Awful

Survey Discovers Pro-Anorexia Sites Are On the Rise

As posters with pious warnings to put down the chips and stop coating your insides with soda take over the adspace in local subways and buses, the other side of our country’s weight problem — that is, being obsessed with being thin, has been pushed to the side. The problem continues to rage, however, reflected in the fact that pro-anorexia websites are growing in popularity amongst young girls and women, even giving rise to phenomenon of “competitive dieting.”

Terms like “skinny porn” (posted pictures of skinny bodies, also known as “thinspiration”), “ana buddies” (essentially a partner-waif-in-crime) are part of the lingo of this dangerous subculture of impossible beauty standards. While for years celebrity culture and fashion were easy scapegoats, the internet is playing an even greater role in the rise of pro-anorexia culture. This is confirmed by Dr. Emma Bond, who has found that girls who start blogs and sites based on eating disorders can become deified for their actions.

Despite widespread support for overall healthier body weights and images for women to aspire to, the culture has yet to catch up. For every fuller-figured role model like Adele, widely lauded for her beauty and her rounder physique, there is a celebrity like Jennifer Hudson, who claims to be prouder of her weight loss than her Oscar win. Add the internet, which can help feed any number of harmful additions, and you have a recipe for disaster.

TAGS: Pro-ana sites | We Live In A Nightmare World

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