One of my students pointed me to this pro-ana (that is, pro-anorexia) website. It provides tips on avoiding eating and hiding signs of anorexia from parents and doctors. In addition, there are “thinspiration” photos to provide anorectics images of what they are trying to achieve.
Note: A commenter pointed out that these images might be disturbing to some, particularly those recovering from an eating disorder, so I’ve made it optional whether you see them:
The images originally come from CeruleanButterfly, which has many more “thinspiring” photos, such as this:
This could be useful for a discussion of women, body image, and agency, and the ways in which women actively participate in–and even take joy in–unhealthy behaviors and share tips on how to cover those behaviors from others. It could also illustrate why anorexia is such a difficult disease to treat, since sufferers are often completely resistant to the idea that there is a problem.
Thanks, Velanie W.!
3 Comments
Hi there! I’m a fairly new reader (psych/cogsci undergrad) & really like your site a lot.
Actually though, I wonder if it would be possible to put the picture content of this post behind an html cut…for people who are in recovery from eating disorders, images like these can be pretty triggering.
I’m not suggesting that you censor your material by any means, but since for some the images themselves can be a tool for hanging onto the disease, it would be great if your readers could be able to make a choice whether or not to view them.
Thanks for reading, and even more for writing
http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v217/67/55/23401424/n23401424_40801108_5922.jpg
As a comparison, here’s what Modblog’s policy towards a similar issue is:
http://modblog.bmezine.com/2008/04/29/what-is-triggering/