Thinspirational ....................

 'Thinspirational' - is that a word? And what about 'thinspo'?

Never heard of it? Neither had I and I have been researching body image issues for the last 15 months -  but read on and all will be revealed as they say.

Just as I'm wrapping up all my evidence for my inquiry and thinking I've done all I can, I'm queuing in Sainsbury's to pay for groceries with my mum and as always the glossies are at the till to tempt you to buy them and  I scanned  along as I am prone to do  these days as a self confessed 'body- image' geek and  the front cover of  'HEAT' magazine immediately grabs my attention.......

'The scary rise  of the Anorexia poster girls'.

Inside: "Are these skinny stars being used to glamorise extreme weight loss?"

Inside the headline to the article reads, 'Young girls are starving themselves to look like this' , then there are recent pictures of Angelina Jolie, Alexa Chung, Ali Lohan  and Lady Gaga all looking distinctly 'anorexic'. The article by Isabel Mohan reveals that these celebs are being portrayed as 'the new poster girls for eating disorders and 'thinspiration' culture'.

As Mohan reports, 'There's nothing new about a celebrity being thin but when they're this thin it's shocking!'

Got to agree there! When I checked out a web-site for images of celebs as illustrations, I found a website that shows an A list of the top 10 celebrities who need a cheeseburger with the foreward.........................

             ' Hollywood’s skinny obsession is out of control. The emaciated look is fashionable, but most guys like some curves, breasts and something to hold on to. These women also make men’s lives miserable by being bad role models and setting unrealistic body image standards for our girlfriends. So if you see any of these extremely thin women, do us all a favour and give them a damn cheeseburger.'

Angelina Jolie was at the top of the A list of  ' Celebrities who need a cheeseburger' - she was also featured in this article and on 'thinspirational' web sites.

The article goes on to say that pro- anorexia sites have existed for a few years and this I already knew as I had discussed this in a previous blog: 'The size of problems women face' 26th January 2012.
In that blog I discussed an article about Dawn French's weight loss, and  several pages earlier in the same newspaper there is an article claiming "10% of teens visit anorexia websites". On such websites are pictures of ultra - skinny models and celebrities, such as Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie to boost motivation and encourage young people to follow an anorexic lifestyle. Mary George of eating disorder charity, 'Beat' says, "this encourages young people to follow the trend and is extremely dangerous".

In this new article, Mohan reports that,  'such web sites were considered  'underground'  and 'niche' but now worryingly anyone with a social media account can be exposed to these images even if they're not actively looking at them and nobody has the power to control them as photo-sharing and blogging sites found when they tried to ban users from posting only to find it would re surface elsewhere'.

 The article then goes on to report on 'THINSPO CULTURE'.

Last week pictures of Alexa Chung's legs brought the 'issue of 'thinspo culture' to the fore'  and looking at the pictures, I can see why, but what was the most worrying is that thousands of users posted comments on thinspo websites , many along the lines of  'inspirational'.  

Quite frankly, if you do have the stomach to check out any of these sites they are really 'alarming' and it is difficult to see how anyone would want to look as 'skelletal' as those images, but a person with an eating disorder is suffering from a psychological disease and they find it 'inspirational' and motivating.

Chung is a well known celebrity and successful and that is what they are also striving for. If she is admired  and flaunted on the front of magazines then the images have  an impact on young girls.  Many of the girls who frequent these sites are 'wanna-be's',  girls striving to be models, dancers, actresses. A person who is suffering from an eating disorder sees a distorted image of herself in the mirror anyway and will strive to be like the celeb in the picture no matter what warnings she has of the dangers. A consultant psychologist, Dr Cecilia d'Felice, comments to Mohan, 'Lots of people look up to celebs and will mimic them'.  

 Certainly if you compare her pictures in the magazine from 2008 with the ones from 2012 she is  disturbingly much , much skinnier.  Chung herself denies she's anorexic and  says, 'I don't want to be a pin-up for young girls just for being thin'. However, as Mohan reports , 'she is unusually thin and it's a look that most people would find impossible to achieve without starving themselves.'

Mohan asks the question: 'do celebrities have a responsibility to present a healthier image?'  

Mary George from eating disorder charity BEAT thinks they do according to the report. She says, 'Celebrities and people who are role models must think carefully about the messages they put out to young and vulnerable people. To someone struggling with an eating disorder these pictures are exciting and can have a serious impact on their recovery.'

Julia Buckroyd, author of 'Understanding your eating: How to eat and not worry about it' adds, 'If celebs continue to focus on diets and talk about how much or little they eat they will always be poster girls for the thinspiration sites.'

