On July 16,
1997, journalist Jennifer Dunning wrote an article for the New York Times about
eating disorders among ballerinas. The
article, titled Eating Disorders Haunt
Ballerinas, began with information about an intervention that two eating
disorder specialists attempted to do with forty young ballet students at the
School of American Ballet. The article
explains that the specialists were trying to understand “which girls developed
or were predisposed to problems.”
Dunning then explains that the study was canceled after a year due to
the fact that 60 to 70 percent of the students opted out. Dr. Hamilton also points out in the
introduction that denial is a large part of eating disorders. The two specialists, Dr. Warren and Dr.
Hamilton, gave the article credibility because of the fact that they are both
experts in their field. The credible
sources ensure the reader that these facts are true and not just personal
opinion. Dunning received this
information from the two doctors who did the study, so the facts about the
study in the article must be true.
Dunning then goes on to discuss the
highly stressful and competitive world of ballet, and the pressure that is put
on dancers to remain thin. She says that
this problem has created the need for many nutritionists and therapists to help
dancers with their issues. While this
could be the author’s anecdotal information, much of this is stated on www.something-fishy.org. The site says that
Marie Camargo became a model for how ballerinas were supposed to look in the
late eighteenth century, and that she was known for being very thin and shorter
than her male partner. The look of the dancer is the "genre of the
veritably, length of spine, the open stance and the lean look" (Street,
1994). This is derived from the court dance which attempted to portray a regal
demeanor. Dunning also states that
eating disorders are difficult to treat in most ballet dancers. All dancers know that to get into a dance
company of choice they have to look like the other girls in the ballet world so
that when they get on stage they all look the same. According to www.something-fishy.org, “the
dancers know this and before applying for a dance company make sure that their
bodies conform to the ideals of the dance company. The edge (being smaller than
all other) that is gained through anorexia may be what gets them into the dance
company.”
The article goes on to discuss the
prevalence of eating disorders, mainly anorexia and bulimia, among women who
are mostly white and middle to upper class.
These facts and other information about eating disorders is clearly
stated on many websites, including webmd.com, allaboutlifechanges.org,
avalonhills.org, and many others.
However, Dunning reports a statistic quoted by Dr. Warren. “Dance is one of the worst areas. The average
incidence of eating disorders in the white middle-class population is 1 in 100.
In classical ballet, it is one in five.”
I could not find these exact statistics, however many statistics similar
to this are stated on the sites listed above.
The article also states that many dancers fall into eating disorders
because they are often perfectionists, and in need of control. “People with eating disorders often use food
and the control of food in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions
that may otherwise seem over-whelming. For some dieting, bingeing, and purging
may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of
one’s life, but ultimately, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical and
emotional health, self-esteem, and sense of competence and control,” (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org).
While this article is filled with
valid information about eating disorders among ballerinas, it is also filled
with personal opinions from choreographers, instructors, and company
directors. It seems to me that in any
article, including this one, journalism is both subjective and objective. Although readers see articles as a way to
find truth about certain issues, journalism seems to be filled with both truth
and opinion.
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