Answer to Question #155956 in Sociology for Hidayat Khan

Question

With the help of sociological perspectives, explain how societies shape our individual lives? 

Answer 1

The main social problem is eating disorders. It is considered a personal trouble that results from a lack of control, low self-esteem, or another personal problem. In this description may be true but it does not help us understand why so many people have the sociological perspective problems that lead to eating disorders. For example, most Americans with eating disorders are women, not men. This gender difference forces us to ask what it is about being a woman in American society that makes eating disorders so much more common. To begin to answer this question, we need to look to the standard of beauty for women that emphasizes a slender body If this cultural standard did not exist, far fewer American women would suffer from eating disorders than do now. Because it does exist, even if every girl and woman with an eating disorder were cured, others would take their places unless we could somehow change this standard. Viewed in this way, eating disorders are best understood as a public issue, not just as a personal trouble.