The Book Post

This week I attended Sydney Girls High to speak at the launch of Why Can’t I Look The Way I Want? by Melinda Hutchings, a book about body image and overcoming eating issues.

I first met Melinda at the launch of her book How to Recover from Anorexia and Other Eating Disorders in 2001, and we have been close friends since. I could see right away that she was genuinely passionate about encouraging healthy body image in the community and helping others to recover from eating disorders. Melinda herself suffered from and overcame an eating disorder, so she understands first hand the issues involved.

At the launch I was awed by the personal stories of the other speakers, Chris Gibson and Rachael Oakes-Ash, who had their own tales to tell about struggles with eating disorders, but like Jacinta Tynan, who acted as MC at the launch, I did not have the same kind of story to tell. The reason I wanted to speak at Melinda’s launch in 2001, and the reason I spoke at the launch of Why Can’t I Look The Way I Want?, is that I have seen the effects of eating disorders, although in another context.

This is what I had to say about body image at Sydney Girls High for the launch of Why Can’t I Look The Way I Want?:

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Before I quit modeling for the infinitely more glamorous career of a writer (see my post 'The Hazards of Writing'), I spent 10 years in the fashion industry. In that time I witnessed fashion models and fashion industry professionals from New York to Paris struggling with unrealistic body image. There was much discussion about the size of thighs, bottoms and busts, the food consumed or not consumed on the weekend, and who was or was not 'fat' at the moment. Few weeks passed without the presence of a measuring tape or the dreaded scales. I watched a lot of models use drastic methods to 'measure down'. Some went on dangerous crash diets or chain smoked, and some others hid eating disorders that were only visible to those closest to them. It is an industry that will tell you that you are too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too busty, too flat, that your nose or chin or eyes or legs aren’t good enough for this client or that. Superficial judgments are a fairly consistent occupational downside of a career spent being chosen for jobs based on your looks.

These were not issues everyone shared, of course, but it was prevalent across each of the cities where I modeled - New York, Milan, Paris, Barcelona, London and even Sydney. I still find it ironic that teenage models - many of whom suffer with insecurities about their supposed imperfections - are posed and perfected in advertising images that go straight into the hands of other young people who can’t help but look at those perfected images of beauty and wonder Why Can’t I Look Like That?

There is no such thing as perfect.

The modeling industry is hardly the first or only profession linked to a strong focus on body image and weight. Ballerinas, dancers, athletes and anyone who finds themselves in public eye has a higher than usual occupational pressure to be a certain weight or look a certain way. If we don't look the way we want, we shouldn't blame the fashion industry. We should not blame celebrities, either, or television and advertising executives, or the weigh scales, or the size zero jeans on the rack in our local designer store. It is all of us. Our current cultural view of beauty is too narrow on a number of levels, and this myopic, external view of beauty – this public and over-publicized pursuit of a spotless, airbrushed, wrinkle-free and fat-free ‘perfect’ - contributes to a too-prevalent behind-closed-doors culture of self-loathing that no one is untouched by, whether they be young or old, female or male, tall or short, naturally thin or heavy, model, dancer, politician or school teacher. To varying degrees, and to different effects, the issue of body image affects us all. If we don't encourage a more balanced view, we can surely expect the prevalence of eating disorders and psychological illness to continue to increase in young people.

Thankfully, some media commentators and magazines are doing their part to help encourage a culture that aspires to the beauty of 'intelligence, style and health'. Give me curves, give me athletic, give me pale, give me darkly exotic, give me pictures of gorgeous Charlotte Rampling (63) and beautiful Miranda Kerr (26), and the words of our best female writers. I enjoy a glossy magazine that offers me substance, beautiful variety and style to enjoy, rather than page after page on the pursuit of thinness and youth above all else.

More than ever, we need public voices of reason in the body image debate.

In Why Can’t I Look The Way I Want? Melinda Hutchings has drawn on a variety of stories of real people successfully overcoming their own personal body image issues, and she offers valuable information, advice, tips and inspiration, proving once again why she is an important and much needed voice on the ever more relevant topics of body image and eating disorders.

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After the launch of her latest book, the very busy Melinda Hutchings kindly let me bail her up for my five quick questions:

1. Tell me about the experience of writing your book, Why Can't I Look The Way I Want?

It was an amazing journey where I connected with many people involved in treating eating disorders, including psychologists and health professionals, as well as 17 young adults who have battled anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder - including one teen male - and recovered. Over several months I pulled together a concise book that explores the pain, the struggle and the heartache of living with an eating issue, the process of recovery, and how to move on and create a happy and fulfilling life.

2. What inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to speak out about the complexity of emotions, to help those struggling with an eating issue feel less alone. I also wanted to provide true examples of people who have come through their eating issue and have gone on to live a life that is true to what is in their hearts, as well as their individuality.

3. What have been some of your challenges as a writer?
The largest challenge I have faced is self doubt. Sometimes it's easier to believe the bad press over the good. That, coupled with being a perfectionist, means I am my own worst critic.

4. What is your writing routine like when you are on deadline?

I am focused and committed to my writing projects, so when I am on deadline, my writing takes priority. I hibernate with green tea, hommous & rice crackers for eight solid hours every day until my manuscript reaches that level of excellence.

5. What is the strangest question you have been asked about your work?

I was speaking at an all girl's private school to the year 9 students, in the presence of their headmistress and a handful of teachers, about the dangers of dieting and the importance of positive body image. One girl put up her hand and asked "do you lose weight if you smoke?"

Melinda Hutchings is a media commentator, author and public speaker on the topic of eating disorders and teen issues. Her third book Why Can’t I Look the Way I Want was recently published by Allen & Unwin, and her fourth book Why Won’t Anyone Listen will be published in 2010. Her website www.bodycage.com has had over 500,000 hits.


(Above: At the launch of Why Can’t I Look the Way I Want?, having my copy of signed by the author.)

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Happy reading,