Reading Response #2 ~ Amanda R.

Visual Advertisement: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/uploads/file/NEDA%20Final%20print%20sp_Toilet%20hi-res.jpg


In the advertisement by the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) we’re given an aerial view of a toilet lid with utensils set up as if the lid were a dining plate. And what do we read underneath this bizarre set-up? “What’ll we lose on this diet? Lots of people every year.” And further below that, we’re given factual evidence that proves their previous statement to prove that Bulimia isn’t just “some diet”. The bottom of the ad states, “People with Bulimia don’t just induce vomiting. They induce heart arrhythmias, intestinal bleeding, and rupturing of the esophagus. It can be life-threatening, but it can also be treated. Go to myneda.org.”
The most visible part of NEDA’s ad is somewhat sarcastic… a satire towards our cultures obsession with thinness. While the Association is doing something helpful and creating awareness, it’s also pointing a finger at the “ignorant” percentage population. Stereotypically, the only thing we’re concerned about is losing weight, and we believe that being thin equates power and superiority. But what the ad is suggesting is that while we’ve been mesmerized by the diet industry and our bathroom scale, some of these people we’re associating with perfection are actually dealing with a life-threatening Eating Disorder. More than that, we keep choosing to remain ignorant about the mental disorder and pretend it’s something they can turn off and on like a switch. Maybe now you can hear the sarcasm towards those certain people in the sentence, “What’ll we lose on this diet? Lots of people every year.” The word “diet” has become casual—but to signify death? Not considered so casual.
Eating Disorders, like Bulimia, are yet to be taken seriously by those who have not been affected by the mental illness. Even so, viewers can still take a brief look into what dangers those touched by this evil disorder go through as those affected follow the dictator-like commands in their heads. From a normal perspective, someone would question how another person could risk the health of their bodies just for the pleasure of eating—but the satire towards the common opinion on Eating Disorders comes back into play. An Eating Disorder is a mental illness and a coping mechanism (among other things). A person who is going through this disorder isn’t doing it to eat food for taste and then puke it back up because they don’t want to deal with the weight gain—this is actually very wrong.