you know of who I speak

[threeplusfire]

Most fucked up thing of the day: seeing the lovely Pro-Anorexia community, complete with a jack ass post about how someone wants to be as thin as a House Elf. Gods above, I hope that was just a nicely twisted joke. The whoel thing is rather creepy, a combination of people with genuine sadness, and that moronic brand of folk who write as if they've learned language from AOL chatrooms.

Comments

[dragonflychey.livejournal.com]

ugh. it always makes me sad when i see info pages where people are a member of such communities.

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

My problem with the pro-eatind disorder crowd is that they are think they're engaged in some crusade to become better than everyone else by being thin. I don't believe in that sort of elitism. While I have a great deal of respect for people who push boundaries in their search for meaning and knowledge, simply being the thinnest doesn't impress me.

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

I basically see it as a "recovery is far too difficult, so we'll just be PRO-eating disorder!!!" Obviously none of these girls are happy, every one of them is frightened out of their tiny little starved minds "I can't go on, This is ruling my life, I don't know what to do." It's as though a bunch of alcoholics started their own drinking community... "Woke up in a pool of my own vomit today, I just LOVE being drunk!"

I remember having to be in that type of community, and their personal stories about how people treat them ring frighteningly true... it was the reason group therapy simply wasn't an option for me, because these people are that scared, and their disease IS that strong, and they need help beyond what their friends can give them. The worst possible thing for girls with an eating disorder is having friends in the same boat. It's what's hardest about being that age, ALL THEIR FRIENDS ARE 14, who the fuck is going to give them good advice? And since so many of these girls are binge/purge types over "true" anorexics, their weight won't fluctuate as much as they think it does. Hiding an eating disorder is easy as fuck and these girls know it, flaunt it, think their putting something over on everybody.

I've been reading these things a lot lately, because the line that separates how I was at that age and how they actually are is pretty damn thin, except that I got help, and I fought, and it was difficult as hell (which is not so small a thing, I know).

Recovery is a long road, these kids know that. That's why they convince themselves its okay not to be well.

Sorry... rant... argh.

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

No, no, that makes a great deal of sense, and covers a lot of ground I hadn't thought about.

What is so infuriating about this sort of thing is that they think they're all being terribly clever, and it's just not true.

[neflhim.livejournal.com]

I have a sinking feeling that is not a joke, and these people are for real. This is depressing, and makes me worried. They need help, and having a bunch of other people worshipping the disease is not helping.

Of course, if this is all a sick joke, I will feel pretty stupid.

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

The pro-eating disorder community is real. It's all over the net these days, and it's starting to be picked up in major media as well. It's strange, but perhaps not so unexpected as we would like to think. It's about power, control, the body image, and all those things. In some ways, not too dissimilar than other body modification movements.

But yeah, I find it creepy and sad.

[calledmara.livejournal.com]

salon.com had a really good article on this whole phenomenon maybe 6 months ago. I'm to lazy to find it, but if you search pro-ana or something similar on the site it should come up. It was balanced and not reactionary/disgusted which it seems might be the norm. Not to say the author agreed with the people in these communities, just tried to understand what they were thinking in their malnourished little heads

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[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I think I remember reading it, and that being part of what set me off around the net trying to figure out this thing.

It's difficult you know, where one one hand I want to take these girls home and beat some sense into them, and on the other hand I wish I could provide some great pithy piece of wisdom that would inspire them to climb out of that mentality.

[neflhim.livejournal.com]

Being rather on the other end of the scales (that's me on the left in the pic), I was once with OA. I left because I disagreed with the methods they use. Anyway, this is not a 'body modification' thing. That's tattoos, piercings, and so on. This is an illness, and the people are sick.

Reading a bit, there are people on 100+hr fasts, planning 25 day fasts, not eating for a week, and so on. This is so unhealthy it is not believable. I really fear for them, since the effects are so far reaching. Their minds are more at risk than their bodies.

Hopefully they will get the help they need, and live past 21.

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Somewhere I have an excellent essay by a doctor named Favazza that talks about how self mutilation, piercings, self imposed starvation, serious weight lifting, tattoos, permanent makeup and a number of other things can all be considered body modifications in a socio-anthropological perspective. Interesting stuff, really. On one end of the spectrum we have very superficial things, llike clothes and hair dyes and make up. On the other end, plastic surgery, piercings and such. I find the psychology of the whole thing fascinating.