I agree. If a celeb or role model is caught stealing or doing drugs it is punishable in the media and models such as Kate Moss have been very publically sacked from top modelling contracts to make an example of them  but this would never happen for a weight loss or do others disagree? Certainly celebs have been sacked for being too 'weighty' but I could find no evidence that they were sacked for being too thin. Thin is revered in the celeb world and models who have this look are on the front covers of top fashion magazines.

The article also discusses Alexa Lohan (sister to Lindsay and aspiring model) who was also in the popular press last week with an 'extreme' skinny appearance but what Mohan , quite rightly in my opinion, reports is that disturbingly these were 'modelling shots' not just that she'd been 'snapped' on the street. They flaunted the boniest parts of her body, jutting hips and extremely skinny legs, bony chest and arms . At 5ft 8 ins she weighs just 6 stone which would be drastically under a healthy weight for her height. Again, you cannot recognise the same person in photos of her from 2009 where she looks extremely healthy. Mohan reports that, 'whilst her family are describing her recent weight loss as 'drastic' and 'concerning', fans on 'thinspo' sites are describing her new look as 'beautiful'.'

Other celebs 'snapped' recently with a disturbingly drastic 'skinny' look are Miley Cyrus, Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie and Lady Gaga. Many deny they have an eating disorder but as Mohan reports, 'whether celebs have an eating disorder or not, by being so visibly skinny they can be seen to be endorsing a body image that is unrealistic and unhealthy for most girls.'

They are criticized  by Mohan's report for flaunting their eating habits  on  chat sites such as Twitter.
For example,
Victoria Beckham tweeted a snap of her recent 'birthday cake' which was a plate of fruit.
Miley Cyrus, tweeted a snap of herself sniffing a bag of junk food with the caption, 'I can't eat it, so I'm just going to smell the shitttttt out of it. My mouth is literally watering!'
Lady Gaga who has always previously been associated with promoting  self empowerment ( see blog 'It's all a bit Gaga', 3rd November 2011) is reportedly 'scared of gaining weight' by insiders who know the singer. Lady Gaga has  23 million followers and came under criticism for her recent tweet comment, 'Eating a salad but dreaming of a cheeseburger - pop singers don't eat!'

These celebs are just a few who are being heralded as 'thinspos' to motivate others to lose weight. Are they really realistic role models? I decided to take a look at one of the 'thinspo' sites and what I found was really very disturbing and alarming.

Regrettably, I have to say 'thinspirational' is a word, it is defined as ' a set of images and quotes that are intended to motivate an individual on their quest to be thin'.   It does exist, 'thinspo' is thriving  and has thousnds of followers world-wide but in my opinion a very ugly word - a product of the digital age we live in where  the net allows us all  the  freedom to communicate.

What is alarming is that these sites are not controlled, monitored or even considered  part of the 'dark net'  (see blog, 'Welcome to the dark side', 4th November 2010) they are easily accessible by anyone on the 'free net'. In fact they advertise themselves as motivational and inspirational sites which do not promote anorexia or bulimia. Many quote that 'unhealthy methods of weight loss are not supported by this blog' but despite  internet policing, the dark side of 'thinspo' flourishes as I found to my dismay.

 They are social networking sites a bit like a blogger  for those who want to lose weight  - a sort of 'on-line' pinboard where girls post pictures of themselves and others make comments. A sort of 'slimming community' on line where they share their experiences, thoughts, opinions about weight loss and bodies. They blog about their 'diet diaries' and their progress in losing weight. The sites promote 'skinniness' above all else .  I didn't see one picture where you would describe the person as 'over-weight' - all were skinny.

'Thinspirational' sites refer to images of extremely thin women that are posted by social network users who come together to encourage each other to lose weight. Sometimes it’s as innocuous as photos of slender celebrities posted to encourage the shedding of a few excess pounds, other times the images are of dangerously emaciated women or are accompanied by “tips” for those suffering from anorexia or bulimia. Users argue that embracing 'thinspo' is a lifestyle choice, not an illness. 

Statement from one thinspo site, Instagram: “We believe that communication regarding these behaviors in order to create awareness, come together for support and to facilitate recovery is important, but that it is not the place for active promotion or glorification of self-harm,” Thinspo became a hot topic on Instagram last week when model Alexa Chung  posted a photo of herself and was attacked for being too skinny.  

A current search for “thinspiration” or “pro-ana” on Pinterest or Tumblr still returns hundreds of images and posts even though they have  been  banned .

Here are some examples of the pseudonyms used on the  profiles of these ordinary young girls;
'ineedtoreachit',
'skinny -soooooooooooooooon',
'only eatwhen necessary',
'superfluouslyskinny', and perhaps the most sad of all,
'i will be perfect................................. eventually'.

 You can tick to 'grade' a picture from a check list  :

'thin', 'thinspiration', 'skinny', 'perfect'.

