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So, there's this craze going on in the internet called "Thinspo", which is short for 'Thinspiration'.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/thinspo

Is anyone else disturbed by this kind of thing? Like, some sort of pro-ana movement where girls are all sharing how little calories they've eaten, posting pictures of girls who are completely unhealthy looking and talking about how bad they want jutting hipbones?

Link doesn't work.

...strange... you can't see the link unless you're logged into Tumblr.

Here, try this:

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/thinspiration

The tumblr link didn't work for me (I'm on my phone; that might have something to do with it), so i went looking for other pictures. I definitely saw some unhealthy-looking people, but I also saw some who just looked really good and fit. I'll have to check this tumblr out later, though.

There was one pic in particular that I saw who had lovely curves in her before picture (and no belly either) and then in her after shot she was just a stick. That one in particular bummed me out a bit. Although it wasn't sick-looking thin, more like a runner. So that's good.

Well, basically it's a movement on a lot of social media websites where girls are posting pictures and helping encourage others to not eat in order to get skinny. There's pictures like this:





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Cajungal said:

The tumblr link didn't work for me (I'm on my phone; that might have something to do with it), so i went looking for other pictures. I definitely saw some unhealthy-looking people, but I also saw some who just looked really good and fit. I'll have to check this tumblr out later, though.

There was one pic in particular that I saw who had lovely curves in her before picture (and no belly either) and then in her after shot she was just a stick. That one in particular bummed me out a bit. Although it wasn't sick-looking thin, more like a runner. So that's good.

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There is another movement called "Fitspo" which seems to be a lot healthier though, more 'work out'/'eat healthy' than just starve.

Gah, ok some of those are indeed excessive. I don't particularly like the idea of trying to be thin because that must mean you're fit and healthy. Healthy can look like many things. I'm still chubby, but I feel fit. I guess it's easier to post visible results than to explain how different you feel--or at least easier for the people coming in looking for inspiration. "I have more energy" doesn't have the same kick as vastly different before and after photos, although it should.

It looks like some girls get that and some don't. The "yay I didn't eat anything" post was weird, but I also saw posts of the top 10 healthiest foods and some good, practical advice. So this kind of thing can be odd and possibly destructive (we dont need to see your ribs...), but it can also be a good way to keep people productive and inspired.

Also even if I were thin, no one's seeing me in a damn sports bra and underwear... Well not the whole Internet anyway. Where are all the shy people??

Oh yeah, I definitely see the benefits of a community sharing achievements/motivation/pictures, but that's if there's a healthy lifestyle behind it (i.e. HalFitness), but thinspo seems to just rear it's ugly head and you get girls posting pictures like this:





And being incredibly proud.

I don't get the hipbone thing either. It's like Crucifixion Chic. Those kinds of pictures can lead to unhealthy and unrealistic expectations for sure.

This is completely unhealthy and thanks to he unrealistic beauty standards.

HOWEVER, I believe on the same thing, we shouldn't shame people for being skinny. Calling them ewwww skeletons is just as shaming as calling a fat person a whale.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

This is completely unhealthy and thanks to he unrealistic beauty standards.

HOWEVER, I believe on the same thing, we shouldn't shame people for being skinny. Calling them ewwww skeletons is just as shaming as calling a fat person a whale.

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Depends on if they are holding themselves up as an (unhealthy) ideal for which others should strive.

There is also fitspo which, depending on how it's presented, can be just as bad as thinspo because it promotes an obsession with exercise instead of fitness.

This kind of reminds me of all the asinine crap the morning TV shows were saying about "HOW TO HAVE THE FIGURE OF AN OLYMPIAN, when we come back from commercials."

My thought was, quit your job, eat 12,000 calories a day, and work out 6-10 hours a day 6-7 days a week...

Also, thinspo disturbs me because it condones eating disorders as a way to lose weight. I've seen posts on Pinterest that give details of the diet that the excessively thin person in the photo followed in order to lose more weight. I've also seen posts that talk about how the person is not going to stop losing weight until she can see her bones. There is a difference between being naturally thin and promoting an unhealthy obsession.

That's a good point, Wasabi. I actually know a dude who dedicated about 3 hours a day to exercise for a while. He was really proud of it, but he wasn't very healthy at all. He ate shitty food, drank 4-6 sodas a day, and went out drinking every night. That's kind of an extreme example (especially since now he's gotten extremely big since stopping the regimen), but people need to realize that even doing a little activity each day is a good step, especially of you're eating well. Hell, most days I can't manage more than 20-30 minutes. Better than nothing!

I've actually started losing weight by INCREASING the amount I eat. I wasn't taking in too many calories for the most part, I was just having them all in 1 or two meals per day. Now I have regular healthy snacks and smaller portioned meals. I'm down a whole belt loop.

