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Anorexia and size zero's

I am aware that there may be threads similar to this one already on tsr and hope you will forgive me.
I just read yet another article on the internet about a woman's recovery from anorexia. In it she claims that her anorexia was brought on by two very specific factors 1) the stress of her parents divorce and 2) a desperate desire not to grow up. However dispite the sympathetic and understanding tone of the article it finished with a caustic attack on the modelling industry. This annoyed me not because I support/ ideolise the modelling industry but because to me the emphasis placed on the link between it and anorexia means that frequently anorexia is dismissed vanity of self-obseesed teens and this couldn't in fact be less true. It is, as far as I can gather, an illness which affects those with chronic self-confidence and is a reaction to stress and emotional problems and issues. I hope it is clear where my anger lies and I wonder does anyone here feel the same.
This, I wish to make clear is in no-way a pro-anorexic post, far from it in fact.

Reply 1

Kater Murr

20

I don't think they made a link there at all between anorexia and attention-seeking.

The thing is, even in a case like this which may or may not be directly linked to physical attractiveness etc., anorexia is a westernized illness. If it wasn't so publicised and people weren't conditioned to feel that the 'slimmer the better', these cases would probably never happen at all (or, at least, much more rarely).

Anyway, I think you see my point...

Reply 2

soph!e

What I mean is that by suggesting that people develop anorexia in an attempt to emulate celebrities aspects of the media dismiss the reality that anorexia is a serious psychiatric illness caused by much more than an attitude that 'the slimmer the better'.
I hope you see my point....

Reply 3

chel

i get what you mean and i agree. I also get annoyed sometimes when people target certain celebrities, i'm thinking particularly of people like Mary-Kate Olsen, Kate Bosworth etc and criticise them for being bad role models. firstly who says they ever wanted to be role models, mary-kate in particular is well known to have suffered from the exact illness they're criticising her for inspiring in others. it's the media who should be censured

Reply 4

*River

15

The press want something or somebody to blame for the occurrence of eating disorders, and the modelling industry, because of the fact that you have to be slim to be a high-fashion model, is an easy target.

Reply 5

Adarah

16

the question of blame is something that keeps a news story going, even if it's a more complex issue where you can't actually point the finger at a single person, or even a small group of people.

Reply 6

username163092

19

Good point - this is something that really bugs me as well, especially after I read this article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3060191.ece

Also, no model on the catwalk (at least UK models) are size zero - a UK size 4 which, without fashion sizing, is bust = 32", waist = 22", hips = 32" , a model that small would be too tiny to fit into the clothes they are supposedly so slim to fit into.

Reply 7

la fille danse

17

steffi.alexa

Good point - this is something that really bugs me as well, especially after I read this article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3060191.ece

Also, no model on the catwalk (at least UK models) are size zero - a UK size 4 which, without fashion sizing, is bust = 32", waist = 22", hips = 32" , a model that small would be too tiny to fit into the clothes they are supposedly so slim to fit into.

In reality (ie. the actual clothes, not the size charts), size zero is much bigger than that normally.

Reply 8

SoundDevastation

13

steffi.alexa

Good point - this is something that really bugs me as well, especially after I read this article:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3060191.ece

Also, no model on the catwalk (at least UK models) are size zero - a UK size 4 which, without fashion sizing, is bust = 32", waist = 22", hips = 32" , a model that small would be too tiny to fit into the clothes they are supposedly so slim to fit into.

the models are chosen by the designers.. they make the catwalk clothes specifically to look great on them. as small as they need to be..

Reply 9

FizzBitch

2

OP I get what you mean. The modelling/fashion industry can pressure some people into wanting to look a certain way, but anorexia was around long before the modelling industry. Most people become anorexic because they feel it will help them gain control of their life.

Reply 10

username163092

19

SoundDevastation

the models are chosen by the designers.. they make the catwalk clothes specifically to look great on them. as small as they need to be..

Actually, the clothes are made around a true size 6/8 and then models are hired, the vast majority of models will fit the clothes.

But yes, as was said above, anorexia has been around for much longer than the current trend of being thin, it was even around when fat was seen as the more desirable shape.

Reply 11

Jennifer_l85

8

I completely agree with you OP. Anorexia is a serious mental illness which starts by people being desperate to get some control in their lives. It is much more complicated than simply wanting to look slim. And it's terrible how underweight celebrities have been treated by the media. Magazines put pictures of Nicole Richie (pre-pregnancy), and Mary-Kate Olson and write things like 'men find these figures deisgusting'. These women are suffering from serious illnesses for gods sake, how can you bring yourself to mock them? It's not their fault they're anorexic. Magazines wouldn't make fun of someone who had any other illness such as cancer, so why is it acceptable to insult people with anorexia?

Reply 12

InnocentEyes

10

will not get sucked into a long rant on this topic :p:

facts.
I have a 5yr history of anorexia.
I was a complete tomboy and never once interested in fashion/models/celebrites.
I still don't give a flying **** about anything the media thinks might 'cause' anorexia.
For the first few months of my illness I wasn't even trying to 'diet' or lose weight. I had clinical depression and lost my appetite. Weight preoccupation grows at very low weights - it is physiological. Before that happened to me, I actually thought I was too thin, and I was clinically underweight before I was anorexic.

