The Disorder in Control- Gainers vs Anorexics.

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Eating disorders are a part of many people’s lives. They are psychological disorders that affect the relationship individuals have with food and their own body image. According to online medical resources Anorexia-nervosa affects 1 in 20 teenagers in the UK, though teens are not the only sufferers of the illness. Symptoms of anorexia include starving oneself in order to lose weight and keep their weight as low as possible. One of the main symptoms that stand out for me is the body image distortion that sufferers tend to have. This causes the sufferer to perceive their body as different to how it actually looks; anorexics see themselves as fat or overweight when they are thin or even underweight, even though they can acknowledge others who are of a healthier size than themsevles to be “thin”.

When I studied psychology at A-level the module on eating disorders was an eye opener. It made me aware of how body image and our opinions of body image are altered and affected by many things. There are multiple theories about eating behaviour and eating disorders within the psychological and medical community. As I have mentioned briefly in other blog posts the most obvious cause of eating disorders stems from how “Contemporary culture is obsessed with bodies” (Di Benedetto, 2007, p. 127), as can be seen in the media on a daily basis. However, of the many theories associated with eating disorders the theory that sprang to my mind when we started looking into feeders and gainers were the psychodynamic theories. According to Hilde Bruch’s Psychodynamic theory, anorexics are engaged in a struggle for their own identity and are in conflict with their parents, especially their mothers for personal control. Bruch claimed that the origins of Anorexia can be found in early childhood where parents failed to respond to their child’s needs effectively. This leads to the child becoming confused about what its own internal needs really are, causing them to become over reliant on the mother or primary carer to tell them what they need and when. Bruch’s theory suggests that during adolescents the over reliant teen seeks to establish autonomy and find a way of having some control over their own life. A person may have limited control to what they look like, but they can have control over their weight and how thin they look, as only they can determin how much of what food they consume. Limiting the food they eat, sometimes to the point of starvation not only gives them control, but creates a visual representation of that control. It has also been suggested that over protective parents or “pushy” parents can also cause teens to take drastic measures to achieve autonomy. Interestingly a statement from a patient in a study on the causes of adolescent onset anorexia nervosa a supports this theory;

“I was the first child of very young parents that overprotected me” (Nilsson, 2008, p 128).

In the feeder/gainer relationship however the gainers appear happy to relinquish control over their body and allow another human being to have power over various aspects of their life, including the food they consume; the polar opposite of anorexics.

Another theory on anorexia that suggests that gainers have polar opposite mentalities to anorexics is Freud’s psychodynamic theory. Interestingly, though unsurprisingly, in Freudian psychology eating is a substitute for sexual behaviour. Freud suggested that refusal to eat can be interpreted as a means to repress sexuality. He stated that starvation was a means of a person retaining their child like body, both visually in that the “skinny” body looks childlike and therefore less sexually attractive, and biologically, in that in girls being underweight can cause Amenorrhoea (defined by the absence of periods for three of more months in girls who have already started menstruation) and could therefore be seen as prepubescent and therefore not sexually desirable. Gainers on the other hand seek to put on weight to make their bodies more attractive and in a way promote their sexuality. They state that having more fat on the body makes them feel more attractive and say that it makes them feel more comfortable or confident in themselves. I personally find it hard to believe that such a self destructive way of living could make anyone lead a happier life, yet the phenominon is not limited to a few individuals, there are many gainers out there who all claim the same thing.

While it is easy to argue that on a psychodynamic, non chemical level, the reasoning behind the act of starvation in anorexics and gorging in gainers are very much opposite it could also be argued that they are very much the same. The aim of both being to reshape and retrain their body to make themselves into what they perceive to be a more attractive figure.

 

 Works Cited

Brawner, L (2008) ‘Linda Montano, Anorexia nervosa and an art of hunger’, Women & Performance, 18, 2, pp. 127-132.

Di Benedetto, S (2007) Contemporary Live Art and Sensoral Perception. In: Sally Banes and Andre Lepecki (eds.) The Senses in Performance. London: Routledge.

Newton, L (2012) Anorexia Nervosa. [Online] Available from: http://www.patient.co.uk/health/anorexia-nervosa-leaflet# [Accessed 4 December 2013].

