Thinner Than Air - A Pro-Anorexia Movement in Cyberspace

By Shadi Rahimi, YO! Youth Outlook. Posted January 29, 2003.

I know a young woman who is killing herself, slowly and quietly. She practices a sophisticated method of starvation far beyond denial or purging. My friend has learned how to master the art of being exceedingly thin with the help of "experts" on pro-anorexia, on "pro-ana" websites. I believe these must be regulated as strictly and harshly as pornography sites, to save lives like that of my friend.

A pro-anorexia movement has given birth to this collection of websites dedicated to the cause of strategic starvation. They are a platform for the voice of weight-obsessed "ana's" and "mia's" (fans of bulimia) who proudly preach the gospel of starvation, laced with reverse psychology and packed with comprehensive instruction manuals.

Although most pro-ana websites carry disclaimers, the messages read less like warnings than enticing challenges. Ana's Underground Grotto, for instance, calls itself "a place where anorexia is regarded as a lifestyle and a choice, not an illness or disorder...there are no victims here."

In 2001, there were some 400 pro-anorexia websites. With pressure from the non-profit National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders web-hosts such as Yahoo! and Angelfire banned the sites. Pro-ana websites were driven underground, far from regulation.

Like many anorexic and bulimic young women, not only was my girlfriend never fat, she never needed to diet. At age 20, she is 5 feet, 10 inches tall. She was once so attractive that years ago, when I walked with her, modeling agency people would come up to her and offer gigs.

So what motivated her to drop from a healthy 130 pounds to being so thin that today she wears a pair of flannel pants under her size one jeans just to hold them up? Like many young women who are vulnerable to eating disorders, my friend is a competitive perfectionist who does not see beauty reflected in her mirror. And that is exactly what the pro-ana websites feed on.

		I know a young woman who is killing herself, slowly and quietly. She practices a sophisticated method of starvation far beyond denial or purging.

"You've made a decision: you will NOT stop," advises one writer named Shadows Truth on a pro-ana website. "The pain is necessary, especially the pain of hunger. It reassures you that you are strong, can withstand anything, that you are NOT a slave to your body, that you don't have to give into its whining."

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