COMM171 - The Slender Trap: An Analysis of Starvation and Society

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Trina Piscatelli's 'The Slender Trap,' focusing on the societal and psychological factors contributing to starvation, particularly among young women. The author identifies various influences, including family, community, and media, which create pressure to conform to unrealistic beauty standards. The essay explores the psychological impact of these pressures, such as the feeling of helplessness and the desire for control over one's body, leading to starvation as a perceived solution. The essay also discusses the role of identity politics and the impact of the idealized thin female image, causing emotional and physical harm. It examines the formal language and structure of the essay, highlighting how the author uses real-life examples and facts to support the argument. The analysis concludes by critiquing societal notions of beauty and their adverse effects on mental and physical health, emphasizing the importance of understanding the underlying causes and consequences of starvation and eating disorders.

Running Head: ENGLISH
English
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Thesis Statement
The Slender Trap by Trina Piscatelli tries to elucidate in front of the young ladies the
cause that lie behind the starvation and the impact that the starvation is able to create in terms
of the mental as well as physical health.
Body
The author identifies a multiplicity of factors as contributing behind the emergence of
the fatal condition of the starvation in the body of the individual suffering from the
symptoms. The author has enumerated the factors behind starvation as the ones of
psychological pressure that the women face at their years of adolescence. Among other,
source of influences the pressure from the community and family as well as the influence of
the media (Grogan, 2016).
The psychology of the women is highly dependent on the urge of the student be
perfect as well as develop their sense of identity from the lack of it. The need of the women
to succumb to the need of the society. The imposition of the unrealistic expectations in
respect to the conventional code of beauty. The feeling of lack in contrast to the
perfectionism has resulted in the development of a feeling of helplessness as well as a lack of
power (Adesso, 2013).
Therefore, in the context of the impending sense of powerlessness mediated by the
urge to maintain a perfect body shape, a large number of women consider starving as a way
out from the status quo of being imperfect. This is more because out of the all the causes that
has contributed to their body shape, their diet is one area where they can exercise their
control in an effective way. As such, their attempt is in changing the nature of their diet so

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they can create notable impact in mitigating the reasons behind their imperfections (Adesso,
2013).
Another area that had been the area of concern for the author of the essay include the
aspect of the control. The women can ensure the control over their diet in order to bring about
the desired changes in an effective manner. However, the situation in concern is intertwined
with the identity politics. The suggestion of the article is that the nature of the unformed
identity results in the demand for the control in the women. The women, who generally lack a
perception of the people they are, are more likely to be influenced by the approximation that
is provided in front of them by the society. As such, the majority of the westrn discourse has
been saturated with the image of the thin woman, un-attainable in the real life. However, the
negative impact of the urge of the women to subscribe to the constructed ideal image of
women has resulted in the emotional as well as physical harm in women (Adesso, 2013).
The pressure to be the ideal women is experienced by the individual on the different
level of the society that includes their family and peers. The multiplicity of the influences in
shaping the urge of the women to develop their sense of being. The uncertainty of being,
results in the complexity. The complexity of such attribution can be imposed upon the human
beings surrounding the concerned individual as well as upon the images created by nature
(Adesso, 2013).
The article has been constructed with the aim of elucidating the reasons behind the
starvation that women tend to adopt in order to conform to the societal expectations. With the
critical as well as instructive tone that the author has indulged in had allowed the women to
understand the psychical and societal implication of the starvation. The author has also
indulged in a discussion of the progress in the symptoms of the anorexia nervosa and
communicate the same to the women young in age who have been the audience of the article.

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Conclusion
The essay in concern poses a critique of the socially considered notion of beauty
where different elements of the society participates in order to force to the people concerned
in the coded notion of beauty, something that fit their discourse. The inadvertent result of the
imposition of the desire is noted in the urge of the women to take up attributes that connect
their desire to the social notion and the resultant outcome is noted in the physical and mental
harm that they go through.

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References
Adesso, V. J. (2013). Psychological perspectives on women's health. Taylor & Francis
Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and
children. Taylor & Francis.
.