A campus organization once devoted exclusively to dealing with eating disorders has expanded its focus to include a broader range of body-image issues.
"We're still going to address eating disorders, but eating disorders are the extreme of issues all women deal with in society," said Trinity senior Heidi Huber, president of Educational Support To Eliminate Eating Misconceptions. Eating disorders are only a part of the continuum of body-image pressures that students face, but there are other body-image concerns of a lesser degree, she said, citing many students' penchant for frequent exercise as an example of the common concern with physical appearance.
Huber said she believes that about 95 percent of female students at the University have concerns about their body image to some degree, though these concerns do not necessarily manifest themselves through eating disorders. Male students are also paying more and more attention to their body images, Huber said.
One goal of ESTEEM's change in focus is to understand better the societal factors that generate these concerns.
"Appearances and beauty have become a major oppressive force in our society," Huber said. "We need to change the ideals. It's not enough to just address eating disorders, but also the sociological factors that have created them."
Trinity senior Katie Higgins, president of the Panhellenic Council, said she believes ESTEEM's change in focus is a good shift because it addresses the social environment at the University, which, in many cases, can contribute to body image concerns and problems.
"Perfection is emphasized here [at the University]," Higgins said. Many students place a great emphasis on their appearance, an emphasis which is condoned in this type of environment, she said.
Some students said that one result of such attitudes may be a higher level of self-consciousness.
"I've seen a lot more examples of self-consciousness than when I was in high school," said Trinity sophomore Jenny Lawrence. "It does seem like people are very health-conscious here."
Some students said they also feel that problems with body image result from a people's lack of control in other areas of their lives. Many women aim to control their appearances through an excessive focus on body image because they feel they have lost control in other areas of their lives, such as academics or relationships, said Trinity junior Kelli Knox, president of Delta Gamma sorority.
Both ESTEEM and Panhel are sponsoring activities to help students deal with their concerns about personal appearance.
"[Eating disorders are] acknowledged as a problem, but nobody knows how to deal with it," Higgins said. Both groups plan to provide support groups for students dealing with body image problems. Additionally, ESTEEM is sponsoring a house course and visits by speakers to increase awareness about the issue.
"The only inoculation against eating disorders is knowledge," said Cate Baker, Trinity '95 and coordinator of Duke Eating Disorders Services.
ESTEEM is also placing a greater emphasis on the role of men in the dialogue about body image.
Society has tended to view body-image issues solely as a feminine issue, Huber said, but both men and women will be a part of the solution to the problem.
"Our ultimate goal is to change the culture here at Duke to be less toxic in terms of appearance pressures," she said.
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