Because Thin Was "In"

Hi Everyone,

While many people think of anorexia nervosa as a “woman’s disease,” that is not the case at all.  In fact, the rate of eating disorders in college men is between 4 and 10% according to NEDA.

In my searches for articles on links between social media and eating disorders, I find a lot of stories about personal struggles with eating disorders. One story in particular caught my attention this week.

At 20 years old, Thomas (last name not given) was battling anorexia six years after being diagnosed with the disorder.  Thomas said that he felt pressured to look thin in his hometown of Sydney, Australia.  “I believed that I needed to look a certain way to have other people like me and to make friends,” he said in an interview. Thinness seems to be emphasized all over the world in many cultures today.

“I was constantly being bombarded with images of people with the 'ideal body,' photos of people's food and posts about dieting and exercise. I would constantly compare myself to other people online and in Instagram photos,” he also said in the interview, and reported that he further limited his food intake in attempt to resemble the people he often saw on Instagram and other social media sites.

Thomas claims that Instagram is not the cause of his disorder, but that the photos on  Instagram have still furthered his negative thoughts about his body. While Instagram contains millions of photos considered “pro-ana,” Thomas was simply affected by the everyday, common photos of people in their best light.

I always thought mainly just the “thinspiration” pictures were the biggest trigger to negative feelings about one’s body. However, from reading Thomas’s story, I learned that even the photos most people consider harmless, casual photos can still cause other people to compare themselves to those in the photos.  

Thanks for reading!

Carly

More Than a Feeling...Or Not a Feeling At All?

Hello Readers,

Earlier this month, my SRP Advisor Dr. Anné sent me some articles on a recent Facebook controversy, and I found it very interesting, so I want to share it with you.

In 2013, Facebook launched a feature where users can post about how they are feeling in their status updates. Facebook offers hundreds of emotions and accompanying emoticons to choose from. However, recently, one addition to the feelings feature caused a controversy among some users. While the new additions were supposed to offer more options to users so they can express exactly how they feel, some are upset by what they say Facebook is falsely calling an emotion: fat.

Feeling happy, feeling sad—those are clearly emotions. But “feeling fat?” Over 14,000 users have signed a petition to remove “feeling fat” as an option. They say that it makes fun of people who are overweight and people who have eating disorders.  With so many movements towards positive body image, this option on Facebook is thought by some to be counterproductive to such movements, and instead promotes “body shaming.”

The petition was written by Catherine Weingarten with Endangered Bodies (an organization that positivity towards all body shapes and sizes) during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. This movement encouraged supporters to use #FatIsNotAFeeling to spread awareness for the cause. Weingarten told People Magazine that to her, after her struggle with an eating disorder, that “feeling fat” isn’t just “a light, cute sort of thing for everyone.” She also said in an interview that “Fat is not a feeling. Fat is a natural part of our bodies, no matter their weight. And all bodies deserve to be respected and cared for."

With petition and all efforts to have the “feeling fat” option removed, Facebook has now decided to take it down.  Below is the emoticon that goes with the “feeling fat” option of Facebook.

Thanks for Reading!

-Carly

Tote-lly Awesome

Hello readers!

Last week, I was out of town, so you may have noticed that I did not post on this blog. I was, however, still gathering information for my research and looking through social media to find posts related to body image and eating disorders.

First, I want to share a bit about the NEDA Walk that I attended on March 1^st. I spent most of my time at the walk at A New Beginning’s table handing out information packets. Participants showed up at 6 a.m. for registration, where they got their NEDA shirts and totes.  The walk did not begin until 7 a.m., but prior to the walk’s start time, participants were able to do some yoga to warm up (lead by an instructor), and visit different tables set up around the entrance to the zoo. When the gates opened up to the zoo, the walkers completed a 2-mile loop and were congratulated by the Phoenix Sun’s gorilla mascot at the finish line. Dr. Ashley Southard from A New Beginning gave an excellent speech to the crowd. At the end of the walk, numerous items were raffled off, such as restaurant gift cards and Phoenix Suns tickets. The fundraising goal for the walk was actually surpassed—over $26,000 was raised!!

Now going back to the totes that were handed out—written on the totes was “Love your real selfie” and “#AerieReal.” Aerie, launched as an undergarment line, is a sister brand to the popular clothing brand American Eagle. Aerie sponsored the walk nationally. I had never seen #AerieReal before, so I looked into it to see what the hashtag was for. Aerie is trying to go against the “supermodel standards” for young women by releasing ads that are completely untouched, airbrushed, photoshopped, or edited in any way.  Numerous studies and surveys have shown that young women’s self-esteem and sense of body confidence is often influenced by the images of other women in the media. That is why Aerie wants to show that the “real you” is beautiful and does not need to be edited.  It's great to see social media put to a positive use! Below is a picture from Aerie regarding this campaign. 

Until next time,

Carly

P.S. I apologize for the cheesy/bad pun in the title of this blog entry.