Panelists Says Media Promotes Eating Disorders

A plus-size model, the director of communications for Kellogg USA and a marketing executive at Anne Klein were among the panelists at a public forum last night that blamed the media for promoting eating disorders.

Speaking to a mostly female crowd of over 200 that filled Askwith Lecture Hall in Longfellow Hall, the panelists spoke of their own experiences with body image in their diverse media roles.

According to Karen E. Kafer, director of communications for Kellogg USA, which makes Special K cereal, her company has changed the way food is marketed. Instead of marketing Special K as a cereal to eat in order to "look good," a new advertising campaign addresses complaints from women upset with this emphasis on the importance of a low-calorie diet.

The "Reshape Your Attitude" campaign, which Kafer presented at the panel, includes the award winning "Bar guys" spot, which features men in a bar who satirize the traditionally female obsession with body weight and image.

Panelist Jean Kilbourne presented ads that equate food not just with body image, but with sex. These ads treat food like sex, she said, causing people to associate it with their own sexual appeal.

"Whatever you're giving him tonight, he'll enjoy it more with rice," said one ad she displayed.

Kilbourne, a frequent speaker at college campuses and a visiting scholar at Wellesley College, said the $36 billion food industry uses such connections to sell more food. She said that the industry's tendency to photograph food items in a close-up, sensual manner gives the products a mystique once afforded only to illicit affairs.

"When food is advertised with sex, eating becomes a moral issue," she said. "The menage a trois that we're made to feel ashamed of, is now with Ben and Jerry's," she quipped, referring to the popular ice cream maker.

Not only food, but also clothes, are sold by presenting the body image women overwhelmingly desire, panelists said. Laura Wenke, senior vice president for marketing at upscale women's clothier Anne Klein, said her company's new advertisements feature professional women, rather than models, because many customers think models are too thin.

Wenke presented slides and video footage from the group's newest ad line, which she said used woman with large credentials, rather than small dimensions.

"In the fashion and beauty industry, this is considered a breakthrough," Wenke said.

The ads present groups of women--diverse both ethnically and in terms of body size--all wearing Anne Klein clothing. The "heavily credentialed" group, according to Wenke, includes former Texas governor Ann Richards and Broadway actress Bebe Neuwirth.

Despite such attempts to reform the image of a beautiful woman, the U.S. media still makes it difficult for women to accept their less-than-perfect bodies, according to Kate Dillon, a self-described "plus-sized" model.

As a young girl, Dillon became obsessed with her weight, because of taunting, and developed "walking anorexia". At 16, she entered the fashion industry as a "skinny model", only to quit at age 20 because of her constant struggle to stay thin.

"I couldn't help but recognize that I was a player in my destruction," she said. Two years later, Dillon resumed her career as a "plus size" model. Her success story drew sustained applause from the crowd.

Following the presentations, the panelists and four physicians affiliated with the Harvard Eating Disorders Center answered questions from the audience--some of which challenged the panelists' claims to have made strides.

The panel, entitled "Culture, the Media and Eating Disorders: The Challenge of Promoting Self-Acceptance," was sponsored by the eating disorders center, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, and hosted by the Graduate School of Education. This third annual forum came three days into the National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.