Note to Elle magazine: Anorexia is not “hot”

20th February 2008

Note to Elle magazine: Anorexia is not “hot”

posted in Arts and Music, Body Image, Diets, Eating Disorders, Health, Nutrition & Fitness, Pop Culture |

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard anxious, insecure women say, “I wish I could catch a little anorexia!” as if the most fatal of all psychiatric diseases is something you can casually and socially contract, like the common cold, and just as easily recover from.

Now this tripe is being regurgitated in Elle magazine, as reported by Jezebel (h/t BFD).

You know that whole thing about how being superskinny is an ideal originated by the fashion industry and perpetuated by female competitiveness and like, totally NOT AT ALL what men are interested in etc. etc.? Well that’s bullshit, says a story in the March Elle by Amanda Fortini, a 5′6 woman who dropped to 100 pounds a few years back. “Many men, I quickly learned, really do like frighteningly lean women, whatever they may claim to the controversy. As an average, medium-size young woman, I was unremarkable, innocuous. As a skinny slip of a thing, I was something of a sensation. In restaurants and at parties, men flirted at me extravagantly…As a male friend once put it to me, semifacetiously,” she writes, ‘A little anorexia is hot.’

Marianne Berglund model As it turns out, Fortini wasn’t anorexic; she had a tropical parasite. And to give some context, Fortini has the same BMI – 16.1 – as does model Marianne Berglund (right), who, because of her BMI is prohibited from participating in Fashion Week because her BMI falls below the minimum set by the Spain fashion council.

The fact that I even have to dedicate a blog entry on just how exactly not hot anorexia is is tragic. Those worshippers of sickness who mock, promote, falsify and otherwise diminish anorexia, out of ignorance, stupidity or envy or combination thereof, are reflective of a disordered culture that valorizes thinness at any cost and views the body as commodity, the last frontier to be overruled and conquered. This abasement of anorexia as trifle adjective perpetuates not only the sheer popularity of eating disorders, but also their irrelevancy.

There is nothing admirable in abusing your body in order to fit into a smaller size. There is nothing pretty in starving oneself to death. There is nothing picturesque in thrusting your face in a toilet, sticking your fingers down your throat and ripping a hole in your esophagus. There is nothing delicate about watching your hair fall out in clumps, nothing dainty in the fine white fuzz of lanugo spotting your body. There is nothing enviable about calling Poison Control because the ipecac hasn’t come back up. There is nothing laudable about shriveled ovaries and an enlarged heart. There is nothing attractive about pushing your body to the point of death, nothing commendable about a vastly abbreviated lifespan. There is nothing serene about a disease that is actively and willfully trying to kill you.

There is nothing “hot” about anorexia, nothing quixotic about bulimia. Both are a slow backwards crawl into a netherworld of hellish dimensions, a physical narrative of a mind come undone. And for the woman who succeeds in erasure of mind and body, body and mind, her obituary will read this: She was thin.

Whoop-de-fucking-doo.

But try telling this to the hordes of Elle readers, who, health be damned, are committed followers of the gospel of thinness so many women hold to be canonical. A sampling of recent Elle message board comments:

Ok ladies I have a question…How many of us know what the fast diet or the 2-4-6-8 diet is? AND HOW MANY OF US HAVE DONE IT?

[Editor’s note: The 2468 diet is popular amongst pro-ana boards; the dieter ingests 200 calories on the first day and then consequently 400, 600, and 800. To put the diet into context: In the Warsaw ghetto of Poland, the official ration provided nearly 1,200 calories to Jewish inhabitants; those in the concentration camps lived on 600 calories or less a day.]

I have about 20 lbs to loose, but i don thave that long…are those drinks okay? I have heard negative feedback about hollywood diet…What about ephedra free pills…i know SOMEONE has tried something….did it work for you?!

I was reading the January 2008 issue and in the article about Debtor’s Anonymous and having sex everyday for a week the writer gave the name of a fitness trainer and the name of the diet that they had created. All I remember is that she said she felt horrible and that she only ate fruits and vegetables for the first week. But she also had lost something like 20 pounds

I’d like to be that miserable but I can’t seem to get my hands on a January issue.

Please help

Want to be really miserable? Check out Elle’s March issue.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Arts and Music, Body Image, Diets, Eating Disorders, Health, Nutrition & Fitness, Pop Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

1 On February 20th, 2008, Christina said:

My head hurts. And it’s amazing how recently it was that I thought similarly to them.

