Miss Jade Brischke
TBA
Anorexia: Body Image or Religious Phenomena?
This paper discusses and compares modern anorexia nervosa with the Medieval religious phenomena of holy anorexia. Although both forms have many differences, both emerged due to similar factors such as the pressures of society and culture. Holy anorexia is not so much a representation of body image, but a means of rebellion against the patriarchal society of the Catholic Church. Anorexia nervosa however is a direct representation of body image, with a desire to obtain extreme thinness. In my paper, I will deal with the reasons for the emergence of both types of anorexia, as well as highlighting their similarities and differences, before concluding with the process of their decline.
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