Healthism Effects

The Destructive Effects of Healthism Healthism states that primary importance lies in personal fitness and wellbeing. It results in destructive effects on the American society, creating a hostile environment by reinforcing victim blaming. Healthism also reinforces longstanding prejudices which promote a false illusion that bases personal worth off of fitness and health. Rather than unify a culture, healthism creates division in American society. First, healthism fosters destructive tendencies toward society by reinforcing longstanding prejudices. Healthism influences people to form quick judgements based off of other people’s appearances and environment. Ehrenreich supports this statement by saying,“It is easy for the middle-class fiber …show more content…
Society seeks someone or something to blame for every malady that affects an individual’s life. Ehrenreich states,“We’ve come to see every illness as a punishment for past transgressions.” (Ehrenreich, 1995, P. 349) We perceive lack of fitness as an explanation for transgressions unassociated with the wellbeing of an individual. In reality, healthism cannot explain why an individual died in a tragic car accident, suffered for years with cancer, or dealt with other such predicaments. Ehrenreich states, “The fact is that we do die, all of us. . . The final tragedy of healthism is that it leaves us so ill-prepared for the inevitable.” (Ehrenreich, 1995, P. 350) Life continues regardless of how fit an individual may be, and some things as a result remain unexplainable. Healthism misleads society by providing a hindering bias. Society ties a majority of its identity and personal worth into …show more content…
As a result, people compare themselves to others, often perceiving themselves as inferior, thus creating a hostile environment. Ehrenreich states as a fait accompli, “We redefine virtue as health.” (Ehrenreich, 1995, P. 347) Society promotes this illusion with photo-edited models creating an unreachable standard for living. We compare ourselves to these unattainable standards, worshipping them as an ultimate goal. Because of this, we allow ourselves no compassion: “Ours is a hierarchy of hardness. . . no compassion, only the coldest of snubs.” (Ehrenreich, 1995, P. 348) Americans live in bondage to an ideal state of life. If we miss a day at the gym, we promise ourselves that we will work twice as hard next time. Healthism promotes hardness and hostility rather than compassion, thus turning health into an obligation rather than an

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