I’m much less miserable now.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

2 On February 20th, 2008, Tari said:

I know this is kinda sad to pick up on, what with the insane “but guys really DO want skeletal girls, they do, they do” babbling…but anybody else notice that she mixed up “controversy” and “contrary”? I mean, on top of her crazy ideas about What Men Want, poor English makes me less inclined to give value to her opinion.

Great post.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

3 On February 20th, 2008, JeanC said:

Oh Dear Goddess (slamming head to desk).

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

4 On February 20th, 2008, Rachel said:

Tari – I looked her up and she is a Slate contributor, amongst other things. Most of her stories are well-written, even if they are kind of fluffy. I’m surprised she’d make a mistake like that and even more, that Elle editors wouldn’t pick up on it.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

5 On February 20th, 2008, hotsauce said:

i felt like banshee-screaming when i saw this. yes, there are guys out there who like skinny girls. but to claim this is a trend? it’s reckless to say that, especially when you’re writing for a high circulation magazine and therefore reaching millions of women.

i used to have a subscription to elle because i liked that the whole front half was mostly dedicated to art and books and fashion-as-art and travel, etc., and because it’s well written and more intelligent than some other women’s mags and therefore i could feel less dirty buying it, but i decided to give it up because shit like this was always in it. i remember a column from 2004 or 2005 or so in which the writer talked about her diet (wow!). can’t remember what was the occasion for it (does it matter?) but i remember her line that “shrinking was addicting.” no shit. i can’t even begin to express how much i hate the way eating disorders are normalized in this way.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

6 On February 20th, 2008, emmy. said:

i am so horrified and disgusted that “horrified” and “disgusted” don’t even begin to describe how i really feel.

what i wouldn’t do to get every single one of those women in a room together to scream at them about the hell i’ve endured and the lives that others are struggling to survive because of this shit.

“a little anorexia is hot”?! are you f-ing kidding me?! i think a little bit of cancer is hot. not a lot of cancer… just a little tumor.
and you know what? if a guy told a woman that, she’d laugh and think, “not even an option.” but she hears that guys like a girl who’s nothing but a skeleton with skin and the fridge immediately goes out with the trash.

i would do anything to live in a world where women can be happy with how they look and focus on the things that matter. nothing in this life is worth killing yourself over. and “skinny”…”skinny” is the least important thing that i think you could possibly make worthy of something that’s not worthy to begin with.

i want you to know that i watched your interview yesterday and a) i think you’re absolutely gorgeous, b) i have so much respect for you and i am so happy that you have turned into the advocate for self-acceptance that you have.

i love reading your blog; you write with such strength and confidence. i’ve added your link to my blogroll and a few of my readers have commented on how much they love your blog as well. so, thank you.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

7 On February 20th, 2008, BigLiberty said:

Rachel, thank you for writing on this. As we all know, some popular diets are just glorified anorexia, and if this article itself doesn’t create more technical anorectics, it will certainly perhaps make the Elle reader re-consider the decision not to join WW, or do the cabbage soup diet, or whatever semi-starvation regime on which she was about to embark.

Dieting! Heck, compared to anorexia, you get to eat LOTS, but you might not attain as drool-worthy a figure! You want to be a valuable person, don’t you? You want to be *worthy* of a (gasp!) NEW YORK GENTLEMEN fawning over your hand, don’t you?

Argh…I cringe thinking what girl or women has read that article and *not* eaten that muffin, or cookie, or extra carrot stick, etc because she feels inferior to the “strong-willed, attractive Anas.” And so it starts and, in most cases, perpetuates. This is precisely the kind of crap we have to *fight*….