Bowielee said:

I've actually started losing weight by INCREASING the amount I eat. I wasn't taking in too many calories for the most part, I was just having them all in 1 or two meals per day. Now I have regular healthy snacks and smaller portioned meals. I'm down a whole belt loop.

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Same thing. Eat just as much, I just avoid sugary foods and unnecessary carbs. Those Steamers bags full of veggies are great too.

BananaHands said:

Same thing. Eat just as much, I just avoid sugary foods and unnecessary carbs. Those Steamers bags full of veggies are great too.

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Those Steamers bags are a staple at dinnertime in my house. I love them.

Here's an article about concerns over Miley Cyrus promoting a thinspo lifestyle?

The photo, which was retweeted over 8,000 times and favorited about as many, has already alarmed some bloggers, who are worried that she, herself, may be taking her diet and exercise regime to a pre-wedding extreme. And it's not her first body-shot that's got people buzzing. But even if she's totally fine and healthy (which all accounts still indicate that she is), there's something more concerning about this photo: That it could and probably will be used by pro-ana and thinspo sites.

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Here's a comment though:

I dont understand why do people think if they are not thin they can critisize others that are and imply that something is wrong with them!!! I've been experiencing this for the past ten years from my surrounding, just cause my body has a fast metabolism doesnt mean Im anorexic or something is wrong with me! So please stop this useless critizism and please write about other stuff cause this subject is already worn out!

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Thoughts?

I don't think Miley Cyrus needs to censor herself to prevent being a trigger for people who have a disorder. I think that as a person in the public eye she will be torn apart no matter what she does. Look at how the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) was dissected by certain media outlets for being too thin prior to her wedding. I don't think anyone told her or suggested publicly that she needed to be a watchdog for those who have eating disorder or body dysmorphic disorder. I understand the concern is that actors, sports figures, fashion models and other "stars" are setting an example for young people, but I don't believe someone who is naturally petite should be blamed for or made responsible for other people's actions as far as a psychological disorder is concerned. Will they stop showing Angelina Jolie on the red carpet or Keira Knightly's latest magazine ad because they are suspected of promoting an unhealthy body image since both are quite thin? I doubt it. The problem goes deeper than seeing a picture of a celebrity online or in a magazine. Body image is something that begins forming at a very young age. Last semester I did a paper on body image. I was shocked to find a study that showed girls as young as 5 or 6 years old were already talking about dieting and not liking the way they look. SIX YEARS OLD! This not only comes from media, but from what they learn from their own parents and friends about body image, dieting, exercise, etc. As someone who had problems with an eating disorder at a young age, I know the influence of my family and peers had a lot to do with how I felt about myself and why I thought I needed to be thinner than I already was. My mom, maternal grandmother, and great-aunts were forever on diets and crazy exercise regiments. I was also a dancer from the time I was 4 years old. My pointe instructor told me I had to lose weight. So I did by eating ramen noodles once a day and not much else. I wasn't influenced by media. It came from other factors in my environment. So truthfully, while I do understand where the author of the article is coming from, because media does play a big part in influencing young people, I also feel there are other factors to consider before condemning stars for promoting thinspo or being pro-ana.

BananaHands said:

Thoughts?

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There's obviously a difference between being (extremely/unhealthily) thin because you're striving for it, and because you have real trouble with your metabolism etc.
Some people (@Amorous Eyes IIRC) on here are very thin simply because they can't gain weight properly. That's just a much a problem for those people as the opposite can be for some people (eating and exercising a normal and healthy amount, still being overweight and in bad shape).

People promoting an unhealthy lifestyle (purging, fasting, waterbinging,...) to try and look like a skeleton is the exact same thing, and equally wrong, as people who'd go about promoting eating McDonalds 3x a day, drinking 10 gallons of coke and not moving, as a way of looking as much as possible like a blimp. Our current culture has a beauty ideal that lies closer to "too thin" than to "too fat" so this may seem strange, but it'd be just as much a possibility.

Everyone should try to be somewhat healthy in their food intake, and try to get some exercise. Your body should register OK in all categories. But as long as you're not too heavy and causing strain on your knees, or too thin and causing irregularities in your period, or too out-of-shape to move around your house, or have cholesterol that's wayyyyy too high,...you're probably in the "healthy" zone. And "healthy", folks, is really the most beautiful of all.
Does that mean it's wrong to want to lose a few pounds? No, of course not. Wanting to lose some weight, or gain some musculature, or just generally feel more active/have more energy, are perfectly good reasons to want to work on your body. Going to some extreme or another? Eggghhh.

I will say that sometimes, just because of how the typical size of people is changing, I really do feel that sometimes people view a person who is naturally thin as someone who is unhealthy. One of my oldest friends is a good example. She eats well every day and has a really physical job. People look at her and suspect anorexia or something. Anyone who truly knows her knows that she simply takes care of herself. And she doesn't deny herself what she enjoys either... She just has the self control to eat an actual serving of her favorite ice cream instead of a punch bowl full.

