Campaigning MP Valérie Boyer, a member of Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party, has put forth another controversial bill to address the role of the fashion industry media in portraying healthy body images. Boyer, who wrote a government report on anorexia and obesity, is currently proposing "health warnings" on digitally altered photographs of people, stating that the image was "digitally enhanced to modify a person’s body image." The previous bill supported by Boyer and others came in April 2008, when France's lower house of parliament passed a bill that would make it a crime to promote "excessive thinness" or extreme dieting,. The bill would empower judges to punish with prison terms and fines of up to €45,000 any publication (including blogs), modeling agency, or fashion designer who "incites" anorexia. That bill, which followed closely after key members of the French fashion industry signed a government-backed charter, came under fire from fashion designers and some politicians. French fashion and politics weren't at the front of this effort, with Madrid's fashion week turning away underweight models in 2006, facing concerns that girls and young women were trying to copy their rail-thin looks and developing eating disorders.
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 23, 2009 - 37 comments

Pro-Anorexia Group presence ballooning on Facebook. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Nov 25, 2008 - 161 comments

Eating disorders aren't just for women. While commonly understood as a condition that hits women, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia can be and are devastating (to say nothing of 'underdiagnosed') for men, too. This is the story of Jeremy, an 88-pound 36-year old guy. [more inside]
posted by norm on Oct 31, 2007 - 22 comments

"I've hidden myself and covered myself for too long. Now I want to show myself fearlessly, even though I know my body arouses repugnance. I want to recover because I love life and the riches of the universe. I want to show young people how dangerous this illness is." French Comedienne Isabelle Caro, 27, an anorexic who weighs just 68 pounds, was displayed on Milan billboards (NSFW) for fashion designer Nolita as the city celebrated fashion week. The prevalence of eating disorders within the fashion industry have only recently been addressed officially, however Georgio Armani has complained that since Caro isn't a model herself it proves "even people who take no notice of fashion get anorexic."
posted by miss lynnster on Sep 30, 2007 - 116 comments

"THIN is a photographic essay and a documentary film about the treatment of eating disorders. In 1997, Lauren Greenfield began documenting the lives of patients at the Renfrew Center in Coconut Grove, Florida, a forty-bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. She subsequently returned to Renfrew to take more photographs, and was eventually given unprecedented access to film the daily lives of patients". (scroll down or search for "Greenfield"). 2002 MeFi post on Greenfield's previous project, "Girl Culture", here.
posted by matteo on Oct 16, 2006 - 23 comments

"I choose to hang on to the anorexia" (requires Flash, disturbing images)
posted by matteo on Aug 17, 2006 - 45 comments

A recent study of 60 people with anorexia suggests that a biological mechanism may be a causative factor. It was found that there was a reduction in blood flow to a specific area in one of the temporal lobes in those with the eating disorder. The author of the study believes that sociocultural factors have been over emphasized. Not all agree. By way of contrast, another research group has just published findings which purport to show that "even small amounts of exposure to thin bodies can have a short-term negative effect on body image." And adult anorexia rates are said to be rising.
There's associated debate too, regarding the contributing role played by therapy that seeks to personify eating disorders. Flourishing underground online communities derive some thinspiration by referring to their 'lifestyle choices' as 'Ana' (for anorexia) and 'Mia' (for bulimia). Argentina is responding to the body image controversy by enacting a size law. previous mefi threads [via + via ]
posted by peacay on Jun 5, 2005 - 44 comments

A high school senior has been denied valedictorian status because she wasn't enrolled in the high school on the 20th day of her junior year. Why? Because she was in a treatment center receiving help for anorexia. Only in Texas...
posted by C17H19NO3 on May 17, 2005 - 94 comments

"My daughter can't be bulimic. I don't diet. We don't talk about calories or fat or weight loss. Much of our family life centres around food. Look at my job as a restaurant critic!" Joanne Kates is the restaurant critic for the Globe and Mail; her daughter suffered from anorexia. Today, the Globe published their story in their own words.
posted by mcwetboy on Jan 25, 2003 - 8 comments

"Ana By Choice". Oh dear. To maintain your christmas cheer, avoid this saddening message board. By the way, for the Brits out there: more people are on anti-depressants today than voted for Pop Idol.
posted by Pretty_Generic on Dec 20, 2002 - 18 comments

Which is more scary: that this girl is 20 stone at the age of 11 or that the reporter thinks her friends are an ideal weight at 1/4 of her weight? Take her to 5 stone and a BMI of 11 would put her well below the anorexia threshold BMI of 16.

But would her friends accept they could have a problem? Probably not. What causes Anorexia? Strep? Genetics? Models? Something else?
posted by twine42 on Oct 29, 2002 - 29 comments

Medical Compassion from our friends at Yahoo. Is this a classic case of overstretching one's ability to adequately provide information and services? Shouldn't companies like AOL & Yahoo be old enough now to be able to focus on core competencies and stop trying to be masters of everything?
posted by Frasermoo on Apr 29, 2002 - 0 comments

Anorexia is a lifestyle choice? Some, apparently, have argued that it is, and they are putting their money where their mouthes are in the form of 1 million dollars (for lack of food, I suppose). "One of the leaders of the 'Annas' gives her name only as Sahara and describes herself a 22-year-old student from the prestigious Stanford University, near San Francisco ... A computer specialist, she runs a website that provides detailed advice for those who want to starve themselves — coupled with tips on fooling parents, friends and doctors." Some respond to the advocacy of anorexia, but gains and losses are both apparent in what looks to be a battle of attrition. The Starving Annas remind one of the equally controversial efforts by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and similar movements in that both advocate widely-considered unhealthy lifestyle choices. (Sunday Times link courtesy of The Morning News.)
posted by moz on Nov 21, 2001 - 83 comments

Anorex: accuracy in advertising or a really bad choice of names? When i first saw this ad in Cosmo i hoped it was a joke. I realize that the only thing different about it than the other slim-your-body-increase-your-bust-size ads in there was the name. I had opened a Cosmo sort of trolling for just that type of thing...but i was still a bit shocked.
posted by th3ph17 on Nov 19, 2001 - 20 comments

Pro-Anorexic websites are flourishing on the Internet. These horrific sites teach girls how to avoid eating, "purge" their food, and become terribly sick. A startling and horrific companion to MeFi's recent discussions about weight.
posted by Marquis on Jul 27, 2001 - 51 comments

Panty Raiders: Humorous CD-ROM or the objectification of women? Have you ever heard of any other game referred to as a comedy? I find it particularly offensive and demeaning when a game that involves stripping women is passed off as something funny and entertaining, especially when targeted at young boys. Is this something we should be concerned about, or is it just a game? Are people overreacting?
posted by megnut on May 5, 2000 - 46 comments

Yeah, speaking of anorexia. Anyone wanna see Ally McBeal in her undies? Ooh, baby!
posted by veruca on Apr 11, 2000 - 2 comments

speaking of anorexia... "ministers are so concerned about the obsession of teenage girls with being thin that they are considering regulations aimed specifically at the fashion industry. the department of trade and industry is looking to draft regulations that would be designed to halt the "use and abuse" of those suffering from eating disorders and could force modelling agencies to use people with normal body shapes."
posted by palegirl on Apr 10, 2000 - 6 comments

I've seen some disturbing stuff on the web before, but for some reason a pro-anorexia site featuring low cal recipies and a scary guestbook gives me the creeps like no other site ever has. I wish it were fake, and all the people in the guestbook saying "great site!" were joking as well, but I know it's the sad truth for a lot of people.
posted by mathowie on Apr 10, 2000 - 9 comments