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

8 On February 20th, 2008, Charlotte said:

I find it extremely disturbing and frightening how desperate some women are when it comes to becoming thin.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

9 On February 20th, 2008, Jackie said:

Dr. Phil is doing a show on Anorexia on Monday. I was telling my mom, “I bet you there will be jerks posting there that, “At least she isn’t…TeH fAtZ!!!” *rolls eyes*

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pm

10 On February 20th, 2008, GoingLoopy said:

I think that women have been socially conditioned to think they need to be thin. Consequently, when they ARE thin, they radiate a little more self-confidence and attitude. That “I know I’m hot and I don’t give a fuck what you think” mentality is what tends to really attract male attention. If you feel crappy about yourself, you don’t smile or make eye contact or play with your hair or flirt with the same abandon. The person I know who gets the most male attention when we have girls’ night out is far from the thinnest…but she has every guy in the place wrapped around her finger in 15 minutes or less.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

11 On February 20th, 2008, Sarah said:

I’m kinda sad that the majority of people over at BFD are AGREEING with this tripe.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 4:17 pm

12 On February 20th, 2008, Meowser said:

It’s so strange to think that Twiggy “happened” 40-plus years ago, and that even she wouldn’t look all that thin to most people today (flat, yes; thin, no).

But there has, ever since the Twiggy years, been a substantial group of men who swoon over women who are super-super thin. When Karen Carpenter first sunk into the grips of anorexia around 1974, she actually had total strangers sending her engagement rings because of her “hot new look”!

I think a lot of guys feel “protective” of women who are extremely thin, like those women need them for protection. And larger women don’t do it for them because we don’t look vulnerable enough, like nobody is going to mess with us anyway.

But why did this “look” not have much appeal to men before the 1960s, if it’s something that they “just can’t help” responding to?

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

13 On February 20th, 2008, Tori said:

Wow, that post was the most inspiring thing I’ve read in a long time. In fact, I quoted (and linked) you on my blog, hopefully that’s ok with you. Thanks for writing it.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

14 On February 20th, 2008, SP said:

Meowser, good question. And, a totally baseless theory from someone who wasn’t around in the ’60s: maybe the ’60s were the first time that men couldn’t assume that women needed them and their protection? Women were asserting themselves and marching and getting jobs outside the home and wanting to be treated just like any other normal person and realizing that they could take care of their own damn selves.
So…if a woman looked fragile and breakable and like she would NEED a great big strong man to protect her, maybe that would have unconsciously appealed to men who could previously rely solely on their man-ness to feel needed and protective?
Which is not to say that I think that’s the sole attraction; I’m sure that there have been some men throughout history who have just been drawn to very thin women, just as there are and always have been men who like bigger women, or breasty women, or redheads, or what have you, without any psychological undertones. But, you make a good point, and the upswing in thin-based desire does rather coincide with the point in history when the lady-types were acting, you know, strong and capable and uppity and whatnot.

posted on February 20th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

15 On February 21st, 2008, Vanessa said:

as someone who was once fat and wanted to “catch a little anorexia” or as i called it “use the methods of anorexia for a while, until i reach my goal, no honestly it’s not unhealthy because i’m FAT” i wish i could say to anyone anywhere who has this thought that it is literally the stupidest thing you’ve ever done just thinking that way. the only way you could be dumber is to actually follow through with it like i did. lets just say i didn’t exactly get what i was hoping for when i acheived this wonderful eating disordered status.

posted on February 21st, 2008 at 7:55 am

16 On February 21st, 2008, Jackie said:

“I’m kinda sad that the majority of people over at BFD are AGREEING with this tripe.” – Sarah

You’re kidding right? :O

posted on February 21st, 2008 at 11:05 am

17 On February 22nd, 2008, Ingrid said:

I’m absolutely shocked everyday I see some girl barely eating or not eating at all, the problem is that they DO feel better looking like corpses and that maybe an aspect the men see when they meet these anorexic girls…. if they could only be happy and outgoing no matter how they look it would have the same effect, men dont crave thinness, they crave confidence… and a lack of it is what enhances the probability of a girl falling in the black hole of eating disorders.

Also, not only the banning of REALLY thin models is a good measure, this kind of comments on fashion magazines should be banned too, they promote eating disorders by showing thinness as desirable :/

