Ana-annihilation
Posted on February 24, 2008
Filed Under News |
BBC news reported today that eating disorder clinic campaigners in Britain are aiming to shut down “pro-ana” Web sites. “Pro-ana” describes about 35% (according to Stanford Medical School) of the anorexia demographic (it’s sad to say “demographic” in reference).
“Pro-ana” men and women promote the disease as a lifestyle choice. Personally, I’d recommend Buddhism.
Yes, there are lots of people who actually believe anorexia is something to cherish. Unfortunately, these individuals figured out there were others appreciating self-starvation and decided to network (the Internet will never be sacred). Stanford Medical School findings also reveal that 96% of all modern anorexics have visited a form of these sites (at least once) to get tips on how to maintain the disease.
British campaigners from organization B-eat plan to target social networking sites like MySpace and Livejournal, where the abundance of online pro-ana communities have corroded.
A participating pro-ana community member:
- Competes for weight loss/unifies with others to aid in weight loss.
- Meets after binging for consolation.
- Advises on dealing with intervening friends and family.
Imagery becomes you.
Imagery personifies the communities, which have created stickish mythical women to idolize. These goddesses of starvation are aptly and lovingly named “Ana” and “Mia” and have become the nirvana of a pro-ana or pro-mia community member.
Focusing to destroy the communities only peeks at the problem.
Video and photo hosting sites, like YouTube and Photobucket, hold thousands of pro-ana images and video that escort the defenseless to capitalize on a body-loathing mind.
Photos of bare hipbones, ribs, and other bones people shouldn’t see through skin have earned the nickname “thinspo” photos, which have increased in such a vast number to almost qualify as a genre of photography within online photo sharing sites.
7, 901 results appear for keyword “thinspo” on Photobucket.
The only censorship YouTube offers for a “thinspiration” video is an 18-&-up age limit. And by that I mean, it takes you to a screen, and asks if you are at least 18.
The video above exemplifies an average pro-ana video–It’s four minutes long, consisting of only slides of anorexics and quick interval messages like “This is beauty.” If you watch the video, be aware that it is disturbing because its message is very subliminal.
The largest pro-ana community resides in little ‘ol Livejournal, the same place where I used to complain about my boyfriend when I was 16.
The reasoning behind the links, videos, and images I have provided is to tackle the subject in the way I see fit. Campaigners want to remove or censor these communities from the Internet–This sort of desire is comparable to censoring how to tie a noose or sharpen a knife to prevent suicide or wrist-cutting. It just isn’t feasible.
No one can hide from society’s consequential presentation of “thin as in.” The solution is to throw that idea OUT.
Until the public eye establishes an opinion that the malnutrition of female public figures resembles ugliness, almost no one is safe to look in a mirror.
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5 Responses to “Ana-annihilation”
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Gross. Gross. Gross. It’s lazy designers that glamorize these coat-hanger models. They don’t design for women who must consume calories to think properly.
How can we throw it out? I’ve stopped purchasing mags like Vogue and InStyle because quite frankly they made me feel like shit about my figure. But, I’m only one woman. We need some sort of Wordpress Women movement to revamp the standards of beauty that women consume and incidentally perpetuate eating disorders.
I can do an In The Know show on eating disorders since spring break is coming soon.
ya i had to stop doing that too. its amazing how it can get to you even when you dislike it.
hahaha thats actually valid–to do an eating disorder show right before spring break. but for some reason girls who have those love talking about them. every feminist class ive had someones gotta raise their hand and tell the sob story.
Designers don’t dress or design for models. In a lot of cases, ask a high a fashion model to speak about their favorite designer or label and they couldn’t really tell you a thing about it; take Coco Rocha for example.
I recognize that the imagery and rhetoric that inspires these pro-ana and mia communities is all over the place.
I do recognize this stuff as self-abuse and do agree that certain measures should be taken for the health and safety of youth.
the models in the youtube video look healthy to me, most of their figures are like that naturally or are kept up with a sensible diet and exercise regime. models inspire people to be thin because they are glorified in culture, thin people are ubiquitous in media. but i think anorexia and bulimia exist in the mind of a person, influenced of course by what they see around them. and online communities function like support networks, i almost feel like there could be some kind of undercover operation, just as subversive as magazines filled with beautiful people, that could find out why the members act/think the way they do, and propose that beauty is constructed and you can redefine it for yourself.
eliminating the communities is ridiculous/impossible. changing who is wearing dior in vogue isn’t possible. changing your own mind is. i guess i just feel body issues are so completely personal…that outside forces must be extremely sensitive to accomplish anything.
Hard to tell… I think it is a bit of both no? And also society is a bit to bale since WE are so shortsighted sometimes….