Eating Disorder Liability

                Only in today's society of "nothing is my fault, it's someone else's" could this question even be asked.  Sure there may be women out there who have an eating disorder due to what they see on the big screen or television, but that cannot be blamed on the entertainment industry.  This would be like trying to make someone pay for your catching a cold while at a restaurant. 
   
         The entertainment industry does not say to their viewers that they should be as skinny as their stars, there is no way that we can blame people who do not even know us for our own issues.  Yes, most stars are in shape and skinny, but that is their job.  They have to look their best, and most of them do hit the gym or find some method of exercise.  Trying to blame the stars or the entertainment industry as a whole because we have a disorder is ludicrous at best. 

             There have been many therapists and studies that have found that an eating disorder is a way for someone to have something they can control in their life.  While this is not the reason that all people that suffer from anorexia or bulimia have these issues, it is the reason for some.  If we are going to try to make the entertainment industry pay for someone who says that they just want to look like the stars, are we also going to go after our families, skinny friends, or people on the street that are too ignorant to realize that some people with weight issues do try to help themselves?

             Weight issues come from many different avenues; however, the only person that should be held liable for the way in which someone handles their issue is themselves.  As someone who was bulimic for seven years, there were many times that I tried to blame someone else for my problems.  "I wouldn't be fat if my parents had taught me better eating habits", or "I will show anyone that has ever said anything about my weight that they are wrong."  There were reasons that I wanted to lose weight, but not because someone else was skinnier than me.  I wanted to be skinny, so rather than do it the right way, I chose to throw everything up.  I say I "chose", because that is what I did.  I chose to shove my finger down my throat, there was not someone else there that did it for me.

             When society tries to say that we should blame the entertainment industry for our lack of control, this is a shame.  When did it become the norm to blame our problems or issues on people who have no idea who we even are, rather than making people step up and take responsibility for their own actions?  Eating disorders are hard to deal with and understand, but it is still that person who chooses to utilize the disordered habits rather than doing things the right way.  Rather than trying to blame someone else that is skinny or in shape, we should be trying to make the person that is dealing with the eating disorder learn the correct ways of dealing with weight issues.  In doing this, the accountability goes to the person that has the problem, not to some entity that has nothing to do with them or their life.  Overcoming an eating disorder has to start with the sufferer accepting responsibility for their own actions.  Blaming the entertainment industry does not solve the problem, and it certainly will not help the people who are dealing with these issues to get any better.