Nilsson, K, Abrahamsson, E, Torbiornsson, A, & Hägglöf, B (2007) ‘Causes of adolescent onset anorexia nervosa: patient perspectives’, Eating Disorders, 15, 2, pp. 125-133.

Skarderud, F (2009) ‘Bruch Revisited and Revised’, European Eating Disorders Review, 17, 2, pp. 83-88.

 

 

Primary Nights 1-2-1: Rebecca Gamble

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Keeping up to date with current news in the area, it came to my attention that Rebecca Gamble was putting on a piece as part of Primary Nights: 1-2-1 which was a series of one to one performances at hatch in Nottingham. Below is a description of the piece:

‘You are invited to encounter a 1-2-1 gastronomic performance that plays with notions of host and guest. Choose your instrument at the door. You are invited to either feed or eat. The encounter ends on the sounding of the bell’ (Hatch Nottingham, 2013)

This reminded me of an earlier idea we had which involved the audience feeding us. This piece on the other hand is one on one and left the audience member to their own devices when it came to decision making. Although we moved away from this idea, it still plays with the element of intimacy and ‘host and guest’. Two people’s relationship with food and the idea of what is appropriate when it comes to someone feeding another person.

I contacted Rebecca Gamble via her website hoping to find out more information on her piece and why she chose to explore the host and guest relationship, as we are exploring the feeder/gainer relationship.

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(Click to enlarge the image and read the email to Rebecca Gamble. Taken by: Kirsty Jakins 4.12.13)

It also got me thinking about whether these two relationships are similar in anyway and if so how? In our piece we are exploring control, whereas Gamble seems to be looking at intimacy and pushing the audience. We too are pushing the audience but in a completely different way. They are as much involved by having to view what the feeder will put the gainer through. In Gamble’s piece the audience could feed her as a host, which is breaking what is the norm. We are also breaking a norm with feeding as you normally feed yourself and can control what enters your body. Here complete control is given to the feeder. These relationships will be discovered tomorrow when we discover out roles in the straw drawing process.

Works Cited

Hatch Nottingham (2013) Primary Nights 1-2-1. [online] Available at: http://www.hatchnottingham.org.uk/?p=3055 [Accessed: 4.12.13].

Pulled! The Short Straw.

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As of today, I am Lizzy’s Gainer, and she is my Feeder.

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Photo Credit: Lizzy Hayes and Lauren Watson, 5.12.13

If I said I was looking forward to this role within the performance, I would be lying. After our work-in-progress showing, the reality and difficultly of this task dawned on me. I am going to have to eat for 2 hours.

One of the scariest and daunting aspects of this performance is that it is a “relationship of domination, control and dependency” (Mateus 2008, p. s184), completely controlled by my Feeder, Lizzy. The quantity of food is, and will remain unknown to me until the performance. All the control is now handed over to the Feeders within the group. I like food, and I like to eat to remain healthy. Usually with the often small binge on junk food. And this is fine, I don’t mind if I over indulge one day, because I am in control. I know how much I am eating, what of, and when I’ll stop. So, for this control to be passed to another is terrifying. However, I don’t believe that this role is going to be harder than the role of Feeder. Personally, I would hate to have that much control over someone else, and to remain in role throughout the two hours. The possibility of the Gainer gagging, crying or being sick is something which I would struggle to handle whilst remaining impartial to it.

When left “[un]marked, the rituals of everyday life can be intimate or even secret” (Schechner 2013, p. 52), but with the frame and context of the Feeder fetish, the ritual of food and feeding becomes unrelenting. The ritual when repeated becomes exhausting, and resented by both parties. Although this claims not to be the case with actual Feeder/Gainer relationships, I am worried that my relationship and own rituals towards food will be tainted or altered by this experience.

Works cited
Mateus, M.A,  C.S Silva, O. Neves, J. Redondo (2008) ‘Feeders: Eating or sexual disorder?’, European Psychiatry, XXIII (2) April, pp. s184-185.
Schechner, Richard (2002[2013]) Performance Studies: An Introduction, New York: Routledge.

 

The Making Of Food

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Nutrition plays a vital part with our bodies, which keeps us growing, this educates and develops our knowledge with taste, smells and experience with foods.  Process of food changes within the social context that I am in, for instance, I relate food as a pleasurable and social situation making the process of food something I enjoy doing.  When making a homemade dinner I tend to add spices and different flavours to create a tasteful dinner which I appreciate it.

