By now I’m sure many of you have either read or heard about the article “5 Reasons to Date a Girl with an Eating Disorder”, which was published on the website Return of Kings. When I saw the title, I thought I must have read it incorrectly. No one could actually think of something as vile as that, right? Nope. Written by someone who goes by the pseudonym “Tuthmosis,” this article makes light of a very serious issue. I was personally enraged by what I read, as were many others who took to social media to vent. Thoughts that came to mind included: “How can anyone be so ignorant and heartless?” as well as “This is sick!” I was furious at the author and went to Facebook myself to vent. I have come to realize, however, that by venting on social media, nothing will be accomplished. I almost hate that I am giving this author and the website more publicity since that is exactly what they want, but this is something that cannot be left unaddressed.
Earlier this semester I wrote an article about how to help a friend with an eating disorder. Since then, I have had many people I know and truly care about open up to me about their own struggles with an eating disorder. I am not writing this article just for me, I am writing it for all of you out there who have an eating disorder, are recovering from an eating disorder and anyone who knows someone with an eating disorder, and isn’t heartless like Tuthmosis.
Dear Tuthmosis,
I don’t know who you are, where you are, how you could even think of an article idea as vile as this one, or why you thought it was okay to publish it, but I want you to know I pity you. Eating disorders aren’t fun and they aren’t something to joke about. I want to be angry with you, but I just can’t be. You are clearly a very troubled person if you are able to mock a group with a serious illness. I am saddened by what you said. It disgusts me to think that there are people like you out there who can think like this. I don’t want to waste any more energy being so angry with a person whom I don’t know and who is too ignorant for me to even wrap my head around. I honestly wish the best for you in life because I don’t know anyone who after reading this article said, “He’s right you know.”
I know Return of Kings prides itself on writing for “masculine men,” but you are no man and anyone who reads your articles and finds them humorous is no man either. Congrats, you got your publicity, now do you want a cookie to go with that? Maybe a trophy? I wish there was a way to make you see your wrong, but obviously you do not care enough as you have demonstrated through your tweets.
I hope that one day you find love and peace in your own life, so you do not feel the need to belittle people with serious struggles in life. The reason so many girls and women hate themselves and how they look is because of people like you. I hope you know that hiding behind your computer doesn’t make you strong or invincible; I believe in karma and I believe one day you will have what is coming to you.
Sincerely,
Alana Dolan
There are several petitions on change.org that are trying to have the article taken down from the website. As much as I agree that the site should take down the article, the damage has been done. The article has been read, discussed, shared and gone viral. Tuthmosis got what he wanted most—attention. Now it is time to take a stand against people like this and educate people on eating disorders and how serious they really are. They are the deadliest of all mental illnesses.
The first step is ending the stigmas. Tuthmosis began his article by stating “Nothing screams white-girl problems louder than a good old-fashioned eating disorder… Eating disorders have been—quite appropriately—declared a luxury reserved for only the most privileged members of the female race.” Eating disorders are not only a female thing, a rich person thing, a white person thing, a young person thing… they affect all people, whether young, old, tall, short, rich, poor, male, female, blue eyed or brown eyed. Eating disorders are not picky, they will manifest in anyone.
It is up to us to put a stop to the ignorance and to allow people with debilitating illnesses to come forward and be able to speak openly without the feelings of shame or judgment.
Sources:
http://www.returnofkings.com/21313/5-reasons-to-date-a-girl-with-an-eating-disorder