The "thin ideal" -- a traditionally Western phenomenon -- has now become nearly inescapable for all peoples, a panel on campus concluded yesterday.
"The idea of body image being a white woman's plight has changed," said Desiree Tunstall, director of Penn's Sister to Sister program.
Tunstall, a College junior, was one of four panelists who spoke Tuesday in a discussion entitled "You can't be anorexic ... That's not our problem!" that focused on the unique problems minority women face regarding body image in today's society.
Tunstall, along with Counseling and Psychological Services outreach coordinator Meeta Kumar, nutritionist May May Leung and College freshman Alexis McFarlane, addressed the many specific issues pertaining to minority women regarding body image.
Tunstall focused particularly on the "hierarchy of issues" relating to minorities.
She described the guilt associated with complaints about one's personal issues with body image against a backdrop of many seemingly more significant social issues.
Tunstall noted that "women of color often feel they should not complain about their bodies because of a history of struggle."
While the discussion did touch on many issues specific to minorities, its subject matter quickly broadened to include issues applicable to all women.
"Body image is not race-specific," Leung said.
According to the four women, there was a time when superficial ideals of beauty were unique to the cultures that produced them. Yet all the panelists noted as a trend the permeation of cultures that previously held different conceptions of beauty by a "Western ideal."
"The media bombards us with images of tall, blond caucasian women, and that becomes the standard for beauty," Leung said.
Penn, of course, is not immune to issues of body image. Kumar said that the atmosphere of the University is a "competitive" one in which students are constantly being "evaluated harshly by their peers" and "needing to appear perfect."
"I would say body image is a big thing here," Kumar said.
Tunstall expanded upon the existence of body image issues at the University, noting the reluctance of many women to acknowledge their problems because they are "intelligent ... and they think they shouldn't feel that way."
The issues students face at Penn are simply a reflection of wider societal problems, and it seems the struggle surrounding body image is one that is not likely to disappear anytime soon.
Yet College senior Maribel Marmol, co-organizer of the event, offered a solution to the problem -- talk about it.
"Body image tends to be underdiscussed," said Marmol. "I just hope we can have more events like this in the future."