posted on February 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 am

18 On February 22nd, 2008, 2fu said:

I’m kind of appalled at the ‘small pond’ scope of this article. I live in South Florida– “Tropical New York” if you will, by night. The people are usually transplants, night life is the same, save for climate. Sure the hussle and bussle and daily life is much less congested and there are a lot of differences you can argue, but as fashion and superficial goes, my aunt and uncle are both those superficial rich traveling designer types, my cousin is a clueless fashionista a step below paris– she just THINKS cameras follow her– and you know what? I’ve never heard anorexica is a ‘little’ hot. We’re looking at this woman’s point of view. This woman, who doesn’t have anorexica, wearing a proverbial Tyra Banks in a Fat Suit out of her mental territory. Secondly, she’s looking at one social class. Male Literary folk, who, by nature as she mentioned were scrawny, skinny, gangly, tall, wiry, and we can imagine, psyeduo-intellectual types. Now, I’ll admit. I’m one of those freakish think too much over anyalize things to death (No pun intended for what I’m about to say), and there have been times when I have analyized the ‘beauty’ of the strength and so called control it takes for a body small to concquer a world so big. Mind over matter– something people who use their brain might find ‘a little attractive’ in this cirle of people where the body’s reflection could be a representation of what’s important and the discarding of it’s needs some signal of qualification to that other male. The beauty of tragedy and such could easily appeal to these people.

Now me? As someone who suffers from an eating disorder? At my weight of 85 pounds at 5’6? I met my current boyfriend at my almost normal weight of 110, and we didn’t start dating till I was well below 95. He’s born in northern california, lived down here, north carolina and seattle washington. He’s a worker and mehanic and a guy with taste in his wine and can cook and loves his down home meals and his good ole friends and his country music (Though is isn’t a ‘shit kickin’ readneck, just a goold ole boy, with good reliable people who are simple folk.) And they all want me to put some meat on my bones. They want it healthy and they love me anyway but they say I’d be the prettiest girl on the block (And then they get smacked by their wives) if I could put little bit of some good ole southern cookin in my belly and get some weight on. We go downtown, bartenders think I’m drunk before I walk in cause I’m shivering sometimes and look dazed cause I’m malnourished. Forget lasting the night either without risking some serious alcohol poisioning or making a huge fool of myself– that’s some hot anorexia for you. So I really think this author jumped the gun in writing this from a general perspective and not a point of view piece. I don’t see playboy bunnies with 10 inch thighs yet or languo, or 70 pound women sitting on NASCAR hoods. Until then, you won’t convince me that mine, or anyones eating disorder is a little bit hot. I’ve never thought it was, even my ‘thinspiration’ was a drive to just push myself faster to destruction, not perfection, I’ve never enjoyed my image. Just relished in it’s demise…

And why do I feel like I’ve spelled anorexia wrong this whole time.

posted on February 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm

19 On February 22nd, 2008, Susan said:

The poor girl got mixed up….what the guys were responding to was her SELF-ESTEEM, which must have risen when she lost the weight…

I’ve been really heavy and I’ve been really skinny….men were equally attracted to me at both weights, depending on my MOOD on any given day…

men (and women) are attracted to confidence…

posted on February 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm

20 On February 22nd, 2008, bb said:

it’s so upsetting to me that many of these people minimize the effects of eating disorders, not only on those afflicted, but on their families and friends. watching someone whither away is not an easy feat. the fact that these magazine writers and editors treat this horrible reality in such a flippant manner makes me want to rip my hair out!!! the awful reality is that it is their doing! has anyone seen a normal sized woman in a fashion magazine lately? it’s ridiculous!

posted on February 22nd, 2008 at 5:30 pm

21 On February 23rd, 2008, rainy said:

For a short period of my life, (maybe a year max) I have been VERY thin. Down to 38 kilos. So thin that you could see all the ribs. And sad to say, I got a LOT of compliments when I was thin. People would walk up to me when I’d be out drinking and tell me I looked like Posh Spice or Calista Flockhart. (Maybe not such a compliment) Women either hated me or asked me how I could get so thin. (the truth was three jobs, no car, lots of walking, and lots of dancing, and hardly any money for food or time to eat.) So, sadly, I have to say that maybe is is actually true? I never got that kind of constant attention at my normal weight. But it’s NEVER bothered me. It’s a relief.

But even if it is true that men like thin girls, SO FUCKING WHAT! Men also like women staying at home cooking and cleaning. They also like us dependant. I’ll be damned if I’m going to compromise my health just because a man likes it!

Not sure if it’s a confidence thing, I’m much more confident now, at a good 60 kilos. It’s not confidence in my appearance so much as confident in myself as a person and a sure knowledge that I am enough as I am. I’d say it’s more that little-girl thing that men like about skinny girls. That vulnerability. The smaller the woman, the bigger the man feels.

