014 Thinspiration Discussion
014
It is simply bizarre to me how the media’s influence to fulfill the ideals of the “thinspiration” or “fitspiration” movement have become so widespread across the youth population as a way to define oneself. Prior to reading the article “’Thinspiration’ Packages Eating Disorders as a Lifestyle Choice”, I was aware that eating disorders were serious and captivating mental illnesses. However, I was under the impression that people had the intentions of helping stop the increasing cycle of the illness and not advocating for it. Dealing with a first-hand experience of an eating disorder, due to a close friend having the illness, I can say for a fact that there is nothing glamorous about it and it is certainly nothing that an individual should strive to attain. I’m absolutely sickened by that fact that there are Pro- Anorexia and Pro-Bulimia websites which glorify dangerously thin bodies and post images and tips on how to achieve them. These sites provide false nutritional advice and avoid discussing the negative aspects of being too thin and having abnormal eating habits. Although eating disorders are not a new concept to our society, the ideals of thinspiration treat the disorder as if it’s a lifestyle choice, something acceptable. I think that it would be helpful to discuss on forums with other individuals suffering from the disorder, but only with the intentions of aiding one another in recovering and grieving. But instead, people will post pictures of skinny men or women and use that image as motivation to starve or purge. I feel like oftentimes people don’t know how to approach individuals who are obviously dealing with an eating disorder, so they just let them be and the conditions only worsen. Sometimes cases go unreported because one doesn’t look too skinny, for instance; it’s a difficult disorder to diagnose. I wish our society would stop being so critical ad realize that individuals with such a serious disorder cannot help themselves on their own; it’s a
It is simply bizarre to me how the media’s influence to fulfill the ideals of the “thinspiration” or “fitspiration” movement have become so widespread across the youth population as a way to define oneself. Prior to reading the article “’Thinspiration’ Packages Eating Disorders as a Lifestyle Choice”, I was aware that eating disorders were serious and captivating mental illnesses. However, I was under the impression that people had the intentions of helping stop the increasing cycle of the illness and not advocating for it. Dealing with a first-hand experience of an eating disorder, due to a close friend having the illness, I can say for a fact that there is nothing glamorous about it and it is certainly nothing that an individual should strive to attain. I’m absolutely sickened by that fact that there are Pro- Anorexia and Pro-Bulimia websites which glorify dangerously thin bodies and post images and tips on how to achieve them. These sites provide false nutritional advice and avoid discussing the negative aspects of being too thin and having abnormal eating habits. Although eating disorders are not a new concept to our society, the ideals of thinspiration treat the disorder as if it’s a lifestyle choice, something acceptable. I think that it would be helpful to discuss on forums with other individuals suffering from the disorder, but only with the intentions of aiding one another in recovering and grieving. But instead, people will post pictures of skinny men or women and use that image as motivation to starve or purge. I feel like oftentimes people don’t know how to approach individuals who are obviously dealing with an eating disorder, so they just let them be and the conditions only worsen. Sometimes cases go unreported because one doesn’t look too skinny, for instance; it’s a difficult disorder to diagnose. I wish our society would stop being so critical ad realize that individuals with such a serious disorder cannot help themselves on their own; it’s a