‘Cooking is a moral process, transferring raw matter from ‘nature’ to the state of ‘culture’, and thereby taming and domesticating it. This act may be as simple as plucking a piece of fruit from a tree and washing it, or cutting it with a knife, or it may be as complex as the greatest creations of haute cuisine, requiring hours of preparation. Food is therefore ‘civilized’ by cooking, not simply at the level of practice, but at the level of the imagination.’ (Lupton.D, 1996, 2)

Cooking is a process which is something I enjoy doing, for some people it can be seen as a hobby. It’s a way of learning, interacting, being creative and experimental with food.  The control is in your hands.

Do you find yourself appreciating a homemade dinner better than you would if some else makes it? Personally I find when making your own food you do appreciate the hard work which you put into the process of making it, to seeing the finished product, it’s a sense of achievement. What happens to when you switch the roles round? When someone else makes your food? Do you freak out and tend to question everything that is put into the recipe or do you naturally leave that person to it? These questions may just raise a few open discussions about how people process their food and the control they have, choosing to eat particular foods. With cooking your own food you have the choice to choose certain foods we like, our calories intake and portions sizes, having that control over the choices we make creates a balanced relationship with food. ‘We say “we know what we like”, but it would be more accurate to say “we like what we know”.’ (Fisher, Bender, 1979,113) With experience, we create judgement from presentation, to smells, creating an overall opinion before tasting the food.

     ‘from earliest infancy, the experience of easting is intertwined with their experience of close human contact with the provider of the food-the bodily warmth, the touch of the other’s flesh, their smell, the sounds they make- and the emotions and sensations aroused by this experience….enjoying filling the stomach…emotional and sensual responses to the person or people who provide the food’ (Lupton, 1996,7,8)

Our experimental explores the relationship between the Feeder and Gainer and how the control is completely in the feeders hand, this allows the feeder to produce the foods, adding a high calorie intake into each product.  Not only does this explore the relationship between the food and the Gainer, the Feeder develops an intimate relationship with the food. This is clear due to the overall control of the Feeder, due to them knowing the ingredients within the finished recipes, which may create an emotional attachment to certain recipes, making the Gainer eat more of what the Feeder likes, due to their personal experience with that particular dish.

Work Cited

Lupton,D. (1996) Food, the body and the self. London: SAGE Publications ltd

Fisher,P. Bender,A. (1979) The Value of Food. Third edition. London: Oxford University Press.

A personal relationship

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When we first researched into the feeder fetish I personally felt disturbed. It confused me as to how becoming hideously overweight and putting your health at risk could be in any way pleasurable or desirable, as Coultate and Davies state, ” excess body weight can lead to all sorts of health problems and life expectancy may be considerably reduced” (1994, p29). The health risks of being overweight are obvious to everyone and an important topic taught about in school. There is no longer an excuse of ignorance in a world when the risks are made clear in every walk of life, so are these risks to the body less important than the fetish? We all have different relationships with food and may know someone who has been affected by an eating disorder. It is a big topic of discussion as it is so central to life.

Personally, I enjoy food. I love going out for meals in restaurants with my boyfriend, friends and family as it is a great place to socialise whilst enjoying delicious food. I have never suffered with an eating disorder and have been lucky to maintain a healthy weight throughout my life. As a typical teenage girl I was always conscious of how I looked and tried to maintain a healthy figure and this continues to the present day. I will never be 100% happy with my figure; I am a perfectionist in every aspect of my life so my body is no exception. However I am starting to feel more comfortable in my skin now I have settled into a healthy size 10.  I feel like this is my natural, ideal size and wouldn’t want to be any bigger or smaller, (although maybe slightly more toned!).

Thinking about the performance and what I will have to go through if I am chosen as the consumer is slightly daunting. Although I love food, I often go through stages where I do not feel the desire to eat large amounts, often I do not want to eat at all. During the run up to performances and deadlines it has been particularly stressful and when I feel overcome with stress, my hunger levels drop dramatically. If I am stressed on the day of performance how will this affect my ability to eat and how long will I last before I cannot stomach any more?

Works Cited

Coultate, Tom and Davies, Jill (1994) Food: The definitive guide Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry