USD $118.00
Silenced by the WEIGHT of the Matriarchal Crown
A Baby Boomer Speaks about Becoming Anorexic
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Author:
We live in a patriarchal world where women view themselves through the scripted lens of imperfection. Contemporary social media intensifies this message. Girls are bombarded with unnatural presentations of beauty, which they are told they will never achieve. Current research into the impact of social media, specifically Instagram and Tik Tok reveals its relationship to eating disorders and to other adolescent mental health identity issues.
Transforming the perception of female identity in modern western society will require a deep cultural facelift as well as a celebration of that transformation.
This book draws attention to the patriarchal mandates placed upon women during the 1960s. The author explores the combined impact which media and maternal influences had upon her adolescent identity development inclusive of anorexia. This volume includes two distinct parts: Part 1 (“She Speaks”) the author’s pre-adolescent memoir, and Part 2 (“They Speak”) an exploration of historical, psychological, and social identity influencers as well as an arts-based workshop designed to empower adolescent girls. You the reader, may choose to first immerse yourself in the narrative (Part 1) or to stand back and get an overview (Part 2), prior to that immersion.
Transforming the perception of female identity in modern western society will require a deep cultural facelift as well as a celebration of that transformation.
This book draws attention to the patriarchal mandates placed upon women during the 1960s. The author explores the combined impact which media and maternal influences had upon her adolescent identity development inclusive of anorexia. This volume includes two distinct parts: Part 1 (“She Speaks”) the author’s pre-adolescent memoir, and Part 2 (“They Speak”) an exploration of historical, psychological, and social identity influencers as well as an arts-based workshop designed to empower adolescent girls. You the reader, may choose to first immerse yourself in the narrative (Part 1) or to stand back and get an overview (Part 2), prior to that immersion.
Dicki Johnson Macy, PhD (Union Institute, 2022), Director of the Boston Children’s Foundation, creates arts-based healing rituals for women and children victimized by patriarchal oppression.
Remembering the Collective Body: A Dynamic Understanding of Attunement and Healing (JPPP, 2007) highlights her work.
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Introduction
PART 1: She Speaks
1 Introduction: Memoir Snapshots
1 Red
2 Maternity
3 The First Glimpse at My Princess Crown
4 A Gift
5 Mary Had a Little Lamb
6 Best Friends
7 Sailing
8 Song
9 Choir Love
10 Getting Hurt
11 Fear
12 The Chauffeur
13 Corn
14 My Dream Play
15 Storms
16 Gold Lame
17 Blue Baby
18 The Heart of the House
19 Barbara the Rebel
20 The Prom Gown
21 Mom’s Dressing Table
22 The Helpers Club
23 The Register
24 The First Princess Room
25 Individual Photos
26 The Baby Carriage
27 Grooming
28 Fruitwood Table
29 Townie or Country Club Set
30 Clean Plate Club
31 Kotex 1945
32 Barbizon Hotel
33 Cinnamon
34 Knitting
35 Cinderella
36 Shoo Fly Pie
37 Love Songs
38 Listening
39 Practical Jokes
40 Being Two
41 Champagne Bubbles
42 Invisible Rooms
43 Being Five
44 Amish Tour Bus
45 My Closet
46 Pomeroy’s Department Store
47 The Red Chevy Belair
48 Mom, My Hero
49 The Untouchables
50 Photo by Bachrach
51 Filet Mignon
