An Olive Garden server shared her ire over seeing a table of young female dancers enforcing what she calls eating disorder culture. Annie Masters (@annielemasters) posted a viral TikTok that garnered over 1.3 million views.
In it, she relayed the conversation she overheard between young girls she says made her want to cry. Several other TikTokers replied that they, too, developed eating disorders at a young age due to remarks like the ones Masters expressed in her post.
‘Dance Moms’
The TikToker begins her video with a recording of herself sitting in a car. She relays an experience she had with customers as she worked a shift as a server at an Olive Garden location.
Masters then delineates her clientele recently has been composed of young girls who are participating in a local cheer competition.
“So I’m a waitress at Olive Garden and we have like a cheer competition going on by, like, right by our Olive Garden,” she says. “So we’ve been getting, like, everyone from that. And, like, all these little girls in their cute, sparkly outfits. Like, very like, ‘Dance Moms,’ whatever.”
Masters was taken aback by the responses the young girls had to seeing food. According to her, there was immediate judgment at the table from fellow diners, particularly when it pertained to meal portion sizes.
“One of my tables yesterday was like a seven top, and it was all just like little girls and their moms, and probably some older sisters that are there. Every time I would set the food down in front of one of the people at the table, everyone else at the table would turn to whoever I set the food down in front of and go, ‘Are you gonna eat all of that?’”
She continued to mock the reactions the young girls had to seeing the amount of food on their plates. “Oh my, are you gonna eat that whole thing?”
Judgment
Afterward, Masters made it clear to viewers that she was critical of the reactions these young girls had to each other. Speaking back to her TikTok audience, she questioned, “What are we doing to our girls? One of these girls had like a salmon and broccoli, and girls were like, ‘You’re gonna eat that whole thing?’ I hope she does. That’s nutritious. What are we talking about here? What are we doing to our girls? Oh, I almost cried.”
Psychological studies have delved into the widespread phenomenon of women criticizing other women. Revoloon quoted author Tara Mohr on female-to-female dynamics, who penned that these lash-outs are a result of personal insecurity.
“We will criticize, attack, and try to sabotage other women, because it rattles us to see in them what we have not permitted in ourselves. [And] we will lash out if we see something emerging or expressed in another woman that we have squashed in ourselves. We won’t wholeheartedly support another woman following her passion if we’ve talked ourselves out of our own.”
The frustration Masters expressed in her post appears to stem from seeing girls participating in this type of behavior at such a young age.
Eating disorders
Furthermore, folks from the Dance Moms culture have expressed they’ve developed eating disorders by being a part of this particular world. This is due to the nimbleness that is often required to pull off particular athletic maneuvers. Furthermore, aesthetics also play a large part for dancers, who emphasize portraying themselves in a specific way while hitting these moves.
The National Library of Medicine writes that 10 percent of girls develop eating disorders as a result of attempting to attain a certain figure. The aforementioned study goes on to say that these rates are often higher in children who participate in sports or other athletic activities. Specifically, the research garnered for the report directly speaks to “the world of dance.”
“When compared to non-dancers, female dancers are known to suffer from greater body image dissatisfaction. [Also,] body image distortion, neurotic perfectionism, and disordered eating.”
Moreover, the research group also stated that these disorders often lead to a slew of health complications, which include digestive health issues, “bone loss … and decreased self-esteem.”
@annielemasters what is happening to society
♬ original sound – annielemasters
Commenters react
One viewer highlighted that athletes often need to up their caloriintakees. That’s because of the increased amount of strenuous activity they’re engaging in. “The fact that they are athletes and need MORE calories than an average person makes this even more heartbreaking.”
Another woman remarked that eating disorder culture affects all women. “Saddest part is we literally never escape it. Office birthday? All the ladies are ‘being bad’ by having a cupcake. Hitting the gym? We’re ‘working off our lunch.’ It’s inescapable.”
Someone else said that these same attitudes toward food were expressed to them at a young age. “I grew up hearing ‘I couldn’t possibly eat all of that.’ Or ‘how are you already hungry again we had such a big lunch!?’ (it’s 7pm and we had a salad at 3pm). I hate seeing the cycle repeat.”
Whereas another person on the app wondered why anyone concerned with caloric intake would eat at Olive Garden. “Why would they even go to Olive Garden then? Like?”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Masters via TikTok comment and Olive Garden via email for further information.
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