Does Allison Williams have an Eating Disorder?
By
PsychReel
In this blog, we will be talking about body-shaming in the entertainment industry with a special focus on thin-shaming and eating disorders and we will also cover how Allison Williams slammed shut such comments, along with many other women who have faced the same. Furthermore, we will talk about eating disorders, their implications, and the stigma attached to them.
Does Allison Williams have an Eating Disorder?
No, Williams has never been confirmed to have an eating disorder but there have been various media reports of her suffering from an eating disorder. Let us explore the body-shaming culture and various aspects of eating disorders.
Body Shaming and Eating Disorders
Body shaming unfortunately still exists. Even in 2022. We might claim to be the most evolved species, yet we seem to be the most rudimentary ones. Body shaming is the unsolicited negative criticism of one’s body either by other people or by oneself.
While you can’t really blame a person who body shames themselves, because there is a reason behind it, albeit unhealthy. They have been the first-hand victims of society body-shaming them to an extent that they completely internalized the cruel comments passed on to them and believe them to be true.
Body-shaming is a shameful universal act. So it comes as no surprise when public figures to are criticized for not looking a certain way. A lot of these people are exposed to media from a tender age, and that opens the gates of heavy and harsh comments upon the changes in their bodies.
This has severe implications on the mental health of that individual that may be characterized by low self-esteem and body-image issues.
Too thin Or too fat: Nothing pleases the people around you
While body-shaming overweight individuals seem to be more prevalent, it is not the case in reality. Sadly, anyone and everyone can be subjected to body-shaming. Perfection is desired by society, but its definition keeps changing.
So even if you want to fit into the ideal picture of a body, you won’t be able to sustain it for long. For example, during the 70s and 80s, actresses with plump figures were more desirable. It was only in the 2000s, the concept of size zero began a widespread craze around thin bodies.
However, even that is not enough. It will never be because beauty standards keep changing. This should help us realize that beauty is socially constructed. No one can fit into the picture-perfect quality everyone seems to demand. Even on the screen, it is rare to have natural beauty appreciated by the audiences. Most of the time, the defects and blemishes are edited out as per the expectations of the audience.
Underweight women are often subjected to thin shaming:
“toothpick”,
“The wind can blow you away”,
“You should eat more food”
“You don’t have an ass”,
“You should wear more bras to plump up your breasts”
The idea of achieving perfection is a long-standing dream of millions of women. And this dream was planted by society’s expectations. Their expectations have had power over women’s self-confidence, self-esteem, and even self-worth. Body shaming has serious implications on one’s mental health, but unfortunately, people do not talk about it enough.
Women in cinema
No one is immune to the kind of judgment society loves to impose on us regarding our bodies. Even women, who look seemingly perfect on-screen, are criticized for any change that happens in their bodies as a part of NORMAL functioning.
If a female celebrity has gained a little or a lot of weight, the paparazzi deliberately capture their photos from questionable angles. And that is published on the internet with flashy captions,
“PREGNANCY RUMORS” or perhaps, “SO-AND-SO ACTRESS SEEMS TO HAVE GAINED A FEW POUNDS!”, or, “IS SHE SICK?”
Erica Fernandes has established a name for herself by producing outstanding performances in shows such as ‘Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi,’ ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay,’ and ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay.’ With films like ‘Ninndale,’ ‘Vizhithiru,’ and a few others, she has even contributed to regional cinema. Despite her good exposure, Erica Fernandes recalled her days of shooting for South flicks, where she was body-shamed and required to wear padding.
Fernandes said she was thin-shamed in an interview with Bollywood Bubble because she was slim compared to what the producers wanted her to be or what a South actress needed to be at the time.
They used to stuff Erica because they preferred plump ladies, she claimed. She used to wear a lot of padding, which made her feel horrible because she didn’t like it. For her, it meant surrendering her identity and refusing to accept herself as she is. They used to put thigh pads everywhere, the actress added. Fernandes used to be treated with contempt.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was body-shamed for her post-pregnancy weight gain shortly after giving birth to her daughter Aaradhaya in 2011. In 2012, the actress appeared on the Cannes red carpet, where she was mocked online for her weight gain.
In an interview with CNN News18, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan said, “people think that if you look a certain way, you won’t be judged. But, believe me, irrespective of how you look, everybody faces judgment for something or the other.”
During Fashion Week, body shamers referred to Gigi Hadid as “too skinny.” Hadid, on the other hand, hadn’t dropped weight for the sake of her career; she’d been battling an illness that caused her weight to fluctuate.
With a message on social media, she retaliated against the shamers who couldn’t comprehend what she was going through by saying, “For those of you so determined to come up [with] why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started at 17, I was not yet diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease; those of u who called me ‘too big for the industry’ were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that”.
Trolls have attacked Emma Stone for appearing to be too skinny. According to the actor in an interview with USA Today, “I firmly believe that nothing really affects you or can really bother you if you don’t already feel that way about yourself.