52 Untouchables Part Two: The Plastic Runner
53 Lots of Handsome Doctors
54 Daddy’s Lap
55 All Alone on the Prairie, My Horse and Me
56 Bitten
PART 2: They Speak
2 Let’s Start at the Very Beginning…: Safety, Trust, and Attachment
1 Introduction
2 Neurobiology and Prenatal Influence
3 Impact upon Mothers
4 Ambivalent Emotions
5 Maternal Feeding
6 Re-Attachment
3 Outside: Shaping the Scripted Body
1 Introduction
2 Vocally Bipolar
3 Body Politics: Female and Nature
4 Why Females Experience Highest Rates of Anorexia Nervosa
5 Patriarchal: Social Expectations and Media Influence
6 Beauty Ideal
7 Music
8 Stories and TV
9 Glamorization and Mimicry: Social Media
10 Isolation: Fuel or Extinguish the Anorexic Fire
11 Contemporary Social Media
4 Choosing Anorexia: The Vocal Body
1 Introduction
2 Treatment
3 Rites of Passage into Womanhood
5 The Unholy Triumvirate—Art-Female-Nature: Devalued Interventions
1 Introduction
2 Memoir
3 My Memoir Themes and Memoir Excerpts
4 Memoir as Autoethnographic
5 Teen Girl Empowerment Workshop
6 Description of the Workshop for Parents and Teachers
7 Opening Circle Ritual
8 My Observations from Pilot Groups
Conclusion: We Speak
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Introduction
PART 1: She Speaks
1 Introduction: Memoir Snapshots
1 Red
2 Maternity
3 The First Glimpse at My Princess Crown
4 A Gift
5 Mary Had a Little Lamb
6 Best Friends
7 Sailing
8 Song
9 Choir Love
10 Getting Hurt
11 Fear
12 The Chauffeur
13 Corn
14 My Dream Play
15 Storms
16 Gold Lame
17 Blue Baby
18 The Heart of the House
19 Barbara the Rebel
20 The Prom Gown
21 Mom’s Dressing Table
22 The Helpers Club
23 The Register
24 The First Princess Room
25 Individual Photos
26 The Baby Carriage
27 Grooming
28 Fruitwood Table
29 Townie or Country Club Set
30 Clean Plate Club
31 Kotex 1945
32 Barbizon Hotel
33 Cinnamon
34 Knitting
35 Cinderella
36 Shoo Fly Pie
37 Love Songs
38 Listening
39 Practical Jokes
40 Being Two
41 Champagne Bubbles
42 Invisible Rooms
43 Being Five
44 Amish Tour Bus
45 My Closet
46 Pomeroy’s Department Store
47 The Red Chevy Belair
48 Mom, My Hero
49 The Untouchables
50 Photo by Bachrach
51 Filet Mignon
52 Untouchables Part Two: The Plastic Runner
53 Lots of Handsome Doctors
54 Daddy’s Lap
55 All Alone on the Prairie, My Horse and Me
56 Bitten
PART 2: They Speak
2 Let’s Start at the Very Beginning…: Safety, Trust, and Attachment
1 Introduction
2 Neurobiology and Prenatal Influence
3 Impact upon Mothers
4 Ambivalent Emotions
5 Maternal Feeding
6 Re-Attachment
3 Outside: Shaping the Scripted Body
1 Introduction
2 Vocally Bipolar
3 Body Politics: Female and Nature
4 Why Females Experience Highest Rates of Anorexia Nervosa
5 Patriarchal: Social Expectations and Media Influence
6 Beauty Ideal
7 Music
8 Stories and TV
9 Glamorization and Mimicry: Social Media
10 Isolation: Fuel or Extinguish the Anorexic Fire
11 Contemporary Social Media
4 Choosing Anorexia: The Vocal Body
1 Introduction
2 Treatment
3 Rites of Passage into Womanhood
5 The Unholy Triumvirate—Art-Female-Nature: Devalued Interventions
1 Introduction
2 Memoir
3 My Memoir Themes and Memoir Excerpts
4 Memoir as Autoethnographic
5 Teen Girl Empowerment Workshop
6 Description of the Workshop for Parents and Teachers
7 Opening Circle Ritual
8 My Observations from Pilot Groups
Conclusion: We Speak
Index
Women and girls who have experienced patriarchal silencing or suppression; those seeking personal empowerment through reclamation of voice; Clinicians seeking arts-based treatment options for female anorexia; mothers and all caregivers.