hey youtube! so i finally cavedand decided to get a tumblr, which i fear may be the endof all my productive value. so i was looking forsome exercise blogs to follow and i came acrossthis slough of "thinspo" blogs,
crash diets pro ana, which actually reallystressed me out. "thinspo" or "thinspiration" refers tothis disturbing mindset that appears to be commonin this network of teenage girls on tumblr. so these young women are bloggingpictures of emaciated women
and quotes that willencourage them not to eat. just a lot of really addictiveand compulsive behaviour masked as willpowerand self-control. "think about it, do you want candyor collarbones?" "you will get fatif you eat today." "honey, your stomach's not growling,it's applauding." "when you start to feel dizzy and weak,you're almost there." and so forth. they'll give you tipsto help you starve yourself,
to put yourselfto extremes at the gym, and what i think ismost dangerous is the tips to help them hide itfrom everyone in their life. a few peoplewho are really close to me have struggledwith anorexic behaviour. i watched them slipfrom being a little bit insecure but overall well-rounded people into being very obsessivewith cutting calories and losing weight and being extremely thin.
people with eating disordersare typically very insecure. these people will go througha rollercoaster of highs and lows that are determinedby their bathroom scale. and where that stops depends onwhen the eating disorder is addressed. anorexia has the highest death rateof any mental disorder. diets are aboutlosing extra weight to get into better shape. eating disorders are aboutcoping with stress, feeling accepted, wanted,sexy, good enough,
and coping with pain, masked behind:"oh, i'm on a diet." diets are about beingin control of your health and practising healthy habits. eating disorders are aboutfeeling in control of something through your abilityto starve yourself. what it really says is: "look at how out of controli really feel." what causes anorexia?
it's complicated, and it's really aboutlooking at the whole picture. if someone's a people-pleaser,a goody-goody, the overachieving type,their parents are really controlling, if they had a sibling with anorexia, these are patternsamongst anorexics. it's estimated that about 10%and i think possibly even more of people with eating disordersare men. but it's true that this isa primarily female phenomenon. here are the dominant theoriesas to why it's mostly women
who have eating disorderslike anorexia: so, for women, we are taught thatmost of our value lies not in what we dobut in how we look. this expectation is reinforcedby aggressive conditioning that women undergoevery single day. they come to holda standard of beauty that's presented to themthrough repeated exposure to movies and advertisements,television and magazines. for some, it literallydrives you insane.
some social scientists argue thatthe aversion to women's fat is actually a product of sexism. women carry more fat than men and it's connected totheir ability to make babies. living in a patriarchal society, disconnecting yourselffrom your womanhood through getting ridof your body fat can feel empowering and valuablebecause you're more like a man. other theories propose thatthe standard of thinness for women
is really about womentaking up less space. it's about reducing their voices,their achievements, their struggles, their health, and their bodies,to be as small and insignificant as possible. so when we see millions of womenliterally withering away, this is a product ofa toxic mentality about women that even womencome to believe. anyhow, i was disturbedby the thinspo stuff, i thoughti'd make a video on it.
helps me feel better. so, if you tumblr, add me,and if you have a cool blog, i'll follow you. otherwise, i will see you allwith a new video next week.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon