High school, to describe it mildly, is a dramatic and confusing four years for the average adolescent. Raging hormones and developing minds fill high school hallways, creating societies of their own, seemingly immune to the problems of the outside world.
However, problems do arise within the private worlds that teenagers create for themselves. Problems that can lead to serious health issues and even death.
From “Rebel Without a Cause” to “Grease,” the messages from these films continue to ring true today. The basic premises of these films accurately portrays the rudimentary pressures that affect high school students. Whether it is belonging to the “Pink Ladies” or the “T-Birds,” the pressure to be accepted with the “in crowd” still has an impact on today’s adolescents.
One major characteristic that does separate the high school of today from that of yesterday is the extreme to which females, specifically, will go, to fit in.
In trying to stay in the clich they desire, to keep the boyfriend they have or want, to seem appealing and loved by others, many women develop eating and other disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating, sometimes called compulsive eating.
The media today has set impossible and unrealistic standards for women. Computer airbrushed photos of world-renowned models are displayed throughout magazines, billboards, and other various media outlets. Rail-thin actresses are put on pedestals — images to strive for. Young women, exposed to such images, are often compelled to become as impossibly-thin as these models and actresses.
“We are all victims of the distorted image that pop culture supplies us with,” affirms Lauren Dukoff, a Malibu High School junior.
Young males are prone to pan through such magazines as “PlayBoy” and “Maxim,” where they become infatuated with this artificial image of the female body. This results in unrealistic personal standards for what they desire physically in a girl.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” says Loran Leemon, a MHS junior. “A lot of it is about first sight. So a girl’s outside appearance does play a big part.”
Though both boys and girls struggle to conform to a certain image that many feel is needed to attend school, girls, unlike their male peers, are unable to hide their physical insecurities behind baggy clothing. The pressures put on girls are distinctly different from those that are put on the guys, and tend to come at a higher price.
This pressure brought on by media ideals and high school hierarchy leads to insecurities and in extreme cases, eating disorders.
Eating Disorders, according to “Fasting Girls,” by Joan Jacobs Brumberg, have been around since the Middle Ages. Yet, prior to the last 20 years, these disorders have been fairly rare.
Ann F. Caron, Ed. D., in her book “Don’t Stop Loving Me,” writes that there are no specific causes of eating disorders. However, she says, general contributors to such diseases as anorexia and bulimia, include “a family structure that inhibits emotional expression, society’s current expectations for superwomen, developmental difficulties arising during adolescence, serious underlying mental problems or sexual abuse of the girl.”
Carolyn Costin, who runs the Monte Nido Treatment Center and the Eating Disorder Center of California, says that eating disorders can develop from feelings of guilt when one weighs themselves on a scale or has eaten a big meal.
According to Caron, the most prevalent sign that a girl has an eating disorder is obvious weight loss. Another indication of anorexia is the female’s inclination to participate in unnecessary and arduous exercise. If the disease continues to go on untreated without psychiatric or medical help, the girl will lose control, as the obsession with losing weight will take control of her.
Untreated, anorexia can be fatal. Pop singer Karen Carpenter died at age 32 of heart failure, which was attributed to her 8-year battle with anorexia.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 86 percent of eating disorders are reported to onset by the age of 20 and eating disorders are a huge problem across the nation, with 6 percent of serious cases ending in death.
Malibu High School, may, in some respects, be an extreme representation of the challenges that face adolescent girls across the county. MHS, according to a series of students, is generally more concerned about weight and designer clothing than other high schools.
Malibu itself is internationally known for the sexy television show, “Bay Watch,” featuring skimpily-clad actresses and buff men. Malibu is also world-renowned for being home to the stars and the “Malibu Barbie.” Image seems to be a necessity in this small town, being only 30 miles away from Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world. MHS, due to its location and socio-economic status, has turned members of its female student body into walking sticks, dressed to the nines in such accessories as Gucci sunglasses and Luis Vouitton handbags.
“The fact that you go to Cross Creek and see Cindy Crawford adds a little more competition,” said an anonymous female senior.
“Especially at this school, image is a big deal,” said freshman Bridgett Farrerr, backing up this view.
Many at MHS, along with thousands across the nation, are faced with eating disorders. High School counselors Luke Sferra and Nancy Pallathena are aware of this dire problem on campus. However, they have little idea to exactly how many female students on campus are affected by such disorders.
“The new kids that come to this school are amazed at the number of really thing girls on campus,” said Pallathena. “The focus at this school is clothing, which can lead to eating disorders.”
The counselors went on to explain that, at this specific high school, there is a greater amount of pressure on what clothing labels the girls are wearing, and how, on such a small campus of approximately 600 students, it is easy for girls to get swept into it.
Rarely do these counselors directly intervene with such students on this particular issue, nor do the students feel compelled to go to them for counseling.
However, “when somebody has alerted us of a problem, we call the student in and assess the situation,” explained Sferra.
Sferra and Pallathena mentioned that the new Council Program established at Malibu High was created to help solve these kinds of problems. The Council Progam, already successfully integrated in other high schools, is a once-a-week, one-hour program where students form small groups and talk about their general problems and thoughts with their peers. The program has received a somewhat negative response from the MHS student body. This is probably linked to the fact that many students are unwilling to discuss anything truly personal, such as eating disorders, with their council groups.
While there are many girls on campus that do care a great deal about what they wear in the morning, there are the many that don’t.
“Maybe if you’re into the teen and fashion magazines, but for me I’m to lazy to do anything. It just doesn’t matter to me,” said junior Liz Cole. “Though it does take a greater amount of self-respect to not get sucked into that stuff.”