This image appears on the website as 'thinspiration'.

It's a bit like 'Facebook for anorexics' (my description), users have a profile which is all linked to losing weight, their goals and aspirations and they put their answers to certain questions on their profile.
 For example; Definition of Beauty, Goals etc.

Here is the actual profile of one young girl ....................

Definition of beauty
'Audrey Hepburn.  Fragile, tiny, thin, her bones show. No one will ever compare but I can try and get that little'.

The number one in the list of goals listed to be achieved by users is;
'to look down and see a "0" on your clothing tag.'

There are images that show an emaciated girl with the caption, 'don't stop till you're proud.' Another with the caption, 'Be strong and get skinny!'

There is the most appalling picture of a young girl which I can only liken to photos I have seen of tortured Jews in Belsen and Auswitch in the Second World War, a girl who looks like a skeleton she is so emaciated and there are comments on the profile from other users such as ,
 'Worship you!',
  'I could turn off the tv and stop looking at magazines but that wouldn't change the fact that I want to look like this and be thinner.'

Some of the comments posted on the pinboard are horrifying:
'I look at thinspo like boys look at porn.'
'It went really well yesterday, I still had over 200 calories left at the end of the day out of the 500 I had allowed myself! Feeling proud!'  

 These are young, ordinary girls in their teens,  many  put on their profiles they are aspiring models, actresses or dancers.

I felt a mixture of emotions as I looked at that site (and there are many more like it if you put 'thinspiration' or  'thinspo' into google) - I felt angry and sick but mostly deeply sad. This is 2012 and what are we doing as a society? If I needed any further evidence that it is time there was something done about body imagery it was this !!! If I needed evidence that my inquiry has some relevance in 2012 then this is it!?

Someone in the BAPP community posted on my blog that research shows that 'dancers are comfortable with their bodies and don't have body image issues'. I beg anyone with that view to go and check out 'thinspo' it will turn you sick what the realities are for those who are affected directly by these issues! There is a picture of a 'dancer' doing a dance pose and you can see every bone, her stomach is concave and her face hollow and drawn.   

As  I wrap up my inquiry and finalise the presentation of my finidngs and conclusions, my findinigs today made me more convinced that further research needs to be done into body imagery and how the pressures to obtain an unrealistic body aesthetic  affects  the self esteem and lives of young women and for my inquiry, the lifestyles and well-being of  dancers and is very relevant in today's society, perhaps more so with our technical advances and our 'on-line' lives and the existence of 'thinspo culture'.  

Mohan's article concludes with a statement from equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone  MP: 'Women are surrounded by body images that bear little resemblance to reality and place pressure on us to look a certain way. This can have a crippling effect on self-esteem.  The government has set up a national body-confidence campaign to tackle the impact of popular culture on self-esteem and we're working closely with media and other industries to encourage more honest, diverse body images.'

A glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel maybe?

Mohan's final words, 'Where does it end?' I hope where the anti 'thinspo' sites win the battle:


'We  only have one body, lets love the one we're in,' (LIVELIFEHAPPY.com)


Lets make 2012 the year that the real revolution starts and as dance practitioners  become self empowered to resist the pressures to conform with body ideals and start to campaign for improved health education for all and change that embraces  realistic, diverse  and honest body images.


Dance training is intensely physical and the body needs to be strong and healthy, well-nourished and powerful to perform. Dance is ultimately about communicating and being a dancer is about learning ways to express our unique identities and we need to be our own person. It should be about quality and performance and not physical shape. A thin body should not be necessary for success it should depend upon personality, artistry, technical ability and the power of performance. It should be how the body feels , not how it looks and the physical sensation derived from the beauty that is 'dance'!!!!!!
Let us concentrate on what we love the most and that is  'dancing'!!!!!!!!! After all being happy is a part of being healthy. The mirrors we become so used to in our training do not reflect the beauty within our souls.
Let us finally reach that day when as dancers we don't worry about what we ate for breakfast today but be comfortable to 'dance as if no one were watching', be empowered to make our own choices and not judged for our outer beauty or body size as you will miss entirely who we are !!   

           

                                                                 
                                                 Source: google:Pinterest                             

References:

heat magazine  -  issue 677 ( 28th April 2012) - article 'Young girls are starving themselves.............' by  Isabel Mohan  (pages 7  - 13)

http://emilyrose91.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/size-of-problems-women-face.html

http://emilyrose91.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/module-3.html


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/instagram-bans-thinspiration-pro-eating-disorder-images/2012/04/24/gIQAXLeaeT_blog.html


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

 
http://emilyrose91.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/welcome-to-dark-side-well-it-is.html

http://www.spike.com/articles/lk5lci/the-top-10-women-who-need-to-eat-a-cheeseburger