Anorexia: A “losing” strategy?

Abstract

Several theorists have tried to model anorexia on Wasser and Barash's (1983) "reproductive suppression model" (RSM). According to the RSM, individual females adaptively suppress their reproductive functioning under conditions of social or physiological stress. From this perspective, mild anorexia is viewed as an adaptive response to modern conditions; more severe anorexia is viewed as an adaptation gone awry. Previous models have not, however, examined the full richness of the RSM. Specifically, Wasser and Barash documented not only self-imposed reproductive suppression, but also manipulative reproductive suppression of subordinate females by dominants. I propose that the modern "epidemic" of anorexia is explained neither by adaptive self-suppression nor by environmental mismatch (an adaptation gone awry); I propose that the "epidemic" levels of anorexia seen in modern western society are a direct consequence of intrasexual competition, the scope of which has been enhanced by the power and reach of modern communications media. According to this perspective, anorexia, even in its mild forms, is a manipulative strategy imposed on subordinates by dominants. Anorexia is, in both senses, a "losing" strategy.

Mating games: cultural evolution and sexual selection

“…In other words, the fact that Brad Pitt and other top players are not really our sexual rivals does not mean that one does not perceive them as sexual rivals. Linda Mealey has forwarded the hypothesis that anorexia is the result of a mismatch between (a) women's evolved tendency to compete for male attention and (b) the 'unnatural' female models featured by today's mass media that makes winning the competition virtually impossible for most 'ordinary' women (Mealey 2000).…”

Do human females use indirect aggression as an intrasexual competition strategy?

“…Eating disorders disproportionately affect adolescent girls and young women, with approximately 40% of eating disorders beginning in late adolescence [63]. It has been suggested that not only are eating disorders a direct consequence of intrasexual competition, but also females, not males, promote the culture of thinness [53].…”

Anorexia Nervosa and First-Person Perspective: Altruism, Family System, and Body Experience

“…The status of sexuality and reproductive potential is also evoked. The anorexic person's reproductive potential may be suppressed via amenorrhea when conditions are bad [9,12], or else this potential may be suppressed by a dominant female who attempts to eliminate a rival from the "breeding race" by pushing female teenagers to starve themselves, thus leading to amenorrhea [8,13]. Stevens and Price [10] also approach the disorder from the "social ranking theory" point of view, proposing to consider eating disorders as a sort of remainder of class struggle.…”