Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Weight, Identity, and Self-Talk in Women

Case Analysis #1 ~ Synopsis

 I will discuss the concepts and relationship between Reece, Charelle, and Emma from the story, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Weight, Identity, & Self-Talk in Woman”. I will try to analyze the use of some of the behaviors in interpersonal relationships, the use of verbal and nonverbal cues, and how these girl’s relationships are dynamic.

Case Analysis #1  

In the story, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Weight, Identity, & Self-Talk in Women”, by Wendy S. Davies-Popelka, she addresses and discusses a real concern facing more and more young people every day. She focuses on three characters, Reece, Emma, and Charelle. Reece is obsessed about her weight, thinking she is overweight, while Emma and Charelle are her best friends, whom are concern that she has a eating disorder, but is at an average weight of 120 pounds. The girls try to tell Reece her weight is fine, but she doesn’t listen and tends to withdraw from others and punishing herself for eating a cookie or a snippet of frosting. She tends to over work herself in the gym and will not rest until she reaches her goal (which is to get back to what she weighed in High School) of weighing 110 pounds is complete.

I have observed from this story,that the girls have been close to one another for a longtime. Reece and Emma appear to share more of a bond in friendship, than Reece and Charelle. A reason for this openness is that Reece and Emma are roommates, which characterizes their unique interaction patterns, which is why Emma seems to know more about Reece than Charelle would.

Since Reece and Emma share this bond they have an interpersonal relationship. Their friendship mirrors mutual influence which is one of the three types of behaviors in interpersonal relationship. Mutual influence is the behavior these girls have in common. Both the girls most likely met one another when they first entered into college. Reece is concerned about her weight and has shared this problem with Emma. While Emma, has expressed her concerns about Reece’s health issues to Charelle. This is where Emma and Charelle try to intervene and support each other to confront Reece with her heath issue.

Continuing on in the story, I can see/visualize the verbal and nonverbal reactions Reece has with her weight and her close friend Emma. Reece’s verbal messages, are when she tells her friends that she must lose weight. Her verbal cues are given to explain her feelings about being ‘fat’ and reciting everything she ate the previous day is to confirm why she must punish herself. Her nonverbal cues, however, give a deeper and broader detail about what makes her think shes fat and urges her to want to lose weight. With her vocalic, she tends to withdraw from her family, friends, and others, leaving her to her own  thoughts about how fat and weak she is for eating a cookie or a morsel of frosting. Therefore she thinks consistently about her weight.  

As I read about Reece and Emma, they seem to have a good friendship and they seem to get along, but when Emma expresses her concern about Reece’s eating disorder, which then their relationship showed proxemics. Emma expresses her belief that Reece's current weight is fine, but Reece believes that Emma is the lucky one because she does not have to think about watching what she eats, for she has the perfect figure. Therefore, their relationship is also dynamic. Near the end of the story, Emma attempted communication when she asked Reece if she will join her and Charelle for dinner. Reece responds that she has loads of homework to do and she has got to workout for an additional 30 minutes because of the food she ate yesterday and that afternoon. Emma pleads with Reece that she must eat and that she shouldn’t let it ruin her life. Reece then displays one of the seven fundamental themes of relational communication, Emotional arousal and activation when she rushes off in distress and avoids the conversation. As such, Emma is left standing with Charelle and both are unsure of how to communicate with Reece showing that their relational communication flows both linear and nonlinear patterns. These three friendships were formed by contextual and relational means and their communication mirrors and guides their relationship.  

I can relate to this story, as I sat back and read it and then reread it. I began to think of the time in my own life when my own eating disorder was ruining my life. I didn't want to hear any of my friends or family's thoughts or opinions. It was my life not theirs. However, it was because of the good and close relationships, interpersonal relationships I had built with my friends and family that encouraged and nurtured our interpersonal communication that mutual influence, relational communication and successful communication that enhanced our unique interaction patterns that lead to our needs being fulfilled. All without any further harm to myself or the ones, I care about. I learned then that Communication is the key, not just to happiness, but life.