Can Books Affect Body Image?

My daughter loves to read and one of her favorite books is “Perfect” by Natasha Friend. It’s about a girl who discovers that her sister has an eating disorder.

Now, young adult novelist Sarah Darer Littman has released a new book called “Purge,” which also focuses on a young girl struggling with an eating disorder. I’m sure it’s one my daughter may want to read.

But I worry a little.

To a kid who loves reading, book characters can sometimes become an imaginary peer group of sorts. And since studies have shown that peer groups can have enormous influence on girls and their eating habits – including, possibly, the development of eating disorders – I think it’s only natural to be a bit concerned about what kids are reading and how it might affect them.

My general philosophy toward my kids and the books they choose to read is that they can read anything they want, as long as they’re willing to ask about what they don’t understand and talk about anything they find disturbing. It’s not a philosophy shared by all parents (It was a bit scandalous when I let my daughter read Judy Blume’s "Forever" a few years ago). As a writer and a thinking mom, censorship is against my better judgment. But as a reader, I’m well aware of the power of words.

In the end, I’m a fan of arming kids with information, and books are a great way to take a kid on an imaginary journey that lets them experience the ups and downs of life – whether it’s boy troubles, school woes or, yes, even eating disorders.

What do you think? Were you feelings about your body or your behavior toward it shaped by a book you read or a movie you saw?

Comments

[Jami]

For all the things that have shaped my poor body image, I'd say books are not one of them. Of course I wasn't reading the typical teenage fair. By the time I was in 5th grade I was reading at a 12th grade level so most teen books were "beneath" me. Sherlock Holmes and Dracula was more my type of book.

Oh I read a bit of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys - but my favorite teen mystery novels were Alfred Hitchcock's Three Investigators. Three boys solving mysteries and the lead one, Jupiter Jones, was a talented actor, lived with his aunt and uncle in a "junk yard", and was fat! Not the same as having a fat female hero, but good enough.

In fact, I remember when I did read what my peers liked, such as Sweet Valley Twins, I found the books airheaded and totally unrealistic. So they didn't influence me at all.

Maybe the difference was that my reading comprehension was higher then my peers and therefore the books geared for kids my age just didn't impress me. Even Judy Blume and others like her, while I read them - mostly at the insistence of teachers, just didn't grab me.

[Sagan]

Books didn't tend to have that kind of influence on me, but like Jami my choice in books might have been the reason for that. I think that books have the potential to affect body image, however... just the same as magazines do.

[Deanna Adler]

I tend to say that the more you are exposed to something, the more familiar it becomes. As far as a negative behavior, when it is familiar it can become easier to rationalize. That is certainly not to say that reading books about eating disorders will CAUSE eating disorders but if my child consistently reaches for books on a certain behavior, I am going to be highly intune with the subject matter and initiate conversations about it.

I agree that encouraging reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. I also agree that we can encourage most kinds of books and subject matter as long as we follow up with good, meaningful conversation. That, really, is an even greater gift.

[Dara Chadwick]

Thanks so much for all these great comments! I really enjoy hearing these different perspectives.

And Deanna, I couldn't agree more about the value of conversation.