First, let me start off by stating what will soon be apparently obvious. Freedom of speech should never be compromised. Denouncing a particular belief, while at the same time expressing your own views that may offend others, expose a staggering level of arrogance and hypocrisy.

Franca Sozzani, the editor in chief of Vogue Italia, has created a petition on Vogue to collect signatures against the pro-ana profiles on Facebook. She wants to block these sites and other pro-ana websites in Italy due to their negative influence. I suggest Vogue should be a serious contender to be censored from the Internet as well according to Sozzani’s deductive logic.

Carolyn Costin, a board member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, says: “I’ve been treating eating disorders for 32 years. Long before Facebook was here, there have been eating disorders. There’s no way anyone can put their finger on any one thing that causes eating disorders.”

Pro-ana is a term that represents a wide range of views. Personally, I have used the statement as an indicator of my illness, which means I have not recovered. My website intends to provide my readers (anoretic/bulimic/ed-nos/over-eaters) with information, and not encourage eating disordered behavior with harmful tips. Nor do I believe that “pro ana” is an entity in itself rather than a mere description. There is a considerable part of the pro-ana movement I don’t want to be associated with, which is why I have changed the website name and distanced myself from this specific group.

I decided to take a look at the Italian edition of Vogue. The homepage greeted me with pictures of underweight women (links):

Itsy & Bitsy

Vogue editor Franca Sozzani, claims that “models, are in most cases naturally long, lean and slender being still very young and still not fully developed and that designers themselves discard those who are visibly suffering from nutritional problems.” [Please insert heavy sarcasm here!]

Famous model Candice Swanpoel has recently been embroiled in a weight controversy. She has lost a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time. Swanpoel is 22 years old, and I assume women at that age are fully developed, Ms Sozzani?

Sources:

Vogue.it
FASHIONetc: Sozzani creates petition against pro-anaorexia sites

sangrea.net

I have been really tired this week, and eminently disorganized. I wish I could take a break from life for a while.

My tiredness gave me the idea to try out Yoga, it would be a great way to incorporate stretching into my exercise routine. After my treadmill workout, I went inside the studio, and to my surprise it soon became crowded with eager Yogaers. I thought the crowded room would serve as an encouragement until we started with some gentle warm-up and breathing exercises, and my neighbor put her feet within one inch of my nose. I hate the thought of someone banging their naked toes in my face.

“Breathe in, breathe out. Don’t forget to exhale,” the instructor continuously repeated. Her voice wasn’t silent, it pierced viciously through the quiet, sweaty studio. Meanwhile, here I was twisting myself into a pretzel, and my back eventually started to hurt when we moved forward to something called the plow pose, (and yes, it was as horrific as it sounds). I decided it was time to leave. Maybe I’ll just try out a stretching class next week.

Despite being quite attached to you, regardless of the pain you caused me growing sideways, I won’t be missing you. As a parting gift, you left a hole in my gum in addition to feeling traumatized, as it was my worst dental experience ever. After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, the little devil finally conceded, and let go of my sore gum. Now that the yanking, pulling and merciless drilling is over, (the procedure was performed yesterday), I sit here wondering when the next wisdom tooth will emerge.

The vicodin I was prescribed is not strong enough to alleviate the pain, but it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

“Toothpaste for dinner”

Last year, my psychiatrist said he couldn’t take responsibility for my safety, so I decided to quit therapy. Not because I had any illusions of stable mental health over the long haul, but I didn’t want to be hospitalized again. At that time, my BMI was 16, and I tried to reason with him as long as I stayed above 15, my health concerns did not warrant immediate hospitalization.

In the course of a very detailed and vigorous discussion, my argument didn’t manage to sway his opinion, which made my decision about ending treatment easier. I suppose he eventually had to discard his hypotheses that my therapy did not have any significant correlation to my weight issues (most likely because I bored him to death because I talked about weight-scale-food-cals-carbs nonstop).

Maybe  it’s time to crawl back to him again so he can fix the broken mind.

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I wish I had more time. There are still traces of silky white fur on the blankets and the windows sills.. where you loved to spend your days when you were not ‘walking in my footsteps’ and sleeping in my bed, watching over me when I needed you.

I miss you terribly.

My heart goes out to Japan during this tragic time and my deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who has suffered as a result of the earthquake and tsunami.

The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund was launched at GlobalGiving.org to garner funds that will be given to a variety of relief organizations helping victims of the earthquake. It has already raised over $300,000, particularly from concerned Twitter users around the world. The project page explains:

“We are working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations on the ground to provide support. Our partners on the ground are working hard to provide immediate relief.”

Donate: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

Initially the Japanese Red Cross said they were not in need of help, but as they began to access the damage they quickly reached out to the Red Cross indicating that it would accept financial support from the Red Cross for its role providing first aid, emotional support and relief items to those displaced.

American Red Cross: Donate for Japan

British Red Cross: Donate for Japan

Woke up to the horrifying news about the massive quake that struck Japan and has been followed by powerful aftershocks. A devastating tsunami swept along the northern part of the country and threatened coastal areas throughout the Pacific. The Japanese government issued a state of emergency at a nuclear power plant after a cooling system failure in the wake of the quake.

AP Video: Earthquake as seen from above

I have established a new exercise regime. Walking on the treadmill for approximately 1.5 hours every day, has been a calming experience reducing my anxiety level, while peeling away the layers of fat that coat my body. This has been a reasonable decision to make, considering I used to work out like Ms Crazy at the height of my eating disorder.

I want to cleanse my mind (and body) of all conscious memories, but I’m not. It’s just lie after lie wrapping around me in an elaborate pattern. I’m enabling my disordered aspirations, fuelling them with a desire to neglect reality.

“We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty.”

Robin Gerber, author

“Comic: Toothpaste for Dinner”

Around the age of 8, I was flipping through my mother’s magazines when I came across an article comparing female bodies to pieces of fruit. The choices given were: apple, pear and banana. My subjective understanding defined me as a banana, although I was not quite convinced whether my body belonged in this particular fruit category.

Society’s perceptions of body image have not moved forward in time. We still have the body shape “fruit chart” in various magazines. It’s basically a lose-lose situation. Apple shape (overweight), pear shape (large booty), banana (boyish figure).

Perhaps it’s finally an end of an era in modern history. “The Butterfly Foundation” claims that artist-based descriptions are positive ways of referring to women’s bodies. Instead of comparing a woman to an apple, we should compare her to Rembrandt, da Vinci or Rubens ideals of women.

A butterfly representative says: “At least these categories let women know that all types of body shapes have been around for a long time and have been considered beautiful by artists throughout history.”

Grrreat, it’s a revolutionary change that will improve my body image and self-worth immensely.