Summary/Analysis of two outside article

1) "Teenagers and Eating Disorder"

One of the most stressful times in a persons life is when they enter into adolescene. This is the time when they discover their body go into several changes such as change in height, breast size, and weight gain. Because not all the teenagers go through the same changes, these make them sometimes think that they look abnormal and awkward compare to other. Some teenagers can take these changes as a normal part of growing up, while others feel stressful and uncomfortable about their bodies. As the result, some of the teenagers might end up doing crazy things to their bodies such as starving themselves to achieve the thiness that most media and magazines portrait.

Again this article is a feminist article because it stated the fact about women's health and their bodies, for which the magazines perhaps purposely forgot to tell them. The magazine often sent messages to the viewers, mostly teenagers "You should buy or wear this for men's appreciation, or you should eat this and not eat that to achieve a figure like this model". However the magazines do not tell the teenagers, buy how many, or eat how much is enough. As the result many teenagers interpret the message wrong and headed for the wrong way.

The articles also state another fact that most magazines doesn't is that "Social influence and media were not the only factors that affect the teenagers on eating disorder". Conflict between parents can bring sadness and stress to the kids. To release the stress the teenagers might get obcess with food for relieve. As the result, not only the teenagers having a hard time growing up, their parents also having a hard time raising their kid. Finally, I think both parents and teenagers deserve to know the fact, the fact that would bring them good health and good relationship between family members.

2) "Teenage Wasteland"

For a lot of ten to fourteen years old young Americans adolescene is one of the trickiest transitions of life. In the age between ten to fourteen, kids search for the roles and values that will guide them all their lives. In this article, it states that 53% girls compare to only 16% boys claim that they worry about their body weights. "Something dramatic happens to girls in early adolescene" says psychologist Mary Ripher. She also says that it is like this for girls because girls live in a society obsessed with looks & hostile to females, they are highly vulnerable todepression, suicide, eating disorders, and addictions. Their energy, curiosity, and spirit get crushed. American Association of University women also claim that because school and society favors boys, adolescent girls suffer a crisis over self esteem. Some optimistic thinkers feel that things need to be changed. One of the best ways to create happy and confident kids is to restructure schools by small community where kids have stable and close relationship with peers and adults. They think by this reform movement, the learning and personal growth of kids could be accelerated.

Citation:

1) Thompson, Colleen. 1992. "Teenagers and Eating Disorders." Toronto: Marion Crook-NC Press Limited.

2) Shapir, Joseph. Oct.23, 1995. "Teenage Wasteland? " U.S News and World Report. pp 84-87.