Margreth Van Hezik

When the Body Talks: the Battle Against the Destructive Parasite Called Anorexia Nervosa Margreth Van Hezik

Anorexia nervosa made its (re)appearance due to local,shifting cultural norms from 1873 onwards. Nowadays we have entered the era of fragmention in which eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa are going global. Conspiring with discourses such as advertising and fashion,and paradoxically with pro-eating disorder organizations, the voice of anorexia is given extreme power to disperse the disease. Acting like a discursive parasite,'the voice', pretends to be an ally, but in fact is a wolf in sheep's clothes,causing e.g. disembodiment, exhaustion,schizophrenia and even death. Anorexia nervosa is a very specific form of suffering, which concerns and changes the body induced by normativity. It is extremely problematic, because norms regarding weight and shape are not completely feasible, such as those norms that associate thinness with femininity. In my analysis of the book 'Thin'and film 'Black Swan', I propose a better insight into how the call of normativity might be challenged, and eating disorders fought. It discusses the influence of social norms coming from 'inside and outside'. Who is more susceptible to eating problems, you or me? Interesting to both layman and professional.