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* I do not claim any of these words as my own, although I do find this letter very beautiful and many people should definitely read it , especially younger people . I also have the link to the source of the letter found at the bottom*
Dear Thinspiration Blogs,
At first I didn’t really understand you. I mean, I’d heard of the “pro-ana” blogs that lurked in dark corners of the internet, encouraging starvation and promoting anorexia. But thinspiration blogs are more mainstream. You show up on the Pinterest homepage in the form of “diet plans” that allow nothing but lemon water for a week. You show up on my Tumblr dashboard in the form of photos of concave stomachs and protruding rib cages, or food diaries with 500-calorie totals. The phrase “thigh gap” is actually a popular blog tag now, shorthand for pictures of skinny legs that don’t touch. The gist of it? You are getting harder and harder to avoid.
I could write about how scary it is that these blogs have found such a huge audience. I could write about the flaws of our weight-obsessed culture, or the fact that the vast majority of these blogs are written by young women for young women. But mostly I want to write about how you make me incredibly sad.
I think about the girls who write blogs like this and how much they hate their bodies, how they believe their worth is tied only to their physical appearance, how their definition of beauty is so tragically narrow.
I think about the girls who repost pictures and text from these blogs and how they will never be satisfied, how they will never look down at their thighs and see strong muscles and soft skin, only dimpled fat.
I think about the girls who are actually feeling OK about themselves until a thinspiration photo or quote shows up in their orbit and tells them to reconsider.
I think about myself when I was 13, chubby and depressed, bullied at school. I used to lie in bed at night and think about cutting the fat off my stomach with scissors. Today I came across an “inspiring” photo of a girl trying to do just that. How would I have handled these messages? Would I have followed a thinspiration blog? Or worse: would I have written one?
Sometimes I click on thinspiration links to see who is posting them. Almost every time it’s a teenage girl. So here is it what I want to say to you: as long as you are focused on thinspiration you will never truly know inspiration. You will never learn to delve deeper than skindeep. You will never be able to dream about anything bigger than a certain number on a scale or an exposed collarbone. Someday you will look back on your teenage self and want to protect her. Why not start now?
“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is a huge lie. Self-love is delicious, and so is cheese and chocolate cake.
Love,
Winona
(Source: thefrisky.com)
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May 27, 2012
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May 14, 2012
mimi_anetionete
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February 13, 2012
Jackie_Walsh
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Showing 1 - 2 of 2 commentsIt's all in the stereotype, really .
for instance, your profile states your inspired by gothic couture and old victorian, all in all a gothic fashion. I assume you dress like so, based on this description. Since the 60s the gothic style has been associated with death, drugs, suicide and self mutilation, etc., but I highly doubt you are into any of those things. That's just how society perceives it. People will always take things out of context, but I'm sure you know that.
As for thinspo, I can definitely see how it can have a negative effect on young girls and whatnot. However models, and modelling, is a form of art, and it can be represented in curvy or slim bodies. For example, Shakira and Beyonce are incredibly curvy and very gorgeous, no one would disagree. On the other hand, Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham are very thin but they are incredibly beautiful. It works both ways.
We associate anorexia through its medical term as an illness. It makes you unhealthy and your internal organs eventually begin to shut down. Often its a spawn of deep-seated depression and I believe if it makes you feel better about yourself that's perfectly okay. Some girls go too far though.
I had a stint in a hospital when I had kidney failure because I never ate and drank too much. I was placed in the psychiatric evaluation ward for young girls as I was still a minor. In the next room was a girl younger then me with an IV feeding her because she refused to eat. When she wasn't drugged up once she told me that she's going to fake it, and as soon as she gets out she's going to stop eating again.
So there's no way to convince someone to stop.
But those girls crossed the line, I agree with you there.
However, I have a 'thigh gap' and my collarbones are quite prominent, I have a concave stomach and you can see my bottom ribs. But, at a recent doctor's appointment I was told I was in perfect healthy condition. My kidneys are functioning normally, my iron and sugar levels are appropriate, I never have fainting spells, and I eat very little. I focus on a meticulous diet that only includes the essentials.
I've been looked down upon for this but it's my choice. People suffering from a devastating Eating Disorder took ThinSpiration and made it into a way to escape and feel better-- which is not appropriate.
Thank you for posting this. It clearly points out the wrong audience it is targeting. The wrong people are looking at it, and with devastating results. However, not everyone is focused under the same magnifying glass.
Take care babe.
Most of the blogposts here tend to be pretty frivolous (mine included) because, after all, this is a site about fashion. But this is about something really important. It's harder for a boy to understand because it's mostly a problem for girls. But even boys get worried about being fat sometimes. I wish everyone on this site would read. Thanks!