting certain videos on social media. In addition to their mothers, young people also share their mothers’ “extreme” interventions in their eating on social media with the almondmom hashtag. In this way, Generation Z, in a way, exposes their mothers’ overly interventionist attitudes, just like Yolanda. This video of the Hadid sisters with their mother from 10 years ago is on the agenda again due to such social media posts.
Being healthy is essential in body positivity
In today’s world where healthy and long life is essential, the attitudes that many young people are subjected to by their parents just to look thinner continue to be noticed by millions of people on social media. On the other hand, in today’s world where being healthy is considered as a whole both physically and mentally, “10 steps to lose weight”, “How can you lose 5 kilos in 5 days?” “Shock diet!” Unconscious diet practices such as are not used. Because stereotypical beauty standards are now almost out of circulation.
Fortunately, such stereotypical, unfounded diet methods, that were once prominently featured in numerous fashion and women’s magazines in the 90s, were replaced by holistic health news. Nowadays, when even the abolition of beauty contests is being discussed, terms such as “keeping fit”, “staying in shape” or “losing weight in a healthy way” are preferred instead of concepts such as “losing weight”.
Generations X and Y before the 2000 generation often felt crushed under these standards. Especially after the justified and great reactions to the models who lost their lives due to anorexia in the fashion industry, the fashion world went into a bit of a tailspin. The body positivity movement was born in the early 2000s, with the encouragement of the fashion world, which itself is the determining authority of such false beauty stereotypes – after the reactions received. In recent years, where plus-size collections have come to the forefront and the idea of ”self-love” has been emphasized, all stages for a healthy and long life in the fashion, beauty and cosmetics sectors have begun to be discussed based on scientific data – as it should be – instead of superficial concepts.
These key concepts of the philosophy of long life, in which good nutrition, balanced life, regular exercise and a healthy mind are considered as a whole; Fortunately, the age-old misconception of “looking thin no matter what” has been defeated 10-0!
Difference between anorexia and bulimia
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised by efforts to get rid of excess calories taken in through methods such as vomiting, laxative use, or excessive exercise, following recurrent episodes of overeating.
Anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder where individuals purposefully engage in inadequate nutrition with the aim of extreme weight loss, often having an unrealistic perception of their body weight.
What are the differences?
In terms of eating habits:
Anorexia nervosa: The main characteristic is the refusal of inadequate nutrition and calorie intake.
Bulimia nervosa: Episodes of overeating occur, followed by methods such as vomiting, laxative use, or excessive exercise to get rid of excess calories.
Focus on appearance:
Anorexia nervosa: Constant focus on body weight control and a low body weight is prominent. There is often an extremely thin appearance.
Bulimia nervosa: Weight control is important, but individuals may generally have a normal or slightly overweight appearance.
Loss of control and consciousness
Anorexia nervosa: Loss of control typically manifests as restricted eating, with the individual denying weight loss despite being excessively thin.
Bulimia nervosa: Loss of control often occurs during episodes of binge eating. The individual may acknowledge weight gain but might resort to vomiting, using laxatives, or excessive exercise to cope with it.
