Pro-anorexia websites are a growing phenomenon, and now they are spreading the social media.
Facebook is rapidly becoming the site of choice. Why? Because it’s the “most personable,” as opposed to MySpace which is “famous for creepy old men.”
It’s causing some tension on the site, especially with anti-anorexia groups, which “actively hunt down pro-ana groups, and then lobby Facebook authorities to delete them.” Apparently, there’s an active Facebook team that deletes the so-called “pro-ana” groups, along with those promoting everything from bigotry to self-mutilation.
Supporters say it provides invaluable support to those suffering from the disease, but some studies say that the more pro-ana sites you see, the higher your risk for developing an eating disorder.
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What these folks need to do is disrupt American Psychiatric Association meetings with aggressive protests, form advocacy groups, and promote it as nothing more than a lifestyle choice. Then they can bully the APA into dropping it as a psychiatric diagnosis and the starvation community can come out of the closet.
Maybe we will then have whole “pro-an” communities where they won’t have to be offended at the sight of fat people, even pro-an bars and pro-an restaurants where you get 6 peas and a glass of water.
It is worth noting that most of the girls in the so-called pro-ana communities would not meet the dsm iv’s criteria for the dianosis of eating disorders. The criteria for diagnosis, especially of anorexia, is very strict.
On the whole, pro-ana perpetuates negative stereotypes and makes it difficult for people like me who actually have the disease to get treatment.
Thanks for the great entry regarding the growth of pro-ana groups on social networking sites like Facebook. The Center for Eating Disorders, home to Dr. Crawford, who is interviewed in the Newsweek article, just wrote a blog entry about this growing problem. To read about what CED thinks about this issue or to view the link to the Newsweek article: http://eatingdisorder.org/blog/2008/11/25/newsweek-highlights-the-dangers-of-pro-anorexia-groups-on-social-networking-sites/