But none of those kids has a decent, thought out reason for doing what they are doing. It's fear and cultural bad wiring and such things. There's a hell of a difference between a woman who is slender because she fasts for spiritual reasons on a regular basis, and this sort of thing. They're doing stuff without any thought about the consequences or the dangers. Idiots.

ha!

[sammka.livejournal.com]

"Thin as a House Elf"? Where did this chick learn her fairy-lore, anyway? What is school teaching them, if not such basic facts as "any house elf worth its salt should be fat and playful"? Kids these days just know NOTHING about fantastic beings. It's tragic, really.

Re: ha!

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Right? I would like to shake her, but I'd probably snap her skinny neck. Damn kids these days, not knowing even the basics...

The creepy part of that paticular post was that she had put up one of the Harry Potter promo posters, with Dobby the abused House Elf.

Re: ha!

[sammka.livejournal.com]

ahhhhh. Well of course abused house-elves could be skinny, but the whole concept of people owning house-elves and thus being capable of abusing them on a regular basis is sort of outside normal canon.

See this all reminds me of that horrible quote.... who was that actress who said this? About how she would love to be as skinny as the starving children in, say, Somalia, but "without the flies and stuff"? I'm totally blanking here.

Re: ha!

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Right. I wish we had some house elves here. It's not so much that I mind doing all the cooking and the cleaning, but I could use some company.

I remember that but I can't remember the actress. Some woman with 80s hair.

Re: ha!

[silentjack.livejournal.com]

The actress in question, I do believe, is none other than Brooke Shields.

Or it may have been Mariah Carey. I recall her saying something equally anti-profound as well.

Re: ha!

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought it was Brooke Shields. What a nit.

not exactly. . .

[calledmara.livejournal.com]

the quote came out of a satirical article on Mariah Carey from some web publication. It was then picked up by the mainstream press. But she never actually said it. Check it out here: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/carey.htm

mea culpa...

[silentjack.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, I stand corrected... But I do recall Brooke Shields saying something -- and not in a farcical article -- along the lines of "Smoking kills, and if you are killed, you'll lose a very important part of your life." Which may also be a fraud. But it is Brooke Shields, after all. So if she did say such, I wouldn't be at all surprised.

[kibosh.livejournal.com]

I went to a bunch of pro ana and 'mia comms to inspire me and as for research for Narci. Thinspiration is what disturbs me the most. Those stupid, skinny famous people flaunting themselves as if they were any more attractive than a toothpick are only inspirational to girls that want to starve themselves to be pretty. How can those women live with themselves?

And... well, can you blame them for wanting to look like Dobby? He's so sexy! His wrinkled skin. His buggy eyes. His flappy ears... *le sigh*

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Hehe. Oh yes, because we're all swooning after that Elf. Good lord.

I agree, the whole "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" thing is more than a bit creepy, and rather pitiful. I bet none of those girls have tasted Orion's Milenka bars. They throw that argument right out the window!

this is totally out of the blue.

[sammka.livejournal.com]

but you have funny user icons. Which made me think you'd find the concept of the tricorn hat award community (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=tricorn_award) amusing. Unfortunately the community is not really active and is mostly a place where LJ pranksters sit around and laugh about stuff. But still, the "sexy men funny hats" icon reminded me of it.

[silentjack.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but that's just inane... sick... caving to media pressures and not admitting self-image problems. I could only read so much without becoming utterly repulsed, having had self-image problems in the past and coping... And, aren't House-Elves more concerned with being lively and feasting upon the foods of life -- including food? Could just be me, but, I think their wries are crossed there, too. Ugh. Just... UGH!

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It definitely has that obnoxious, get away from me sheen. I'd like to shake them, except that doing so might result in broken bones and such.

Food is a real joy in life.
Speaking of which, have you had Amy's yet? If not, we need to remedy that soon! And I need to show you other secret Austin spots of culinary bliss.

[silentjack.livejournal.com]

Heh. I don't think I've eaten in a restaurant in weeks. Or been anywhere other than the campus, or here, or the HEB. Yes. Must rectify lack of foodstuff variety immediately.

Re:

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Ahh, you must have some ice cream. Amy's ice cream. And go to the one in the Arboretum center, where the stone cows are.