Persephone Milk

I agree, and I think that is an important distinction.

__________________
.

Eboni Khan

So being so fat, that the fat crushes your heart is better than being rail thin?

That is a dangerous double standard, they should be equal. Self mutilation has more than one form.

__________________

Stephanie Misfit

Yeah this had crossed my mind too. And it mirrors what you see in a lot of pro-ana online discussion groups - lots of REALLY young girls who are obviously in despair, and a handful of posters who are clearly older guys egging them on by posting pictures of "hot" anorexic chicks.

Brenda Connolly

Oh, bring those douchebags in here, let us have some time with them.

__________________
http://brenda-connolly.blogspot.com

Brenda Connolly

I believe that's what we said, it should go both ways.

Circe Timtam

Yeah I made mine a little rounder recently too, although she still has a bit of a siamese kitty thing going on...

__________________
.
.
.
Lady Circe the Shade, Horror of the Righteous, Destroyer of Lives, Oppressor of the Damned, Hated Ruler of Those For Whom all Hope is Lost and Murderess of The Lost. Her Name is Legend Amongst The Scores of Doomed Who Have Had the Misfortune to Cross Her Path.

- My Holy Trout of Troutlandia Evol Title!

Ten

From what I understand, LL marketed to the Brasilians without stating that there was an age limit... and we have a bunch of kids running around will-nilly pissing on everyone's e-lawn.


GET OFF MY E-LAWN!

__________________

Ten

*cough* http://flickr.com/groups/777760@N23/

Kesseret

My av is 5 ft tall ISL and her butt/belly/lovehandles sliders are over 40. That's cause the real Kess is 5 feet tall and butt, belly, and lovehandle sliders are over 40 as well ;-).
I've had some interesting comments, one even going so far as to comment on my blog how I wish I was as hot as my avatar.
When I did a fatvatar 'thing' (It's late I can't remember the word) for my friend's presentation to a pop culture conference I got some VERY interesting reactions from people. So much so that one of my comments was:
"On a system that prides itself on being so unique and ‘your world your imagination,’ it’s amazing how strange the conversation habits turn when your avatar is overweight. However, someone as a giant dragon with a penis is considered acceptable"
The title of her presentation was: You Mean You Chose To Be Fat? Body Image in A Virtual World.

Catero

This whole pro-ana mumbo jumbo is quite interesting, considering that last year, in places like Italy and Spain, certain bodies governing the fashion industry banned unhealthily thin models (1) (2).

FYI, jezebel.com, smorgasbord of women's culture, showed up at Fashion Week last year in NYC and handed out barf bags across from the venue (3). A satirical, yet blunt statement about how ridiculously cliché the skeletally-thin model archetype has become.

What does fixating on a particular physical attribute within our selves or other say about our state of mind?

prinţesă nină

well, i am going to choose my words carefully here...
i think the thinness of most models/celebs is overstated. while anorexia/bulimia is clearly unhealthy, i reckon its a label thats thrown about too loosely. i have my own theory of why these labels are used so liberally... just because a girl is skinny that doesnt make her either unhealthy or anorexic. its more likely she is either naturally thin or she simply eats reasonable portions and exercises. its not 'unrealistic' to be thin. fat is not the natural state of the human body.

Ten

I read an article in an older Harper's Bazaar from fall '05 that said something akin to:

"I can get on a plane in NY and arrive in LA ten pounds heavier."

In other words, in NY the author was perfectly "healthy" sized, but when she landed in LA she was instantly 10lbs heavier than the majority of people there considered "healthy" - and therefore "overweight".

She also stated that because the women began freakishly losing weight and were all a size 0 or a 2, the men began losing weight accordingly. This isn't the first time I've heard it stated that LA is horrible for body image - and to think that's where most of our media comes out of. LA versus NY. I'd go for the bagels and lox, myself.

Ten

I agree with this, however, we're talking about the two extremes here - the anorexics who are so thin you can see the spaces between their shoulder rotational areas, their spines stick out an inch from the base of their skin. That sort of thing. Skeletal.

Some fat is the natural state of the body. We need fat for energy, but we're evolving.

Ten

Hm...

Melodie Baxton

__________________
/insert SuperDuperCoolSignature!

Dakota Buck

This isn't a pro-obesity discussion, I don't think anyone here is saying that it's healthy to be over-weight. The issue isn't so much thin avatars, it's the clear and proud pro-eating disorder message that Thinspo is promoting.

Stephanie Misfit

I'm sure it made sense to her when she posted it. Enjoy that fruit Ten.

Ten

I know what I could do with the banana, but the watermelon???

Dakota Buck

I'm interpreting "hang a watermelon in your neck" as that you should string a watermelon on some cord or maybe a nice necklace and then suspend it in your throat... a new purge technique?

Maybe Torley will know?

Beezle Warburton

A very round-about reference to the albatross in Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner?

__________________

Rebel Television

I usually find the "BBW" shapes more shocking, because it is quite simple to make a "curvy" female shape without depicting an unhealthy amount of weight, yet that's what that crowd chooses.

That, and that to the newbie looking to make a surreal/shock value avatar, you can be a squat, rotund, purple thing with just some slider adjustments. However, I've yet to see an skin with a depiction of a protruding ribcage for sale, much less distributed as a freebie.

Stephanie Misfit

Well, it would appear there would be a market for it!

Dakota Buck

Quick, Steph! Add some emaciated shading to the La Sylphide bodies! Maybe you can do a deal with [unnamed SL modeling agency] if their other partnership with [unnamed skin designer] ever falls through.

Stephanie Misfit

Stephanie Misfit rushes over to [unnamed 3D commerce site] for resources.

prinţesă nină

well, it seems to be.
constant claims that models promote 'unrealistic' figures, the assertion that people should embrace their 'normal' body shape and so on.
its a thinly-veiled dig at women that are thin, afterall, they are obviously mentally ill and physically unhealthy...