When eating disorders or body image conflicts are mentioned, the face we imagine is one of youth. It may be a preteen, an adolescent, or a young adult woman, but seldom do we visualize the face of an aging woman. Yet, contemporary western culture consistently values women's bodies and appearance above other attributes, and sexualized images of female bodies saturate mass media, shaping the prevailing ideal. Of course, women of all ages who live in this culture are affected.
Adult women are on display; they are often criticized for transgressing that ever-shifting fine line between being too sexy or not sexy enough, and they often are completely dismissed when they no longer look young. It goes without saying that older female faces are not particularly popular images in film, fashion, advertising, print media, or television, unless the reference is breast cancer, menopause, or some other medical condition that predominantly affects older women. Moreover, this is an age when the female body can be "fixed" via medical technology, whether it be through laser hair removal, botox injections, chemical and surgical face/neck lifts, nose jobs, breast implants, surgery for "correction of the buttocks,"and liposuction. This is an age when cosmetic plastic surgery can even be purchased at a mall during a lunch hour (eg, botox injections, laser skin resurfacing, dermabrasion, chemical peels, permanent eyeliner). The point is that these procedures are now offered in retail centers, so it's like buying a new dress – it has been normalized, despite the potential risk and the meaning -- that is, chemically or surgically changing one's body.
Many women have come to believe that they can (and should) be in complete command of their bodies. In this era of body control and unrealistic beauty images, the rhythmic cycles of the female body, many of which are associated with weight gain, such as premenstrual bloating, pregnancy, and the slower menopausal metabolism, present great challenges. If a woman's power is still defined in terms of beauty and a youthful body, the 8 to 12 pounds she naturally gains at menopause can be a source of great distress and anticipated disempowerment. And the current reality is that more and more, older women who are approaching or beyond "midlife" are struggling with their bodies and their eating and are in need of professional help.