Has anyone noticed how sizes in some clothing stores are way different now? Last week at Old Navy, I fit into a small shirt... With room leftover. I feel like the clothing industry is trying to coddle me. I can handle buying something with an "L" on it, for God's sake.

Cajungal said:

One of my oldest friends is a good example. She eats well every day and has a really physical job. People look at her and suspect anorexia or something.

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I have a really good friend who's in the same boat that has to deal with that too. I think my biggest annoyance is that yes, there are people who are born with a naturally thick or big frame, but there are a lot of times where I'll see girls who have terrible eating/exercise habits who will bitch and moan about shallow guys liking 'sticks' over them. My friend's roommate used to eat McDonalds five times a week and is always on a facebook tangent about how men are terrible for not liking her full figure. She also always posts Ryan Gossling pictures.

http://peaceloveandthin.tumblr.com/

These blogs are making me sad.

Cajungal said:

Has anyone noticed how sizes in some clothing stores are way different now? Last week at Old Navy, I fit into a small shirt... With room leftover. I feel like the clothing industry is trying to coddle me. I can handle buying something with an "L" on it, for God's sake.

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My wife and I were in Vegas recently and sizes for clothes for her were all over the place (they were more consistent for me). Seriously, she bought shirts that ranged from small, medium to large in the same bloody store. It was really odd. The sizing seems to be less ridiculous in Canada (for the moment).

BananaHands said:

http://peaceloveandthin.tumblr.com/

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Oh shit... Those circles under her eyes... Jesus, child.

Cajungal said:

Oh shit... Those circles under her eyes... Jesus, child.

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Seriously.

And she's 'raw vegan'. Way to mask an eating disorder.

BananaHands said:

http://peaceloveandthin.tumblr.com/

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The responses on this thing make me so incredibly sad... but the photos of the girl make me even sadder. She looks incredibly frail, malnourished and unhealthy. She also looks probably a decade older than she really is... and the scariest part is she seems genuinely happy about the whole situation.

It just... ick... I don't know... it gives me a really uncomfortable feeling in my stomach reading that stuff.

Azurephoenix said:

The responses on this thing make me so incredibly sad... but the photos of the girl make me even sadder. She looks incredibly frail, malnourished and unhealthy. She also looks probably a decade older than she really is... and the scariest part is she seems genuinely happy about the whole situation.

It just... ick... I don't know... it gives me a really uncomfortable feeling in my stomach reading that stuff.

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I feel the same thing too. I think that's the danger of this thinspo thing... here's a girl who clearly has unhealthy and dangerous eating habits and her page is full of validation about how pretty she is with those bones jutting out of her.

There was one comment in particular of a girl who weighed 132 lbs and said she felt like a cow. WTF?????!!!!!

Also, that girl in the photos is probably a few pounds away from fitting the description of being emaciated.

Emaciated =/= beautiful

Cajungal said:

Has anyone noticed how sizes in some clothing stores are way different now? Last week at Old Navy, I fit into a small shirt... With room leftover. I feel like the clothing industry is trying to coddle me. I can handle buying something with an "L" on it, for God's sake.

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I hate the inconsistency of sizing. I have bought jeans in one size that fit great, then tried another pair by the same maker in the same size that I couldn't pull up past my knees. Trying to find clothing that fits is a joke.

I find it kind of interesting that she says she's been to doctors and they've told her she's healthy. I find that very hard to believe. No doctor who see's a girl that is 5'8' weighing 93 lbs is going to say, 'You're good, no need to change a thing!'. They may tell her that she's healthy in a sense that nothing is wrong internally, yet. But I bet you anything they've told her she could use a few more lbs on that frail body of hers.

But...I don't want to comment to much on this. I don't want to shame anyone...and I'd rather go set an example by taking care of myself than trying to worry my little heart to death about someone that I could probably never be able to help.

Azurephoenix said:

There was one comment in particular of a girl who weighed 132 lbs and said she felt like a cow. WTF?????!!!!!

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OMG, that's less than I weigh! (At least I'm pretty sure - I don't own a scale, but the last time I checked I was in the 140's..) Ha, and I don't feel like a cow at all.

Yeah, I went to her blog (the 132lbs) and I found it very disturbing. Her target weight picture is terrible beyond comprehension.

WasabiPoptart said:

There is also fitspo which, depending on how it's presented, can be just as bad as thinspo because it promotes an obsession with exercise instead of fitness.

