Views on women have impacted the physical and mental states of many women in America. When women cannot uphold this  “perfect” body (that is supposed to appear thin) that is so heavily pushed upon women, they are ridiculed. The ridicule and negative comments that come about towards many women can cause a lot of mental and physical disorders: One of the main disorders that women may encounter  is called body dysmorphia. According to the ADAA (Anxiety And Depression Association of America), “ people who have body dysmorphic disorder think about their real or perceived flaws for hours each day”. The negative thoughts that control these young women’s mind lead to emotional distress that can affect their everyday lives.The topic of body dysmorphia shows the cultural change that has occurred in the U.S. During the early 1800’s women were seen as being attractive if they had the larger body figure, and women who were skinny were not visually pleasing to the public. Entering the 20th century the American opinion on what women should look like has changed drastically. Women are now pressured by society to be skinny, and being skinny meant that as a woman you would be labeled as being beautiful, or attractive. The constant push for all women to have this “thin” look causes women to question whether they like their body or if it’s good enough, which resultis in many mental and physical illnesses such as; eating disorders, depression, and dysmorphia. The women who struggle with body dysmorphia dislike parts of their bodies even if it’s the slightest imperfection. The ADAA states that for these women who suffer from BDD (body dysmorphic disorder), the smallest flaw can be seen as significant and prominent. BDD is mostly prevalent in adolescents, and teens, and only a small percentage of these people in America suffer from this disorder. Many people affected by this disorder are part of the high percentage of people who are bullied in the United States. People who are affected greatly by body dysmorphia are victims to not the physical aspect of bullying, but more of the verbal part. Research shows that 100% of the reason why women are affected by body dysmorphia, is not because of the bullying that occurs, but due from multiple factors that greatly affect women. According to the research by the ADAA, “ The causes of BDD are unclear, but certain biological and environmental may contribute to its development, including genetic predisposition, neurobiological factors such as malfunctioning of serotonin in the brain, personality traits, and life experiences”. These so called life experiences that are factors in body dysmorphia are examples of the bullying, and harsh ridicule that women go through, affecting their thoughts and feelings on how and what their bodies should look like.

Being ridiculed and made fun of is a very serious issue especially for women. In the  poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy there is an inside look of what it means to be a young woman who struggles with body dysmorphia through the use of  ridicule and negative comments towards women. Marge Piercy uses a timeline of young woman’s life in order to emphasize the hardships that occur with a woman accepting her appearance from adolescent years until the day she dies. The poem begins with a little girl who is happily playing with her dolls, and toys without a care in the world, showing one of the loving and accepting stages in a young woman’s life. The poem then goes on to explain the preteen/ teen years for the girl. During this time the young lady experiences her first encounter being ridiculed for the way she looks. “She went to and fro apologizing, everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs”(Marge Piercy) Despite the fact that the young girl was a strong, intelligent, healthy woman, the comment made by the classmate caused her to begin to have negative feelings, and thoughts about the way she look.  The use of ridicule during the teenager years exemplifies the facts stated by the ADAA, that the targets of body dysmorphia are the adolescent and teens. As the preteen turned into a young woman the symptoms of body dysmorphia began to show. The young woman tries her best to change her appearance, but when she is unable to do so, she makes the decision to remove those parts of her body. At the end of the poem the young woman has reached her time, where she is now deceased. Marge Piercy takes a unique approach in describing the death of this young woman. Instead of the sad, gloomy feeling that normally goes along with the funeral setting, Marge Piercy gives off the feeling of satisfaction, and accomplishment. “Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said. Consummation a last. To Every woman a happy ending.” (Marge Piercy) Now, why would the death of any person be any moment of satisfaction, and happiness for anyone? Well the answer isn’t because people think it was best that the young woman is finally gone, and they don’t have to look at her anymore, rather it shows the acceptance that is taken by the woman when others finally agree with, and accept the way that she looks. From this death the young woman is finally able to escape the negative comments from others, and thoughts that she struggled with on a daily basis. This acceptance of death gives light to the fact those women who struggle with body dysmorphia, risk also suffering with depression, because they do not feel as if they belong or are liked by others. These negative thoughts could have the impact of making a young woman consider death as an option to her problems.

For a woman with BDD she suffers from an obsession about her appearance that can last from an hour to an entire day. (ADAA) These obsessions greatly affect the everyday life for these young women, causing them to only focus on their imperfections. Focusing on only imperfections leads to problems in the home, social life, workplace, and even school. Most women who suffer from BDD perform compulsive or repetitive behavior to try to hide or improve these flaws, whether that may mean not eating, excessive grooming, excessive exercise, avoiding mirrors or just making changes permanently through the help of plastic surgery.  Undergoing plastic surgery allows for women who suffer from BDD to complete the task of being able to change their appearance in the spare of the moment. The problem with women who suffer from BDD and not having the ability to change their imperfections is that, once one imperfection is fixed they now feel as if they can fix every imperfection they have. The ADAA states, “They (women) may even undergo unnecessary plastic surgeries to correct perceived imperfections, never finding satisfaction”.  The problem of not being satisfied with the outcome of plastic surgery means that there will be more surgeries, meaning more damage towards their bodies. This becomes an ongoing cycle never ending until the moment of when the young women are finally at rest.

The cultural views on women have changed drastically, which has impacted the physical and mental states of many women in America. Some women who cannot succeed in changing their appearance along with the cultural views struggle with a disease known as body dysmporphia. Body dysmorphia is a disorder where women are heavily concerned with their appearance and are overly obsessed with trying to fix every imperfection that they may have. These imperfections are only seen because of the pressures of society for women to all have the “thin” look.  Now with the change in cultural views on women, more and more women are suffering with BDD.
