December 24, 2002

pro-ana

please note - i have updated this post, please read all of it before posting any comments. thanks.

---- original post ----
this is the next big thing. pro-ana . the pro anorexia movement.

pro-ana seems both stupid and dangerous. my immediate reaction was mainly shock, followed by sympathy about just how pathetic these people are. anorexia is a disorder by defination...

i'm picking this up a day later and posting it even though i don't have anything interesting to say about it. just form your own opinion.

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update 2003.01.29

it seems this post has been drawing a few comments and re-reading it i felt i should talk a little more about my mixed feelings on the whole pro-ana thing.

on one side i believe in ideals - freedom, privacy, aclu stuff - that says that there is nothing we should do to stop these people. if they want to be pro-ed (pro-EatingDisorder) then it's their choice. not that we shouldn't help them.

which leads into the next duality. these ed "support" communities. are they simply enviroments for pro-ed'ers to meet each orther and share tips? i guess it's not any different from drug rehab, where half the participants will get nothing from the program except new hook-ups.

anyway. i can't decided how i feel about the whole thing. it's complicated.

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update april 02, 2003

people seem to respond most harshly to my use of the word pathetic.

here's the dictionary description
"pa-thet-ic - noun : having a capacity to move one to either compassionate or contemptuous pity"

and that's exactly how i feel. i'm both compassionate for these girls and contemptous of their needless self-destruction. it really seems to me that the one thing all you pro-ana chicks overlook is exactly how hard you're making the lives of those around you. having to support a friend who is going through something like being aneroxic is extremely difficult. in this regard ana is extremely selfish and self-centered.

i've been depressed too. and i've done self destructive things. and i never was or will be a teenage girl so i can't really relate perfectly to these pro-ana girls. i have however, been living with cancer for the last 10 years of my life. everytime i think of the struggle that i've been through for my health, and how lucky i am to even be alive – that's when i start getting angry you pro-ana people. to see someone throw away their health (whatever the reasons) is profoundly disturbing.

if you think my words were too harsh, i might agree. but like anything there are both sides to this issue.

--
rett

Posted by rett at December 24, 2002 09:18 PM | TrackBack
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