Do These Jeans Make Me Look Fat? Adolescent Eating Disordered Behaviors and Body Image Dissatisfaction as Examined in Linda Daugherty's Eat (It's Not About Food)

Western culture maintains an intense obsession with body image. The sheer volume of diet and performance-enhancing products, as well as weight loss and exercise plans; prove dizzying in an intensely mediated culture. Moreover, the equation of thinness as physical perfection permeates these mediated messages. Teenagers have a particular vulnerability to the concept of body image. Teenagers battle internal as well as external physical pressures surrounding the thin-ideal on a daily basis. Yet, too often these struggles remain unspoken, leading to the development of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa. I propose that a theatrical experience which presents the dark and tortured world of body image and eating disorders provides the necessary spark for positive conversation as a means to challenge the mediated thin-ideal. Through analysis of Linda Daugherty’s 2008 script, Eat (It’s Not About Food), alongside the medical literature, the potential for such conversations becomes evident. Considerations of eating disorders, body image as a construct and the mediated forces at work behind this notion provides a more thorough analysis of the production elements. Furthermore, the reflection on theatre as a methodology provides insight into ways to utilize dramatic procedures to assist those teenagers struggling with body image. I organize my analysis of Daugherty’s illustrations of the side effects of anorexia and bulimia nervosa into five areas: psychological, mediated, behavioral, social, and physical. This allows the accuracy of the portrayals major focus. Also, the inclusions of a study guide and interactive forum designed for the production serve as conduits for deeper processing of the presented dramatic themes. Placing these topics in the theatrical space allows the pathway for fruitful conversation to unfold. In doing so, teenagers can confidently challenge the enforced thin-ideal and fearlessly claim their own distinctive characteristics

Synthesis and Characterisation of Macrocycles Containing both Tetrazole and Pyridine Functionalities

The syntheses of tetra-tetrazole macrocycles containing at least one 2,6-bis(tetrazole)pyridine unit, linked by a variety of n-alkyl (n = 3, 5, 7 or 9 carbon atoms) chain lengths, are described. There has been no previous incorporation of the pyridine moiety into a tetra-tetrazolophane macrocycle. The crystal structure of one such tetra-tetrazole macrocycle has also been structurally characterised and revealed a bowl-shaped conformation

Reactions of 1,4-bis(tetrazole)benzenes: Formation of Long Chain Alkyl Halides

The reactions of 1,4-bis[2-(tributylstannyl)tetrazol-5-yl]benzene with a,w-dibromoalkanes were carried out in order to synthesise pendant alkyl halide derivatives of the parent bis-tetrazole. This led to the formation of several alkyl halide derivatives, substituted variously at N1 or N2 on the tetrazole ring. The crystal structures of 1,4-bis[(2-(4-bromobutyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (2-N, 2-N\u27), 1,4-bis[(2-(4-bromobutyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (1-N, 2-N\u27) and 1,4-bis[(2-(8-bromooctyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (2-N, 2-N\u27) are reported. Further discussion involves the structure of 1,4-bis(2-(6-bromohexyl)-2H-tetrazol-5-yl)benzene (2-N, 2-N\u27) previously reported

Coordination Studies of Copper(II), Nickel(II), Cobalt(II) and Zinc(II) Salts with Pyridyl–Tetrazole Ligands Containing Alkyl or Alkyl Halide Pendant Arms

The reaction of 2-(2H-tetrazol-5-yl)pyridine (L1) with 1,n-dibromoalkane (n = 3, 4, 6 or 8) results in the formation of the isomers 2-(n′′-bromoalkyl-(1-tetrazol-5-yl)pyridine (L2A-D) and 2-(n′′-bromoalkyl-(2-tetrazol-5-yl)pyridine (L3A-D). The reaction of L1 with 1-bromoalkanes also resulted in the formation of isomeric materials, namely 2-(n′′-alkyl-(1-tetrazol-5-yl)pyridine (L4A-C) and 2-(n′′-alkyl-(2-tetrazol-5-yl)pyridine (L5A-C). Complexation reactions of these ligands with the transition metal salts CuCl2.2H2O, Co(NCS)2, NiCl2.2H2O and ZnCl2 were carried out in methanol and resulted in complexes containing a 1:1 metal:ligand stoichiometry except in the cases of the cobalt complexes where a 1:2 metal:ligand stoichiometry was obtained. The 1H NMR spectra of the zinc complexes showed that the ligands containing the pendant arm in the 2-N position of the tetrazole ring bind the zinc ion more strongly than those containing the pendant arm in the 1-N position. The X-ray structures of two cobalt salts, Co(L5A)2(NCS)2 and Co(L5C)2(NCS)2, are also discussed