Draw what conclusions you will :s-smilie:

also, never take the mail seriously, and you will go far in life!

Reply 13

soph!e

InnocentEyes

will not get sucked into a long rant on this topic :p:

facts.
Weight preoccupation grows at very low weights - it is physiological

A very good point and in my opinion it makes the media's attitude all the more callous. I also have personal expereience of this horrific illness (though I have never suffered from it personally) and know how its caused and perpetuated. As you say innocent eyes after a certain level it moves from being a psychological illness to one which is both psychological and and physiological and so it becomes so much hader to break out of. I simply can't see how pictures of models can cause anorexia- they can lead to people feeling the need to diet (I myself have felt this pressure) but that is NOT the same as anorexia.

Reply 14

Intensity

7

I don't think models and celebrities CAUSE anorexia. I do think they can trigger it though. In people that are maybe susceptible to it.

I, myself have been preoccupied with my weight for a very long time. Since like year 3 or 4. Maybe even before that. I used to wear a jumper around my waist because i thought my bum was too big. I look back at photos and i was a STICK. Tiny. My nickname was 'twig' for christsake.

I didn't even know models existed then.

Thankfully i never got sucked into anorexia, but i have to admit - whilst i'm only a 6-8; i do look at celebrities and models, and feel horribly fat. So i do think the media is at fault. And i can definitely see why it's getting some blame.

Oh and size 0 is pretty much vanity sizing.

It's not a UK4. More like a 6. I have some American shorts which are a size 2 and they have the same waistband size as my size 8 shorts. And i had a few American size 0 tops which fit me (i'm a uk6 for tops). Although they were too short.

And have a friend who bought a size 4 top in asda... and she's an 8-10 :rolleyes:

Reply 15

Jennifer_l85

8

Yeah, I think magazines use the term 'size zero' to make it sound more dramatic. My friend bought size zero tops in america and she's a size 8 in most tops.

Reply 16

dh00001

16

i dont blame the media. it may have had somewhat of an influence but its not the sole cause

Reply 17

*Katie*

1

Jennifer_l85

I completely agree with you OP. Anorexia is a serious mental illness which starts by people being desperate to get some control in their lives. It is much more complicated than simply wanting to look slim. And it's terrible how underweight celebrities have been treated by the media. Magazines put pictures of Nicole Richie (pre-pregnancy), and Mary-Kate Olson and write things like 'men find these figures deisgusting'. These women are suffering from serious illnesses for gods sake, how can you bring yourself to mock them? It's not their fault they're anorexic. Magazines wouldn't make fun of someone who had any other illness such as cancer, so why is it acceptable to insult people with anorexia?

Thank you for one of the most sensible posts I've read on this. I've suffered from similar problems for close to a year now and I absolutely hate the way counsellors have referred to the "media" and "men" and their ideas of beauty as if they're actual root causes. For all anorexics these may have been triggers or escalation factors, but no more. And it's totally unnecessary to mock anorexics for the way they look, almost as bad as laughing at a person with hormonal problems for being fat. It's like...I don't know a single anorexic that actually thinks "wow! I'm so perfect! I look amazing", so there is really no need to point out that being that thin isn't attractive. It's like the 'media' thinks this will help young girls, when it actually just promotes misunderstanding about what is a serious illness. And all those people who claim to have eating disorders because they want to be thin disgust me.

Reply 18

Miss Monkey

10

Jennifer_l85

I completely agree with you OP. Anorexia is a serious mental illness which starts by people being desperate to get some control in their lives. It is much more complicated than simply wanting to look slim. And it's terrible how underweight celebrities have been treated by the media. Magazines put pictures of Nicole Richie (pre-pregnancy), and Mary-Kate Olson and write things like 'men find these figures deisgusting'. These women are suffering from serious illnesses for gods sake, how can you bring yourself to mock them? It's not their fault they're anorexic. Magazines wouldn't make fun of someone who had any other illness such as cancer, so why is it acceptable to insult people with anorexia?

I totally agree. It annoys me when I see magazines critisizing these celebrities for being too thin. If they are ill, they shouldn't be criticized for it. If the magazine thinks they're a bad role model to others, why are they printing the pictures of the person looking too thin?

Reply 19

soph!e

*Katie*

And all those people who claim to have eating disorders because they want to be thin disgust me.

I feel exactly the same. I can't think of anything that makes me angrier. My bf's sister was exactly like this- she claimed to have anorexia at home but at school (she's also friends with my sister) apparently she was eating normally. It was just that she felt she wasn't getting enough attention at home. Her parents were terrified and I was livid especially as she started acting like a b***ch to my anorexic sister accusing her of 'tripping' her into a problem which she has since admitted/been told didn't exist. Result- my sisters situation has esculated, her friend got all the attention she wanted (extra presents etc. to 'cheer her up') and I was left having to comfort a friend who was really winding herself up about nothing for example they went to therapy and this girl told her sister her 'anorexia' was due to the fact that she 'didn't love her sister'. I now cannot bear to look at her- this is attention seeking. Real anorexia IS NOT.

Anorexia and size zero's

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