You know what? I don’t need a man who gets his self esteem from feeling stronger than me. No thanks!

posted on February 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 am

22 On February 23rd, 2008, Tori said:

“You know what? I don’t need a man who gets his self esteem from feeling stronger than me. No thanks!”

Amen, sister.

posted on February 23rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm

23 On February 24th, 2008, Mille said:

Lose, not Loose!!!!! My biggest pet-peeve ever! You lose weight, your jeans get loose. UGH!

posted on February 24th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

24 On February 24th, 2008, Mille said:

And, I didn’t know you could have just a little anorexia. Anorexia is a hugely horrible disease, with a certain medical definition. Not everyone who is too thin is anorexic, just feeling the pressure to be thin and going about it in an unhealthy way. If the person who wrote the article or the men she talks about had ever seen an anorexic person at their lowest weight, they wouldn’t think anorexia is hot. She has no idea what she is talking about.

Ummm, ok, I don’t read the magazine so can someone explain to me how Debtors Anonymous and having sex every day and having a fitness trainer (there’s your debt right there) and writing a diet are related? If you are having sex every day you aren’t spending money? You write a diet plan with a fitness trainer and make millions of dollars from it? I was intending to be sarcastic, but I have a feeling I am pretty accurate.

posted on February 24th, 2008 at 10:00 pm

25 On February 26th, 2008, Dating Smartly said:

Once at school we had a discussion about too much thinness, anorexia, and bullemia. Things sounded awful and terrifying. But when last week I read an article about some unbelievably and very unhealthy thin model, I was shocked. I began researching the niche, and I was surprised even more. Anorexia is nothing cool, hot, or sexy. It’s a very dangerous disease with no complete recovery, unfortunately.

Anorexia is a life and health threatening disease that everyone’d better know from news solely, and not from persoal experience.

Be healthy!

posted on February 26th, 2008 at 8:32 am

26 On February 26th, 2008, Sophie said:

I was pondering the notion that different men find different things appetizing and stimulating… and remembered an article written by a woman who decided to become a man. She spoke of the effects of testosterone shots, and in addition to a sharp rise in being ‘horny’, she found that she could ‘accidentally’ cause something to become a turn on. Something about the way the testosterone was acting on her system- she’d be in a sexual mode, and the next thing she knows she’s getting erect when she’s taking out the evening trash. I think it’s very possible that men could fall in love with things that they are forced to see everyday, and think it’s a genuine turn on because they’ve lived with the effects of testosterone every day of their lives. The woman/man who wrote the article said that she has to be very careful, because she wouldn’t want to start getting turned on by things that disturb her, such as child pornography and that sort of thing. So men seeing these disgustingly thin women every time they leave the house and get exposed to advertising is sort of ‘tricking’ their lizard hind brains…. I don’t know, maybe I’m way off here, but I figured I’d mention it.

posted on February 26th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

27 On February 28th, 2008, Osama said:

Who are these men that prefer skeletal women? That’s a load of BS.

posted on February 28th, 2008 at 12:46 am

28 On February 28th, 2008, Nicole said:

Men like FIT women, not SKINNY women. There is a difference. When you are toned and healthy (think Jessica Biel) that is what men go after.

posted on February 28th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

29 On February 28th, 2008, Nicole said:

Oh and by the way, when I lost 25lbs, I got hit on alot less. I’m short and being thinner just made me look younger.

posted on February 28th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

30 On March 1st, 2008, kalii said:

RE:Sophie

What you are talking about is a completely different situation that that of the cis(aka bio) male.
When transitioning FTM the rush of new hormones on the body is quite altering, and things swing wildly.
Yes, the heightened sexual drive (and response) is due to the Testosterone, but it is *greatly* exaggerated in the beginning.
Over time the FTM’s body will adjust to the hormone levels and the initial rush subsides into more of a cis male’s experience.

posted on March 1st, 2008 at 5:06 am

31 On March 18th, 2008, Trinity said:

Its amazing on how many people think that they “have” to look thin or “have” to look beautiful to attract guys. Every honestly good guy that I know will point out “Oh she is hot” but leaves her be and ends up marrying a fuller less appearance conscious woman. I should be 128lbs according to the doctor, but I’m at 147 (maybe a few pounds more or less) and happier since I excepted the fact that I’m never going to be that weight without munching on half a granola bar and avoiding pirogies (my absolute favorite dish) for the next six months all while running the 5 miles to work every single day. In addition I have received so much more complements and interest since I gained weight from stopping trying to lose it. Must be the higher self esteem….

