The social construction of women and disordered eating patterns

This investigation examined the impact of the social construction of women on the development of disordered eating. Based on a survey completed by 394 young women from the community, self-silencing of needs and voice, the suppression of the outward expression of anger, and the internalization of the objectified gaze toward one's own body were found, in multiple regression analyses, to significantly predict scores on eating disorder measures. Together, they explain between 27% and 46% of the variance on these measures. This study supports the need to consider the development of disordered eating within the context of multiple gender-based social constructions.