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When I was 16, a thinspo blog actually inspired me to start restricting. I'm a bigger person by nature (5'8" and a larger build) so it didn't seem dangerous at the time. However, it has lead to a 10 year battle with eating disorders and body issues. The worst part was that, because I was overweight to begin with, people would encourage me to keep up with my eating disorder. Apparently, it's only a problem if you're skeletal. Tell my ruined digestive system that, please.

I don't see what all this hate on the Slender Man and his family is about.

Necronic said:

I don't see what all this hate on the Slender Man and his family is about.

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That is some serious JO material right there.

dill616 said:

The worst part was that, because I was overweight to begin with, people would encourage me to keep up with my eating disorder.

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I wasn't overweight when I started restricting my food intake and no one knew I had a problem until my doctor did a blood panel two years later. I was encouraged by friends, family, teachers, and my classmates in dance school to keep it up because they said I looked "great". A 13 year old who is not growing normally does not look great. When my doctor told my parents, I was forced to eat and take a super dosage of vitamins twice a day. I ended up gaining back 20 pounds and shot up about 4 inches in 2 months time.

WasabiPoptart said:

I wasn't overweight when I started restricting my food intake and no one knew I had a problem until my doctor did a blood panel two years later. I was encouraged by friends, family, teachers, and my classmates in dance school to keep it up because they said I looked "great". A 13 year old who is not growing normally does not look great. When my doctor told my parents, I was forced to eat and take a super dosage of vitamins twice a day. I ended up gaining back 20 pounds and shot up about 4 inches in 2 months time.

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People don't realize that it's more than just losing weight. I dealt with a vitamin D and iron deficiency, have had problems regulating my blood sugar and heart rate, suffer from chronic acid reflux, and have ruined the enamel of my teeth from acid erosion. I'm currently thinking of changing my dentist because he keeps bitching at me about how weak my back teeth are from liquid acid deterioration (I guess that's what you'd call it) despite the fact that I've explained it's from years of bulimia and I'm in remission. I get it- what I did was horrible and I'm a terrible, terrible person. Stop throwing it in my face.

dill616 said:

People don't realize that it's more than just losing weight. I dealt with a vitamin D and iron deficiency, have had problems regulating my blood sugar and heart rate, suffer from chronic acid reflux, and have ruined the enamel of my teeth from acid erosion. I'm currently thinking of changing my dentist because he keeps bitching at me about how weak my back teeth are from liquid acid deterioration (I guess that's what you'd call it) despite the fact that I've explained it's from years of bulimia and I'm in remission. I get it- what I did was horrible and I'm a terrible, terrible person. Stop throwing it in my face.

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What good's a sinner if you can't throw stones at them?
How can you feel smug about yourself if you can't pull somebody else down?
Why should we forgive when there's no pennance?

(for the record, I think such people are judgmental jerks.)

Bubble181 said:

(for the record, I think such people are judgmental jerks.)

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eye, ron, knee

Bubble181 said:

What good's a sinner if you can't throw stones at them?
How can you feel smug about yourself if you can't pull somebody else down?
Why should we forgive when there's no pennance?

(for the record, I think such people are judgmental jerks.)

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He's also a blatant jerk to his assistants and I'm pretty sure he kicks puppies.

He sounds like a real douche nozzle.

Anorexia is one of the few disorders that many people actively encourage without realizing it.

I had no idea that people are using laxatives to lose weight as well. Blech.

BananaHands said:

I had no idea that people are using laxatives to lose weight as well. Blech.

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Oh, that became popular in the 20's. You'd be surprised all of the information you'd find out there about "diet" tips. One popular trick is to constantly lower your body temperature by drinking cold water or turning down the air. Edwardians would actually plunge into the freezing ocean because your body burns off calories as it tries to bring your internal temperature up to a normal level.

BananaHands said:

I had no idea that people are using laxatives to lose weight as well. Blech.

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That's an old, old "trick" for losing weight. Wrestlers in my high school would do it to make weight. I know some people in the military who do it for the same reason. Some people do it long term as part of the binge and purge cycle associated with bulimia. I never got into that. It was easier for me to hide that I wasn't eating.

I have a friend who struggles with anorexia. The stigma was the worst part, even from doctors and women who had their own struggles with eating disorders.

Can you guess why?

Because the friend in question is a guy. Take all the same problems women get about their bodies and image, then add a layer of mockery and bullshit over the top because people think guys can't be anorexic. The doctors wouldn't acknowledge it until he weighed around 110 pounds (he's 5'11"). Until that point he was just thin and athletic to them. Many women would joke about it, because it seemed funny to them and they didn't actually think a guy could have an eating disorder. Oh sure, he usually only ate one meal a day, and it would be something like a few crackers. But he can't be anorexic! Don't be silly!

I'm just glad things have turned a corner for him. His family and doctor finally opened their eyes, and he got some help. He's not out of the woods yet, but he's made some progress and he's up to 135. He looks and feels better.