Reply #45: That wasn't what I was trying to convey at all... [View All]

[Danger Mouse]

...I was blaming the society itself for PLACING that kind of pressure on young women to begin with. I've also had close friends that were victims of eating disorders...it's a difficult thing. I don't blame the young women for it, because I've seen and been assaulted by a nonstop barrage of objectification that encourages them to sacrifice everything just for the sake of a desirable appearance.
During the formative years, such influences can have a siginificant impact on impressionable young women. They're not stupid for conforming to it...they're doing what they feel that they need to do in order to be valued by our culture. The pressure seems to be much more firmly placed on young women, in terms of it having an effect on their self-esteem and self-worth, while with young men, they are mostly encouraged to be domineering and engage in objectification.
The one-sided nature of this is just one way in whcih our society is still largely very sexist. There are many tenets of Christianity, too, that are quite sexist, and considering how many fundies there are out there...this also contributes to sexism.