Anorexia is such a horrible and disgusting disease. And so many women think that bony thin with low weight is the way to be. Absolutely not (obviously)! Being a fuller curvy woman is much more attractive then having your hip bone sticking out six inches from your body.

posted on March 18th, 2008 at 11:33 am

32 On April 19th, 2008, Betty said:

Even though we are told that alot of men don’t like the “super skinny stick type women” what we see in real life is quite different. I have an average body which to some men is very attractive, but when I go anywhere with my super skinny-anorexic looking friend men go crazy over her. Its like I dont exist. We are both equal on the attractiveness scale but her excessive thinness garners her alot of attention. This sort of thing sends a silent message to me that its not o.k. to be average or just yourself, you must be above average in the weight department or you should be prepared to be ignored. I can start a night out feeling great about myself and end up going home wondering just what is wrong with everyone and why are they so shallow.

posted on April 19th, 2008 at 2:09 am

33 On May 5th, 2008, Jude said:

I think part of the issue goes beyond just luring a man, but what TYPE of man the “skinny set” can catch into their nets versus someone of average of above average weight.

For example – a woman who’s closer to the skinny side of the scale nets herself a “Hugh Jackman” or a “Justin Timberlake” – name your chosen hot male celeb.

The woman on the opposite end of the spectrum – George Costanza.

Given the choice, which would you choose?

posted on May 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

34 On October 3rd, 2008, Therapist Seattle said:

I dont know anything about what makes an anorexic person more attractive. I do know that relationships dont last when the you are in one with a person with anorexia. The depression that they go through not only kills them it also ruins the life of the person riding in their boat. An anorexic person cannot even carry his/ her own suitcase or even lighter, the groceries back home. A twist of an ankle on high heels can break the ankle bone. Sub cutaneous bleeding happens in some cases where a strap or a belt maybe too tight. The worst kind of hell to be in is the one you create for yourself. Anorexia is definitely one such. It doesnt matter if the boys dont fancy you today. You’ve got to be around when they do tomorrow.

posted on October 3rd, 2008 at 6:50 am

35 On October 28th, 2008, Richard Mullen said:

This illness is hopefully going to become extinct with the right attention placed on it. According to the CDC the numbers of people suffereing from this illness is so small they have a hard time quantifying it anymore. Somewhere around a fraction of one percent of the U.S and a sliver of those actually die from it.

I work around the DC area seeing thousands of people a day and I might have seen one this year. I have never seen such a magnitude of attention on an illness that is so rare. Oh well, keep up the good fight and help those people if you can find them.

posted on October 28th, 2008 at 10:09 am

36 On October 28th, 2008, Richard Mullen said:

Trinity and Betty, I am confused with how you claim men want only skinny women. There are lots of overweight men out there that don’t have a problem with large women. I see them all the time being ignored by other women and I am sure those guys would love the attention. Some of my overweight coworkers have confided with me saying that so many women have high standards and will only go out with skinny guys. Sort sounds like your dilemmas. Give those guys a shot and maybe everybody will be happy.

posted on October 28th, 2008 at 10:20 am

37 On October 28th, 2008, Rachel said:

According to the CDC the numbers of people suffereing from this illness is so small they have a hard time quantifying it anymore.

Richard — I just now saw your earlier comment on this and I want to correct you. True, anorexia is relatively rare per ratio (about one percent of adolescents will develop it), but it has a mortality rate of up to 56 percent, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. If there are about 3 million people with anorexia in the U.S., as research suggests, and each year anorexia kills some 56 percent of them, that means that some 16,800 people die from anorexia each year.

Anorexia mortality statistics are further compounded by the fact that the number one cause of death in those with anorexia isn’t heart failure or malnutrition, it’s suicide. You’d be hard-pressed to find “anorexia” listed as the cause of death on any death certificate, therefore the mortality rate may be higher than estimated.