Reactions of 1,4-bis(tetrazole)benzenes: formation of long chain alkyl halides

The reactions of 1,4-bis[2-(tributylstannyl)tetrazol-5-yl]benzene with α,Ï-dibromoalkanes were carried out in order to synthesise pendant alkyl halide derivatives of the parent bis-tetrazole. This led to the formation of several alkyl halide derivatives, substituted variously at N1 or N2 on the tetrazole ring. The crystal structures of 1,4-bis[(2-(4-bromobutyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (2-N,2-Nâ²), 1,4-bis[(2-(4-bromobutyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (1-N,2-Nâ²) and 1,4-bis[(2-(8-bromooctyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (2-N,2-Nâ²) are reported. Further discussion involves the structure of 1,4-bis[2-(6-bromohexyl)-2H-tetrazol-5-yl]benzene (2-N,2-Nâ²) previously reported

Reactions of bis(tetrazole)phenylenes:Surprising Formation of Vinyl Compounds from Alkyl halides.

The reactions of 1,2-bis(tetrazol-5-yl)benzene (1), 1,3-bis(tetrazol-5-yl)benzene (2), 1,4-bis(tetrazol-5-yl)benzene (3), 1,2-(Bu3SnN4C)2C6H4 (4), 1,3-(Bu3SnN4C)2C6H4 (5) and 1,4-(Bu3SnN4C)2C6H4 (6) with 1,2-dibromoethane were carried out by two different methods in order to synthesise pendant alkyl halide derivatives of the parent bis-tetrazoles. This lead to the formation of several alkyl halide derivatives, substituted at either N1 and N2 on the tetrazole ring, as well as the surprising formation of several vinyl derivatives. The crystal structures of both 1,2-[(2-vinyl)tetrazol-5-yl)]benzene (1-N, 2-N’) (1b) and 1,3-bis[(2-bromoethyl)tetrazol-5-yl]benzene (2-N, 2-N’) (5d) are discussed

Metal-Organic Frameworks Based on Pyridyl-Tetrazole Ligands Containing Ester or Carboxylate Pendant Arms

The coordination of pyridyl-tetrazole derivatives containing ester substituents, at either the N-1 or N-2 position of the tetrazole ring, with copper(II) chloride results in the formation of either 1:1 or 1:2 copper to ligand complexes, depending on the ligand. However, when the ester functionality is changed to a carboxylate group, the resulting complexation reactions yield metal-organic frameworks. The resulting structures vary dramatically in pore size, depending on both reaction solvents and position of carboxylate group on the tetrazole ring. Despite the presence of sodium cations in the reaction mixtures, no sodium incorporation was ever observed in any of the complexes. This report represents the first attempts at producing copper(II) complexes of the N-1 and N-2 carboxylate derivative of this ligand

Synthesis and Characterisation of Tetra-tetrazole Macrocycles

The syntheses of tetra-tetrazole macrocycles, containing two bis-tetrazole units linked by a variety of alkyl chain lengths from four to eight carbons, are described. The crystal structures of three of these derivatives are reported, and the molecular conformation in the solid state is compared to that of one previously reported tetra-tetrazole macrocycle and to other bis- and tris(tetrazole)benzene structures. The macrocycle conformation is influenced by the length of the alkyl chain linker, the relative orientation of the tetrazole rings on the benzene ring, and by intermolecular interactions. In the macrocycles based on 1,2-bis(tetrazole)benzene, the adjacent tetrazole rings on the benzene ring are prevented from becoming co-planar on intramolecular (steric) grounds. In the 1,3- and 1,4-bis(tetrazole)benzene derivatives, there is no such impediment, and a co-planar arrangement is observed where intra- and/or intermolecular stacking interactions exist. Deviations from co-planarity are associated with optimisation of intermolecular interactions between the tetrazole rings and adjacent alkyl chains. In the macrocycle based on 1,4-bis(tetrazole)benzene with four-carbon linkers, an intramolecular stacking interaction exists, which precludes the presence of any cavity. In the macrocycle based on 1,3-bis(tetrazole)benzene with six-carbon linkers, a cavity of 10.8 x 9.4 Å is observed for each molecule in the solid state, although the packing of adjacent molecules is such that there are no extended channels running through the crystal