Posts Tagged "pro-mia"

Update: New Tech City’s “How Eating Disorders Evolved Online”

Posted by Joanna Kay on May 20, 2015 in EDs and the Media, My Story, New Post, The Problem of Proana | 0 comments

If you’ve been with me since last summer, then you might remember a radio broadcast about the internet and eating disorders that I participated in last September. The other day, the host of that show (New Tech City on WNYC) contacted me to say that the story had done so well that they would be re-airing the story with an update! I wanted to share a link to the updated story here with all of you. It was pretty exciting to be included in the story, especially because the New Tech City gang treated the topic so respectfully and thoughtfully. They were a team I could trust with my story....

Social Media and the Path to Recovery

Posted by Joanna Kay on Dec 10, 2014 in ED Basics, EDs and the Media, My Story, Published Writings, The Problem of Proana | 0 comments

The Internet and social media have played a complicated role in my eating disorder. In the depths of my illness, I used to scour the web to learn how to become a “better” anorexic. I wanted—I needed—to lose weight, and the Internet, with its a fund of information and hidden pro-eating disorder communities, seemed to be the answer. One day, however, I chanced upon the National Eating Disorders Association website and found myself drawn to the recovery stories. These women and men struggled with food just like I did—and yet their lives no longer pivoted around restrictive food...

AUDIO: The Online Evolution of Pro-Ana

Posted by Joanna Kay on Sep 4, 2014 in ED Basics, EDs and the Media, My Story, Published Writings, The Problem of Proana | 0 comments

“This is the story of one lonely young girl who used the Internet to get better at starving herself behind her family’s back, and the online moment that changed her course to recovery.”   About a month ago, I posted about the “pro-ana” phenomenon (which, along with “pro-mia” refers to anything promotes eating disorders). Pro-ana groups are online communities that insist eating disorders are lifestyle choices, not deadly mental illnesses. Pro-ana moderators host discussion forums in which members openly discuss their eating disorder behaviors,...

Thinspiration: The Most Supportive Online Community You Never Want to Join

Posted by Joanna Kay on Aug 4, 2014 in ED Basics, EDs and the Media, The Problem of Proana | 2 comments

TRIGGER WARNING: If pro-ana and pro-mia sites and thinspiration were part of your eating disorder experience, then this post may be triggering for you. As always, there is no mention of calories, weights, overly specific behaviors, etc. Even so, simply reading about these sites could evoke distressing memories. Please be mindful. Just in case a genetic predisposition, a thin-obsessed culture, and any number of life stressors weren’t enough to potentially spark a life-threatening eating disorder, thinspiration can help ensure such fates. The Internet is a mixed bag when it comes to eating...

Posted by Joanna Kay on Jun 24, 2014 in ED Basics, EDs and the Media |

The sale of an allegedly “pro-eating disorder” t-shirt caused an outcry on Twitter today, raising alarm across the eating disorder community. Early this morning, Twitter user Kristin Foster (@KristinEff) posted a friend’s picture of the t-shirt, which prompted hundreds of outraged tweets: The t-shirt, which was being sold by Toronto-based retailer Hudson’s Bay, featured a phrase that is infamous among ED sufferers, professionals, and supporters. The phrase comes from a 2009 interview with model Kate Moss in Women’s Wear Daily. Asked if she had a personal motto, Moss responded, “Nothing...