Calls for pro-anorexia websites to be closed. What can be done to stem the rise in eating disorders?
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1306604,00.html
I´ve never come across one of these sites and don´t know how easy they are to access…. but eating disorders worry me a great deal. I work with children and currently have a TWELVE year old in my class diagnosed as anorexic.
This is by no means the first case in school . It is becoming horrifically common.
What measures should society take to stop this?
Wow. There are such sites?
I think measures should start at home, but with today's family structure being so, well, disjointed, such things are left up to the rest of society to deal with.
Education — like anti-smoking education — is necessary. Documentaries or advertising about how ugly and frail and ill anorexics become might help (a la Isabelle Caro).
But, so much of a girl's impression of "beauty" is thrust on her by the fashion industry (try and change that — according to the French couture federation, the shape and size of fashion models cannot be regulated). The fashion industry infuses itself into just about everything a young woman is interested in. Who do you go to so that changes in that industry start to happen?
Then there is the social aspect. Suddenly, we are hearing about the problem of overweight children and diet, diet, diet. A young insecure women who has little self-esteem is pressured to be skinny by the industry, and now, by those concerned about obesity. Fat isn't cool, it isn't pretty, it isn't desirable, and it isn't healthy — and all that filters through is "I must get skinny."
Then, there is the self-esteem issue. Skinny models aside, the pressures of school, the pressures at home (particularly with a single-parent or blended home), well, some girls think that that is the one and only thing in their life THEY are in control of (while not realizing they are at the effect of a disease.) How does society deal with the the adolescent pressures to "grow up," and "excel at school" that are imposed upon children younger, and younger?
Because there are so many pressures out there, I'm not so sure society can take the measures, or at least effectively. I think it has to be on the small scale — the home, parents, relatives, friends, and….teachers.
No doubt you see the number of questions at Y/A "how do I make myself throw up after eating….?" and the like. For some reason, even with 100s of respondents that say DON'T DO IT, and all the good reasons why, Y/A DELETES these questions. So, Y/A could be a start to social responsibility by not shoving the issue under the carpet (if the question isn't there, it won't exist, and the poor girl asking the question will miraculously be cured.)
Sorry…that really doesn't offer much in the way of solutions, does it?
ADDED: OMG! Here is a link to one of those sites — notice how depressed and unhappy these girls are…
http://community.livejournal.com/proanorexia/
October 24th, 2008 at 5:18 am
it is easy to come across these sites, you basically type in pro ana in Google and it comes up with a lot. There are no people actually stopping it, I am so against these sites too, there are some people in the media attempting to end them but there will always be forums etc.
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October 24th, 2008 at 5:26 am
yay level 4
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October 24th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Yes I agree with you.
I am 57 an anorexic so It's not just the young that this affects.
Thank You for your question
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October 24th, 2008 at 6:18 am
There isn't one thing, but several. Obsession with celebrities and their body sizes is one. Junk food and obesity is another – young people are terrified of becoming obese. Then there's the issue of control – parents are very controlling these days, won't let their children go out alone, do anything even slightly risky – and the child has no control over any area of her life. Except food. So she controls that
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October 24th, 2008 at 7:00 am
if we could change fashion and media influence just by saying "these things are bad", we would. things are changing, slowly. there are support groups, etc. awareness is being raised in schools. but it's a mental thing, about control, and how food is one of the few things kids can control, as well.
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October 24th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Children should be able to feel confident and happy about their bodies instead of being force fed images of underweight women. The media constantly criticise celebrities for having cellulite, or a little bit of flesh on their bones. It's not healthy for impressionable young girls to be made to feel that they have to be stick thin, otherwise they are fat and ugly and open to scrutiny.
Sites like the ones you have mentioned should definitely be closed down. I was never aware they existed either, and I find it astonishing.
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October 24th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Teaching kids in school that healthy eating is good would be a start, also as many sufferers are women it would help if men learnt to except them in all their glorious shapes and sizes. not all men love a skinny women, but the media mostly use skeletal figures to sell the dream of wealth and happiness. To all the women in the world i say…….hold you're heads up high, you are amazing regardless of what size you are. I as a full blooded male love women of all sizes, people have to learn beauty is an individual thing and nothing is more beautiful than a confident woman.
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October 24th, 2008 at 8:37 am
what about the other side of this story, all the obese kids who will die young.
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October 24th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I am shocked that there is a site that says it is a great thing to suffer from. Heard of so many people over the years that ended up dead because of it. In fact I do know of one girl real well that died a few years ago suffering from it personally and that is what makes me sick to read of this.
