Where girls risk death to be thin
These sites typically attract young girls uncomfortable with their growing bodies, your sister or daughter perhaps, where they can talk on community forums, encouraging each other to ‘think thin’ and eat less than 200 calories a day.
They swap information on diet pills, binge-and-purge techniques, with tips on how to maintain one’s disorder, including advice on how to hide it from friends, family and doctors.
I’m all for freedom of speech, but isn’t this taking it a bit too far? One of the largest and most frequently visited sites boasts a ‘community’ called ‘proanorexia’ and users give themselves names such as ‘dyingtobethin’ and ‘need2bthin’.
Here, young girls post pictures of their ‘progress’ while posing in their underwear, alongside their ‘thinspirations’ such as the emaciated Nicole Richie and Mary Kate Olsen. These sites normalise and encourage dangerous behaviour to such an extent it is like putting a loaded gun into the hands of somebody who is suicidal. What’s more, search engines can lead you directly to these sites.
Worryingly, the growth in popularity of these sites has coincided with the increasing number of shockingly thin celebrities portrayed by the media.
Dissatisfaction with physical appearance seems to have become more prevalent in recent decades as society has become more image-obsessed.
The phenomenon of the Size 0 and even Size 00 (Size 2 in Ireland) celebrity sends out a message to young girls in particular to conform to a dangerous and largely unattainable stereotype.
Parents and educators really need to pay attention to the kinds of sites young people are visiting.
Those publishing them should take responsibility for messages containing potentially lethal advice and remove all such gross exhortations.
Evelyn Cleary
9 Frankfield Tce
Summerhill South
Cork
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