Is skinny really the new sexy?

People have heard the bashes about being too thin before. This harsh reality is lived out through celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Mischa Barton. After seeing this unstoppable trend of self-starvation, people wonder what other sick tricks Hollywood has up its sleeve. From the way things are looking now, obesity may not be the only health issue worth exploring.

Anorexia and bulimia are taking over the lives of many of our younger and middle-aged citizens, and to our dismay, this phenomenon is only getting worse. Not only does Hollywood repeatedly write off these images as being “okay,” but they are also causing these diseases to become more prevalent in our lives today.

The desire to fit society’s idea of normalcy is becoming more common now, and we cannot thank the media enough for being responsible for most of these cases. In screwing with the minds of television’s most vulnerable viewers, the media has somehow compiled their own views of a perfect individual and shoved these views down their throats.

By showing images of underweight celebrities, the media has successfully maneuvered the minds of many into thinking that these are the individuals we should admire and that theirs is the lifestyle we should envy.

In an odd sense, the media downplays, yet promotes, these bone-baring diseases. After putting celebs down for their less than perfect and unhealthy appearances, the media then turns around and contradictorily encourages thinness by discriminating against certain sizes. Having said that, the media is not the only culprit to blame for these food-depriving diseases.

Children, at a very frail age, are inadvertently taught that image is everything. It has now come to the point where we have to step back and ask ourselves, “How skinny is too skinny?”

Eating disorders affect 1 million men and 7 million women in the United States alone. Fortunately, there is help out there. It’s just a matter of making the effort to go get it. You only live once, so love yourself and embrace life with open arms.

Be happy. Be healthy. Be you.

Sunna Raja The Daily Gamecock University of South Carolina U-Wire<