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Thursday, November 14, 2013

In what world is this woman NOT thin? But other than that, this is great.

I just saw this on Upworthy.
I hesitate to share this, because if you've never heard of "thigh gap", I don't want you to even know what that is. (I learned of it while in eating disorder treatment in 1997. My fellow patients talked about it a lot.)



I really like what she says about loving our bodies, and I agree. Why is she a "plus size" model? Why are all the models 16? (I know the answers to this... it turns out clothing designers don't want WOMEN, they just want hangers to show off the clothing. If you saw the women instead of their clothes, they wouldn't sell nearly as much. But that's a different story.)


3 comments:

  1. I'm glad that you shared this. I don't think we talk enough about the far-reaching effects of eating disorders. I was 14 when mine began, and there are things that still trigger those feelings. More discussion is absolutely necessary. Maybe one day we will begin to see the fashion industry as a "fairy tale" standard and not the ruler for our real selves. Great post.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I never knew you struggled with an eating disorder. I hope you're right - one day we'll all stop looking to the fashion industry to tell us what we should look like or who we should be.

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    2. I struggled with bulimia and anorexia in my mid-teens. As an adult I became an over eater and battled weight until just a few years ago. I am happier now than I have ever been. The funny thing is what helped me stop vomiting to the point of excess was a story I wrote for the school newspaper. My adviser arranged to take me to an eating disorder unit at a major hospital in the region. I never had formal therapy for it, but I stopped forcing myself to vomit after covering that story.

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