Who's fault is it really in a person with anorexia or bulimia - the self or the society? This was the focus of a discussion that a friend and I got into.

We certainly do live in a society that does everything to promote an unrealistic vision of how a young lady should look. Glance into any teen fashion magazine and you can see what I mean. It doesn't matter that pictures are often doctored, because the final product is often all that people see. Those who have been thoroughly degraded, as does happen in the joyous public school system, typically have a much lower level of self-esteem. Then they see this girl in their next issue of Cosmo-Girl or whatever and...well...not a good combination all of the time.

We live in a time where everything is so geared towards taking advantage of people's willingness to believe that they are inadequate or dysfunctional in some way. Look at the pharmacutical companies - they profit the largest from it. The false self-perception is already rampant - and this is just another form of it.

However, no one takes one by the hand and says "Throw up your food or I'll beat the shit out of you!" Or something like that. Those with such a problem do it of their own accord. But can we discount the pressure of society? Its hard to say. Thoughts?