Marya Hornbacher is the author of Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia. Throughout her autobiography she recounts her struggles of having eating disorders and her battles to overcome the episodes. Hornbacher eloquently describes the physical and mental toll brought on by bulimia and anorexia. As a child, she had obsessive thoughts in having a thin figure, along with being observant with food she and others ate. Her memoir aims to give readers an insight into what people with eating disorders faces. Hornbacher at a young age detested her body, and held a negative perspective on her self-image. She would often compare herself to individuals who have thin figures, for instance at the age of five she compared herself to “the bathing suit
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More often than not, the media would show a portrayal of what she believed to be the ideal women. Hornbacher would read magazines and watch television that would show the perfect woman, this ultimately contributed to her weak self-confidence and lack of self-worth. One instance when she was ten years old, she recalls how she “slapped the magazine shut, caught sight of my face in the makeup mirror: round cheeks, round freckled cheeks, cow eyes” (Hornbacher 48). This media influence powered her eating disorder. She made an association with beauty and thin figures, and aimed to be both. In fact, she reasoned this belief with “studies of girls that show that they associate thinness with both academic and social success. I saw it more as a prerequisites to success of any sort” (Hornbacher 85). The test of her thinness was her obsession to measure her waistline. Another way she thought she could lose weight was through voluntarily vomiting. Therefore, Bulimia then transitioned to anorexia. She states that “the anorexic body seems to say: I do not need. It says: power over the self” (Hornbacher 85). Throughout her life, Hornbacher felt as though she lacked feminine qualities. Serious development of anorexia occurred during her tenth grade year of high school. She attended a boarding school for the arts, far from her hometown. Her hopes were to transform into a feminine individual. Hornbacher at her boarding school was shocked to find other girls engaging in anorexic behavior. This mutual obsession with losing weight gave her a group of friends who acted as a support system. This system reinforced the harmful practices of eating
More often than not, the media would show a portrayal of what she believed to be the ideal women. Hornbacher would read magazines and watch television that would show the perfect woman, this ultimately contributed to her weak self-confidence and lack of self-worth. One instance when she was ten years old, she recalls how she “slapped the magazine shut, caught sight of my face in the makeup mirror: round cheeks, round freckled cheeks, cow eyes” (Hornbacher 48). This media influence powered her eating disorder. She made an association with beauty and thin figures, and aimed to be both. In fact, she reasoned this belief with “studies of girls that show that they associate thinness with both academic and social success. I saw it more as a prerequisites to success of any sort” (Hornbacher 85). The test of her thinness was her obsession to measure her waistline. Another way she thought she could lose weight was through voluntarily vomiting. Therefore, Bulimia then transitioned to anorexia. She states that “the anorexic body seems to say: I do not need. It says: power over the self” (Hornbacher 85). Throughout her life, Hornbacher felt as though she lacked feminine qualities. Serious development of anorexia occurred during her tenth grade year of high school. She attended a boarding school for the arts, far from her hometown. Her hopes were to transform into a feminine individual. Hornbacher at her boarding school was shocked to find other girls engaging in anorexic behavior. This mutual obsession with losing weight gave her a group of friends who acted as a support system. This system reinforced the harmful practices of eating