Is thin a feminist issue?

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa and similar disorders preponderate in women and therefore seem particularly suited to feminist models of understanding. Boskind-Lodahl (1976) and Orbach (1979, 1982) have put forward similar views on the subject, and their work is well known. This article explores the assumptions behind the Boskind-Lodahl/Orbach hypothesis, and argues that the most fundamental of these lies in a problematic distinction between the concepts of nature and culture. Some implications of the hypothesis are discussed with emphasis on the extent to which these authors normalize anorectic behaviour. The question is raised as to whether this normalizing approach may be read as legitimating symptoms. Feminist, anthropological, and other writing is used to examine the potential for alternative models of understanding anorexia nervosa which do not rely on a nature/culture split and which address the issue of the social function of anorectic symptoms. These models point towards a more general concern in feminist theory with the relationship between culture and psychological disorder.