In a place that is so nurturing to college women and vocalizes their struggles and setbacks to a great extent, we are tempted to intervene when we see signs of trouble manifested in one’s behavior or outlook. Her uncontrolled drinking must be a sign of her underlying social anxiety, while her cold treatment towards the one she said she loved in her relationship has to be a result of her locked up fear of abandonment. The scariest states of mind that fall upon those who seem stable on the surface MUST be a code which can be translated by acknowledging how bad things really are, but more importantly why they are. This edition of Her Campus hopes to apply this concept to an increasingly complicated issue tying psychiatry to mass media – the spread of “Thinspo” websites. These contradict the principle of hiding a deeper problem behind the veil of a habit, addiction, or routine and instead reverse it.
Thinspo has increased 500% in the last year. On this platform, the relentless quest for thin – though bound up in subjective circumstances –is celebrated. Anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders are worshipped on a pedestal of gleaming page layouts, engaging “manifestos” and extraordinarily powerful images of ghost-like waifs who’ve succeeded. Ideas and strategies have only become more ruthless on these social networks which attempt to find purely intrinsic value in maintaining their level of suffering. Contributors might see the weight loss process as a kind of beautiful and conscious tragedy, a “lifestyle rather than an illness,” according to ABC News. Thinspiration isn’t exclusively reserved for the digital domain, but with more print magazines turning over to the web, devoted individuals can more easily validate their authority on the matter.
With self-destruction and unshakeable feelings gaining a collective voice in open interaction, have these sites really only done harm? Experts would say it isn’t the content itself, but its reinforcing power to normalize an already harmful existence with virtual cheering. ABC also discusses the fact that the skinny collages can cause one to further ruminate on the sacrifices they make to conceal their disordered eating while raising it in private settings.
Individual sites shouldn’t be banned or censored – this will drive the subculture underground and cause ED sufferers to feel deep isolation from a society that cannot understand their obsession. What should happen is forming genuine relationships with others who may be going through similar conflicting feelings. Even if the environment is inherently “toxic,” thinspo seekers will end up giving and receiving empathy that may direct them on the path to self-acceptance.
Abcnews.go.com/health/thinspo-internet-content-promotes-anorexia-experts/story?id=18622088#.UVNdOr-z6-8