Lately I have seen a lot of pro-anorexia websites and ads around the internet. It seems like the media is pushing teens to be so thin to the point where they have to starve just to fit in. Has anybody else noticed this? It's especially apparent on myspace.com. There are pro-anorexic sites where people make separate accounts with secret identities so that they can get "thin-spiration" from other anorexics without their friends or family knowing. Do you agree with this support of anorexia/bulemia? They even have names such as My Name is Ana (anorexic), Mia (bulimia), Xia (both anorexia and bulimia)... Personally, I think it's getting out of hand!

The internet is full of sick and twisted things, eating disorders being just one of many.

I use to belong to several sites. Some times I think I want to go back on them. I kept the weight off better then. Wasn't really into being ana or mia then (yeah, I uas the names too). I was very much as a teen. I just like the "thinsperation". Ya know, I e-mailed Dr.Phil. Anyone can google "thinsperation". I had never even heard of pro-ED sites til him and I got hooked on them. As I said, I'm not Ana or Mia anymore...now I'm just Chloe (compulsive over eater)

Ya, I'm not ana or mia...never have been, but I think some of the things out there are so scary. And people actually believe it's HEALTHY for them! I guess it's just the way I think, but I don't understand that lifestyle very much. It just doesn't make sense.

On a very simplistic level it does make sense. You want to lose weight so you eat less food, which turns into hardley and food. And when you do eat, youfeel bad cause you are still trying to lose so you get rid of it. It becomes your obsession and you'd die trying to get there. When I was 18, 112lbs and thought I was disgustingly fat...if someone had have told me I'd weigh over 150lbs one day I think I would have cried myself to death. I use to feel fat bubbling up inder my skin after I ate. ED's are very really and very horrible. Something needs to be done, but what? As long as sex sells and women want to be attractive, this problem is bound to continue. As a side note, at the la senza in the mall near me, the model must have been a size 12. I thikn that's great. I'm sick of looking at size 1's where ever I go.

Oh no kidding! I feel 100% that I'm pressured by the media to be thin. I see all these attractive girls on TV shows and I want to be like them. No matter how much people tell me I'm beautiful the way I am, I don't believe it because the world is saying I'm fat. I don't like anorexia bodies to the extent where they're super boney, but I wish I was more under weight than over weight anyday.

Definantly. I got 2 girls (and a boy) I worry so much about how to protect them from all the crap out there. My oldest, 4, is so bright and funny, she has such a sense of humor and makes everyone laugh. I don't want the world to squwash her on the inside. She's absolutly beautiful, and I'm not being a bias mom. I just hope I can convince her she is.

Very good points! These disorders are very real and very serious. Someone with an eating disorder can't just turn it off and one day be healthy again. The pro eating disorder sites are scary. I surfed through a few to see what they're like. YIKES!
I work with women who are recovering from eating disorders from time to time and want a healthy nutrition plan. It's so devastating to see what their disorder has done to their bodies.

Sarah

No kidding SarahPT! I have about three aquaintances who have anorexia with bulemic tendancies. It frightens me all the time how much their weight can fluctuate. One of my friends is 6'11 and a few years ago weighted just 112lbs. Then she was hospitalized and shot up to 175lbs within several months. That cannot be healthy! Can't doctors gradually bring their weight up to a healthy spot instead of force feeding them until they're huge? It's insane. Now she's back down to about 130lbs and dropping. Goodness me...

I looked over a lot of pro-ana sites.. it was incredibly disturbing but yet, inside the pages filled with pictures of skin'n'bones or quotes like, 'i was to be so thin i disappear' - - there's a small bit of hope for those whose lives have been grasped by their eating disorders, something that they cannot control. They are alone, in a state of depression and very vulnerable to other people's comments,etc. I think that some of the pages (ONLY SOME) had offered some good support to those who are suffering. They provided lots of information that would hopefully ward off young girls who wish to "be anorexic"... it explains the disease to the T and says that ana/mia is not a lifestyle choice - rather it slowly takes control of your life, control of you. I think that if these sites could be used properly - the way they should be and were meant to be.. as insight for those who are suffering and feel alone and have nobody to talk to, it could save a lot of lives and lead some people on the road to recovery. After all, it's not their fault that they desire to be thin so bad.. it's our duty to forgive and be supportive.. Just my thoughts. Ofcourse I'm not talking about ALL the pro-ana/mia sites.. lots are very bad.. and are in no way what I am talking about - mayeb I just stumbled across some that were not as PRO-ana as others. They do suck though.. little girls do run into these pages and while they aren't meant to 'recruit', sometimes they do. It's just like having an institution where those addicted to heroine can get clean needles. It's contraversial - it causes trouble but it may save a lot more people in the long run than if it were not available. My two cents.
Don't take them to heart.

