I am sure most women know that the main criterion for beauty in American society is to be thin. However, thinness does not mean a woman can eat whatever she wants and not suffer the consequences. To stay thin women carefully count calories and monitor what kinds of food they eat. Apparently doing work to stay thin is unacceptable because it means you are uptight and unapproachable.

Women cannot be expected to eat double bacon cheeseburgers each day and stay a small size. They will most likely gain weight and not thin anymore. I question my guy friends who say they want a “woman that eats,” because they only like when a thin woman eats what she wants.

A woman that is thin and seems to eat whatever she wants all the time is a dream woman to some men. This preference can often have insidious consequences because women feel pressured to maintain their weight, but also not put effort into maintaining their weight. What men are really saying is that a woman can eat whatever she wants until she is no longer attractive and must diet. Women who are sexually attractive can eat what they want because they are seen as relatable. If a larger woman were to do that, men would view her as a lazy slob.

We want to think that we can ignore the media’s manipulation of beauty standards and male preferences, but that is not always the case. We all want to feel normal and accepted in our society, and the desire to be accepted drives women to great lengths to achieve it. One of the most visible consequences is a behavior known as Liarexia. Liarexia is when a person eats large portions of unhealthy food in public and then restricts their portions in private.

If a woman is thin she is considered beautiful, but our society believes that a thin woman engaged in disordered eating to achieve her figure. Thin women then feel compelled to eat large portions of junk food in order to prove that their weight is down to genetics and that they eat “normally.”Women cannot win. We must be thin, but not work at it because if we work at it, we have an eating disorder.

Liarexia is an attempt to possess criteria that many men supposedly like. Be thin and eat all the time, but do not get fat. Ladies, next time a man says he wants a “woman that eats,” realize that it is a load of crap because once you pack on weight it is no longer acceptable for you to eat what you want.