Issues

Thin people might be fat on the inside - Fitness - MSNBC.com

There are debates on the validity of just being thin and somehow that alone equals heathy. But this is mere perspective and food for thought in the discussion. The flipside was already addressed by others.

The pro-ana groups are not saying "Hey lets all go run 3 miles today and hit the gym for an hour tomorrow." They are saying: "It's easier and better to eat what you want, and then lose weight when it is time to pray to the porcelain god. Fingers up!" (Contort statement as needed for comedic purposes only.)

There is a big difference between a healthy lifestyle that keeps one in the normal BMI range via a healthy diet and fitness regimen, and puking your guts out. Stomach, kidneys, diet coke, half a cheeseburger and all. Forgive the lack of better expression as nothing is said to be personal toward anyone, but I tend to lose all tact when it comes to subjects like these. But, this is merely my thought on pro-ana groups anywhere in RL or SL. As far as 'in SL only' goes.., then if thin floats someone's boat then so be it. Just there will always be people who will see what is ongoing and call a spade a spade when the message goes from thin via fitness and health, to thin via pro-ana/bulemia support.

Speaking for myself thin is not the issue. The pro-ana/bulemia is the issue I take. And yes, I'd be saying the same if the group was for the opposing end of the spectrum.

prinţesă nină

i am reading this thread, and by the end of page 1 we were well into the whole discussion of how the media promotes an unhealthy self image for girls, the role of the fashion houses in this injustice, how the model figure is unrealistic and nonfeminine, embrace your 'natural' (meaning fat) body, etc.

marni grut

Thats kinda rude considering the topic...

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Ingrid N

I see you are not familiar with prinny yet.

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Joannah Cramer

No, 'natural' means natural. It's 'fat' that means fat.

Ten

I think Princesta just called me and Io fat.

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Rosie Barthelmess

I don't think anybody in this thread has taken a pro-obesity stance, at all.

This isn't a thread about fat activism, it's a thread about some weirdos who are promoting anorexia and bulimia.

If you can't tell the difference between someone who is naturally thin, or at a healthy weight, or someone who is anorexic, you need a reality check.

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"You are evidence that a woman who is comfortable in her own skin has a definite advantage over those who are not."

Lo Jacobs

It is, it is very much a fetish, although you could say it's a fetish everybody has. Just take a look at your local magazine stand.

Pro-ana blogs and "support" groups have been on the Internet for years, and they're scary. They include tips on how to hide your disorder. They include exercise tips ("I run at least five miles every day on the treadmill"). They have forums ("I love feeling hungry. I feel so clean and empty"). They have galleries and galleries of skinny teenagers. They have fashion tips and hair tips.

In short, they glamorize the eating disorder -- much like suicide and depression have been glamorized. When you have an eating disorder ... you are part of a big community of a bunch of (mostly girls) who have the exact same problems as you.

*

Most of these women range from 12-25 years of age. I'm in that bracket. I don't know anyone who has an eating disorder, though I knew one who might have been on the verge (purely speculation, though).

Also, I wanted to note that most models do not have eating disorders, no more than ordinary women. They were born lanky and tall. Lanky and tall people can tell you that they eat pretty much whatever they want. There was a study, but I can't find the link anywhere.

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Phant Nabob

Short, tall, petite, broad, tiny fannies, big 'ol booties, great heaving bosoms, cute 'lil bosoms, and all other variations I cant think of any clever delineations for are just window dressing for the wonderful that resides inside. The sooner people as a whole accept this we can get past issues with 'looking the right way' and concentrate on actually being healthy.

In my own opinion it says much about a person when, in SL where you can be ANYTHING, someone chooses to be something as mundane as some sort of idealized concept of fashion model beauty.

marni grut

Evendently i was right about you excuse me giving you the benifit of the doubt,


Please dont call people fat insulting over its mear a way of hiding behind our own inadequacies. Infact this topic couldnt have less to do with people being fat or thin. Its about people with a problem spreading and recruiting other to help the feed this illness.

Atia

The pro-ana movement is especially ugly for an eating disorder survivor like myself.

When I was in my mid to late 20's I became anorexic. Back then I'd never heard of anorexia nervosa. All I knew was that I wouldn't eat more than my self-prescribed 500 calories a day for fear of gaining an ounce. I didn't discuss my eating habits with anyone because, as is typical with any mental disorder, I was in denial. I didn't think I had a problem, I just thought I finally had control of my life.

Eating what I wanted, when I wanted without any interference put me in control of my life like I'd never been before. I had a daily, even hourly routine that included eating the same thing every single day at exactly the same time and weighing myself constantly thoughout the day. When I had to break from the routine I became angry. I avoided all events that included eating. Any situation where I was expected to sit down at a table with food in front of me was a nightmare. It made me feel as though I had ceded control to someone else.