I’ve seen a lot of comments that say, ‘Eat a sandwich’ or ‘She looks sick.’ I’ve been looking at myself in the mirror being mean to myself. I’m not sick. I eat sandwiches…In no way is it my intention to be a bad example.”
Eating disorders
Eating disorders are a devastating set of mental illnesses characterized by an unhealthy food relationship. They entail serious issues with your food-related thoughts and habits. You can eat a lot less or a lot more than you require.
Eating disorders are medical diseases, not personal preferences. They have an impact on your body’s ability to obtain adequate nutrition. This can result in health complications such as heart and renal difficulties, as well as mortality. There are, however, medicines that can help.
Eating disorders are more common in girls and women, and they usually start during adolescence and early adulthood. Although no one understands what causes eating disorders, they appear to be linked to psychological and physiological difficulties such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, emotional reactivity, and substance addiction.
Food obsession becomes a technique for some people to acquire control over one part of their lives. Although it may begin as simple overeating or undereating, the tendency can quickly spiral out of control and take over a person’s life. Eating disorders are a significant medical problem that, if left untreated, can have long-term health effects.
Because people with eating disorders frequently disguise their destructive behaviors, recognizing the indicators of an eating disorder, especially early on, can be challenging.
If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a potentially fatal eating condition marked by unusually low body weight, a strong fear of gaining weight, and a skewed view of weight and shape. Anorexics go to great lengths to maintain their weight and shape, which can have a substantial impact on their health and daily activities.
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is a dangerous eating disorder that can lead to death. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binging and purging in which you sense a loss of control over your food. Bulimia patients generally restrict their food during the day, which leads to increased binge eating and purging.
Allison Williams and her journey
Allison Williams is an American actress and the daughter of news presenter Brian Williams. She was born on April 13, 1988. She rose to prominence after playing Marnie Michaels in the HBO comedy-drama series Girls (2012–2017), for which she was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award, and the title role in Peter Pan Live! (2014).
She became well-known after playing Rose Armitage in the horror-thriller Get Out (2017), for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been subject to active body-shaming and downright falsely labeling her as anorexic, which is a serious eating disorder.
She says, “Being analyzed about my weight drives me crazy,”.
“It’s easier to say, ‘Oh, she must be anorexic and depriving herself,’ than it is to say, ‘She might have a fast metabolism.’”
“I deprive myself of nothing,” she says. “But that’s an annoying thing to say, right?”
Critics have slammed her for changing her appearance throughout the course of the first three seasons of Girls. However, Williams told Allure that when she first went public in 2010, she had just graduated from college and was still carrying her undergraduate weight.
“And so when we filmed the pilot for Girls and even into the first season, I looked like someone I hadn’t looked like for four years,” she explained. “But that’s still the way it was set in people’s minds, so they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, you’ve lost weight.’ And I’m like, ‘This is just the way my body is very naturally.’”
Conclusion
We answered the question, “Does Allison Williams have an Eating Disorder?” and covered body-shaming culture, women in cinema, what eating disorders are, the types of eating disorders, and Allison Williams & her life.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs): Does Allison Williams have an Eating Disorder?
The psychological effect of body-shaming?
Body shaming can cause eating disorders, sadness, anxiety, low self-esteem, and body dysmorphia, as well as an overall sensation of loathing one’s body.
What are the types of body-shaming?
- Fat Shaming
- Skinny Shaming
- Pretty Shaming
- Body Hair Shaming
- Food Shaming
What counts as an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a serious mental condition in which food, exercise, and body weight or form become unhealthy obsessions in a person’s life.
What’s the most serious eating disorder?
Because of the negative effects, anorexia can have on physical health, it has a high death rate. Furthermore, while all eating disorders can be hazardous to one’s mental and physical health, anorexia is widely considered to be the worst.
What does Diabulimia mean?
Diabulimia is a type of eating disorder that affects only persons who have Type 1 diabetes. It occurs when a person reduces or discontinues the use of insulin in order to lose weight. Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, necessitates the use of insulin.
What is Pica?
Pica is a type of eating disorder in which a person consumes items that are not normally considered food like chalk, dirt, etc.
References
Eating Disorders. (2021). MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/eatingdisorders.html
Entertainment Bureau. (2021, August 27). 5 Actresses Who Faced Body Shaming. News18.
Signs of Eating Disorders: Types and Symptoms. (2011, February 11). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/eating-disorders/signs-of-eating-disorders
Team, D. W. (2022, February 6). “They wanted voluptuous women”: Erica Fernandes opens up on being body-shamed in the South film industry. DNA India. https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-they-wanted-voluptuous-women-erica-fernandes-opens-up-on-being-body-shamed-in-south-film-industry-2932478
Warner, A. (2018, May 28). 30 Celebrities Who Have Fought Back Against Body Shaming. Marie Claire Magazine. https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/g20834252/celebrity-body-shaming-responses/
