
But that was real. It didn’t artificially reify stereotypes of women being scared in subway stations at night. The take-away was simply that this stuff is annoying.
I thought of something: Anorexia. That condition where people, mainly young women, starve themselves to death. This is often claimed to be the result of unrealistic beauty standards in media. Women are also more often diagnosed with phobias. Why aren’t we talking more about a possible role for stereotypes here.
FWIW, I am very skeptical about the role of beauty standards in anorexia. Vague societal expectations seem a poor explanation for something as drastic as starving yourself to death, especially given how most people are overweight. But I am also sure that my behavior would be different in many ways, if I wasn’t expected to “man up”.




















What made it so bad?