i have a friend who has been anorexic for about 5 years, and has been hospitalised for a long time in the middle of that. even now, she won't go over 7st at all! and she's quite tall, so it's not a good look for her, it's horrible to see how it's affected her over the years...

however...and this isn't me saying that these sites are a good thing, b/c believe me i hate them to pieces... but, i once began having serious problems with food, over exercising etc, and i stumbled across one of these sites whilst looking for the lowest calorie food possible...

well, whilst it didn't stop me straight away, a few visits to this site did put me off the path i was walking along quite a bit, and i didn't stop straight away but over time i realised that i did not want this life that these girls were telling me i did. seeing their aims and aspirations (thinspirations...) it was like a shock back to reality, to what i was doing to myself, and to my mum in particular...

i just think as bad as they are, a lot of the time if someone is already deep in the throws of anorexia then these sites won't affect them so much either way. again, i'm not saying for definite that it wouldn't help someone along that path. but from friends and acquaintances and my own experience, i've found it to be a shocking insight to the life that you may be starting to lead, and can actually work to scare people away with the harsh realities of a full-blown eating disorder.

now i have a distinct feeling i've probably contradicted myself to hell along the way...! ideally these sites wouldn't exist, but then as i think a previous poster mentioned, they do offer some form of support for those who feel they are the only ones, completely alone...

lerato.xxx

I once did join these sites... and stuck with it for a bit. Then saw the stupidness of not eating and quit.

^^

Good for you Becky! I'm glad you were able to quit and didn't get too mingled up in there. It is a difficult habit to break and I applaud you for being so strong! Yay healthiness!

I`ve been there and done it.I`ve been anorexic (lots about 27 pounds)and became bulimic(there was not 1 day where I kept anything inside except veggies).Those websides sorta encoraged me,and gave me the feeling it is ok to be like this and that I`m totally normal!I hated myself so much that i lost alot of friends and was alone,I had the "sarving online friends"tho.I NEVER,not for 1 second thought I was sick.Not until my friends and family talked to me.Recovery was HARD!!!!!!!!!!I was only 13 at that time and stuggled until I became 16.At 17 I could finally eat regular meals again.
Many teens can`t quit,and eventually die or struggle the whole life.To have the feeling of being guilty for everything u eat or the starving feeling can drive u crazy.You`ll miss out on lots of things in life .It is cruel on body and mind and very emotional!!!!!!I think those websides godda go!!The "skinny minni floe" has gone way to far...

I've never seen or heard of these kinds of websites, but I can't say I'm suprised. What happened to the time when a woman with curves was considered desirable? How did that transition happen? The media doesn't help. You have celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Keira Knightly who are so thin you can see every bone in their bodies, yet they give interviews about how they are against anorexia and that they are "actually fat compared to other women their ages." The media says they are so disgusted by the image of the perfect body type that's being portrayed, but they are the same media plastering that image all over TV, movies, and magazines. And they print articles with comments like the one above. How is this supposed to make us feel better about our bodies if we're supposed to think that even those two women are fat? What really kills me is that today I was reading a news website and came across a headline for a list of the Top 100 Unsexiest Men. Who thought this was news worthy? Who thought it was a good idea to put this in the news? It's sad that these are the kinds of articles that get read the most. I just hope that body image comes full circle. I'd like to see portraits like those in the 17th and 18th centuries become the norm again. Isn't it funny that the dresses women chose to wear then were purposely made to make their butts look bigger?