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October 24th, 2008 at 9:34 am
make the world a more equal place, then you wouldnt have half the world whose biggest worry was where their next meal is coming from, and the other half whose lives are so comfortable that they have time to stress about food
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October 24th, 2008 at 10:02 am
" What measures should society take to stop this? "
I think Spain took the lead, a year or so ago, by barring from their fashion shows models who were excessively thin. The Spanish government justified the ban saying that it is a very bad example to young girls. The Law is there to protect citizens so why not use it ?
Yesterday I stumbled across a website which deals with the problem and some of the photos there are of young girls who are thinner then the mummy of Ramses The Second in the Cairo museum. Horrific !!
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October 24th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Although I am not an anorexic I do have issues with fat, (I know the reason why) I always keep an eye on what I am eating and can relate to these children, How to deal with it I have no idea.
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October 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Wow. There are such sites?
I think measures should start at home, but with today's family structure being so, well, disjointed, such things are left up to the rest of society to deal with.
Education — like anti-smoking education — is necessary. Documentaries or advertising about how ugly and frail and ill anorexics become might help (a la Isabelle Caro).
But, so much of a girl's impression of "beauty" is thrust on her by the fashion industry (try and change that — according to the French couture federation, the shape and size of fashion models cannot be regulated). The fashion industry infuses itself into just about everything a young woman is interested in. Who do you go to so that changes in that industry start to happen?
Then there is the social aspect. Suddenly, we are hearing about the problem of overweight children and diet, diet, diet. A young insecure women who has little self-esteem is pressured to be skinny by the industry, and now, by those concerned about obesity. Fat isn't cool, it isn't pretty, it isn't desirable, and it isn't healthy — and all that filters through is "I must get skinny."
Then, there is the self-esteem issue. Skinny models aside, the pressures of school, the pressures at home (particularly with a single-parent or blended home), well, some girls think that that is the one and only thing in their life THEY are in control of (while not realizing they are at the effect of a disease.) How does society deal with the the adolescent pressures to "grow up," and "excel at school" that are imposed upon children younger, and younger?
Because there are so many pressures out there, I'm not so sure society can take the measures, or at least effectively. I think it has to be on the small scale — the home, parents, relatives, friends, and….teachers.
No doubt you see the number of questions at Y/A "how do I make myself throw up after eating….?" and the like. For some reason, even with 100s of respondents that say DON'T DO IT, and all the good reasons why, Y/A DELETES these questions. So, Y/A could be a start to social responsibility by not shoving the issue under the carpet (if the question isn't there, it won't exist, and the poor girl asking the question will miraculously be cured.)
Sorry…that really doesn't offer much in the way of solutions, does it?
ADDED: OMG! Here is a link to one of those sites — notice how depressed and unhappy these girls are…
http://community.livejournal.com/proanorexia/
References :
October 24th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Society needs to stop biggin up size zero, and the media needs to promote real size role models instead of stick insects.
Children need to be taught from an early age that their size is not everything, and they need to have confidence instilled from parents, teachers and the media
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October 24th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I have been told that anorexia is caused by lack of love, usually from father to daughter.
Our society is also totally body-obsessed.
Removing the websites is a step in the right direction.
It is so very sad how many girls & women have this disease.
PS. Jomamo, your avatar is making me feel chubby
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October 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I think lots of people here have the wrong idea.
I agree that these pro anorexia site (Pro Ana) aren't ideal. However, when an anorexic surfs the net they are more likely to search to a pro ana site or a "thinspiration" site, that for free online counselling to recover from their disorder. I've looked at several pro ana sites and they aren't as bad as people think. They have warnings to recovering anorexics, not to enter the site as they may be "triggered" into falling back into old habits. These sites do provide starvation tips, but many warn that you have to eat something as soon as you feel dizzy or ill, or you have to stop as soon as you see blood in your vomit.
True, these sites aren't ideal. But banning them won't help at all. It's the images that the media force feed us every day, telling us how we should look, that are the major influence in today's generation of anorexics. And until the fashion industry decides to take action, it would be far safer for an anorexic to take advice from an "ana" site and atleast be practicing anorexia as safely as possible, than for the sites the be banned and them to have no idea, and end up killing themselves.
Hope that makes sense.
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October 24th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I'd be interested to know if anorexia was about in the fifties when a fuller figure was the norm.Is it purely an image driven condition fueled by fashion mag pressure?
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October 24th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Decide on a course of Action DO I T !!
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October 24th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Why have these sites not been banned? I think whoever sets up sites like this, should be heavilly fined. I blame media, and glossy magazines, and think programmes like Colleen's Real women should be encouraged, and super skinny catwalk models should be phased out.
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October 24th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Discourage all media from reproducing "glamorous" images of thin women.
If something is associated with glamour or celebrity, it sells.
It isn't rocket science, the fashion business continues to grow richer at the expense of the death of our innocent girls (and boys).
I think only legislation will force change.
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