I was anything but healthy. I was fortunate I never lost any teeth or much hair but I couldn't sit for very long on a hard surface because I had no natural padding. Crossing my legs wasn't something I could for very long either and my rib cage jutted out like tines on a fork. Yet my self-image still said I was fat.

After two nearly two years I was able to gradually come out of it on my own. The process was very mentally painful. It was a terrible, terrible time and one of great emotional anguish. I would never, ever want to relive those years. So anyone who promotes this behavior is sicker than I was then.

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Atia

Wow, that's a pretty strong generalization/stereotype. You absolutely sure?

Rosie Barthelmess

Atia, thanks for being so brave as to share that. Reliving my own recovery from COE and bulimia is still hard for me, so it's hard for me to share the details of my own illness and recovery.

But what you wrote struck a chord with me and I wanted to say thank you.

Atia

I tried to be bulemic, really. I love to eat. Thought I could cheat by eating and purging. But I just couldn't do it. Couldn't actually make *it* happen. So I went to the other extreme. It's amazing I was able to exist on so few calories a day. But I drank a whole lot of coffee and smoked a whole lot of cigs back then. Plus the energy of youth I suppose.

I was chubby as a teenager. Got teased mercilessly in school and harangued by my mother. She finally took to me the Dr. for diet pills. It was a message that stuck with me for a very, very long time. "Fat is not good. Fat is BAD. Fat means no one loves you".

To this day I'm still a bit concernced about my weight. I still weigh in daily (about 105lbs) and get anxious if the scale inches up. I'm only 5' 1 1/2" so I don't think I'm too thin. But my point is the tape I play in my head. Thank you mom, thank you society. I'll never be at peace about my body image. So when I hear about a group in SL promoting anorexia it not only brings back some horrible memories, it upsets me terribly. They have no idea the harm in the message they're spreading. They have no idea the power of suggestion.

Weight is a very sensitive issue and needs to be handled with sensitivity, common sense and responsibility.

Lo Jacobs

I enjoy your candor and writing style. Thank you for sharing. I'm glad you're feeling better!

Atia

There's no need for us to share details and really nothing brave about doing so. But I thank you for the support. The important thing is that we're sensitive to this illness. And sensitive to people who have weight issues.

It's very easy to judge and condem. Easy to assume the whys and wherefores. But it doesn't solve anything.

The important thing is for us not to fall prey to societal or parental pressures about such things as body image. We have enough to worry about these days without trying to conform to someone else's idea of what the bathroom scales should read. If we're healthy and happy that should be enough.

I commend you Rosie for being brave enough in SL to fight against convention. Be yourself, yea!!!

Eboni Khan

I enjoy painting pictures with words. I was making a point.


Also I want to quote my favorite eccentric asshole, Karl Lagerfeld.

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Ten

A point or a stereotypical cage?

Troy Vogel

I just hate my arms, they're not muscular, they're fat.

Any groups for that?

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Aki Shichiroji

@Troy: the gym? :B

Bard Jameson

...and I'm not a whole heap o' help with that, am I love? (says the house chef who insists "No margarine!! BUTTER!)

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Atia

It's a small sacrifice for all the sumptuous meat you lay before me. Nom, nom, nom.

Ayu Sura

Don't these people realize that anorexia kills? It killed Karen Carpenter. My idol.

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Sean Gorham

Marissa Racecourse made an awesome post on her blog related to all this. It's well worth a read.

taco taco taco » Blog Archive » You Mean You Chose to be Fat?: Body Image in a Virtual World

Rosie Barthelmess

I appreciate Marissa's efforts. I had met with her as she was putting her original project together, and chose not to participate purely because I did not have a basis for "comparison" -- I couldn't tell you if people treated me differently as a "fatvatar" or as a skinny one, because I have never been a skinny one. And I wasn't going to put on a thin avatar to run around the grid as part of the experiment so I would have a basis to compare.

I do know that I've been treated, often, differently than other "regular sized" avies purely due to my shape.

It's interesting to note that when I had asked Marissa for plus-size shapes for an article I was writing for Essence of SL about plus-size shapes in SL, the shapes she provided were nowhere near what I would have called plus-size. They were what I would have equated with a fit, healthy shape in RL. But, because it made clothes stretch and harder to fit, they were called plus-size shapes.

The photos of her in her "fatvatar" were of a larger shape than I think I originally saw of hers when we were talking back in December. But, many of the "fatvatars" in her article were clearly not fat at all.

Just my two cents, but I'm one of the rounder ones out and about.

All in all, I'm glad to see more realistic shapes in SL getting press even if it's people doing it for giggles and not full time.