I got an amazing response last month to my blog post about fat-shaming and pro-ana websites. But of course, it seems like hot on the heels of that, someone will always take the opposite view.
This week, Lesley over at xoJane wrote a post in which she argues that maybe we shouldn't take down or condemn these sites and uses a small study to support her argument. The study she talks about is very small (she admits that) but she uses it anyways. The study, done by the University of Indiana only uses a sample of 33 women. The argument of this study is that any support, even in the wrong direction (towards more dangerous behaviour), is better than no support. They go on to say that most women with eating disorders don't get proper support becasue society in general doesn't fully understand that eating disorders are not a choice and that they are closely related to other mental illnesses such as anxiety and OCD.
I totally respect and understand Lesley's point of view, however, I don't think that allowing sites that fat shame to exist will help us to better understand and respect the person with an eating disorder.
Yes, communities are very important, especially when one has an isolating mental illness. However, one where we call beautiful women fat should not exist.
We've already got gorgeous Kate Upton and Crystal Renn and Robyn Lawley changing the face of fashion. I think it's time for us to change our mindsets, too.
Spill it! What do you think about this response to pro-ana blogs?
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