And while anorexia is relatively rare, bulimia and other eating disorders are not. It’s estimated that some 11 million Americans alone suffer from an eating disorder, but it’s likely that because of stigma, many more cases go unreported. One eating disorder researcher places this number much higher, at 27 million. Dr. Chris Kraatz estimates there to be about 3 million people with anorexia; about 6 million people with bulimia; about 9 million “eating disorder not otherwise specified” (EDNOS); and about 9 million more people with binge eating disorder. By contrast, between 1994 and 2000, there were 18 million cases of cancer diagnosed. By Dr. Kraatz’s statistics, eating disorders prevalence is nearly equal to that of all cancer diagnoses for the last 15 years, all living survivors of strokes, and all living survivors of heart attacks combined. They are the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. Eating disorders are hardly inconsequential.

I invite you to read more about the myths and realities of eating disorders here.

Trinity and Betty, I am confused with how you claim men want only skinny women.

I think that this is often the case with younger men, or at least it has been in my experiences. Guys who prefer more voluptuous women have always been considered to have a size fetish. But considering that the average American woman stands 5’3″ and wears a size 14, I have to ask: Who exactly has the size fetish here?

posted on October 28th, 2008 at 10:46 am

38 On October 31st, 2008, anorexia said:

its definitely NOT hot..

posted on October 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm

39 On November 10th, 2008, Chris Kraatz said:

Hi Rachel,

Just to clarify – the figure of 16,800 anorexia deaths per year does not include suicides. Pretty much all mental illnesses come with an elevated suicide risk, but the data from which I derived the above mortality estimate factored that out.

Anorexia has a recognized mortality of 5.6 percent per decade (not 56 percent). That means that every 10 years, 5.6 percent of the people suffering from anorexia die…

I get the message from the original blog – anorexia is serious business, not desirable at all. I know, I’m in recovery myself.

Peace and long life to you all!

Chris Kraatz
Indianapolis

posted on November 10th, 2008 at 11:30 pm

40 On November 16th, 2008, Anonymous said:

The sad thing is that guys really DO thing anorexia is hot. As a former anorexic, I’ve never had a guy come up to me and flirt with me when I was a normal weight. But it happened all the time when I was basically dying.
It’s sick, and it’s really depressing, and I hate to believe it, but guys really do think that this disease is attractive.

posted on November 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am

41 On November 16th, 2008, Anonymous said:

-That’s not to say that all men prefer anorexic looking women, though.. It just seems to me that the vast majority do.

posted on November 16th, 2008 at 11:24 am

42 On November 21st, 2008, Karolina Armatova said:

Another good reason not to read these stupid so-called “women’s” magazines. All they do is promote unhealthy stereotypes and lower women’s self esteem; rather than educate and enlighten. Read some literature, you’ll grow a lot more.

As for what men like, there will always be men that are attracted to frailty in women, whether it be physical or mental, but I think it’s more of a reflection of their insecurities.

posted on November 21st, 2008 at 6:27 pm

43 On April 13th, 2010, basketsofdreams said:

I like my male attention as much as the next person and I’ve certainly had my share. The only time I was exceptionally thin was when I was 107# and 5’7″ tall. But of course I had a severe accident and was quite ill. Did I fit in a size 5 … yes. So what! I got no more attention than when I was 117 or 137. I’m hot! Not my body … ME! I don’t just think it — men think it — of all ages and all educational levels! Why? Because I think I’m sensual … and they think I am too! I’ve had woman after woman tell me that I should write a book … I care … but not too much! The fact is … it’s very sad if you believe that your body dictates your life. I simply don’t give anyone or anything that type of power over me. First of all, it doesn’t work … people (men and women) aren’t looking for weekness unless they are lacking something of their own … they’re looking for someone alive … these poor women surely don’t meet that standard!

THIS IS ABOUT THE SADDEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN AND I HOPE TO GOD THAT NO ONE I KNOW EVER EXPERIENCES THIS SAD AND DISGUSTING STATE OF MIND.

For Jude … you have my sympathies that the only thing you have going for your is your body. Try getting an education or improving your personality!

As for Elle or any other magazines that promote this dysfunctional behavior … they should be banned and boycotted. Put it on every Facebook page, Tweat away, and get this stupidity off our shelves. What kind of example are we setting for our children and grandchildren.

IT’S UNBELIEVABLE WHAT WE WILL TOLERATE THESE DAYS!

posted on April 13th, 2010 at 6:54 pm

44 On August 20th, 2010, Michelle said:

The fact is, the fashion industry is run by gay men. The dominant aesthetic of gay culture is young, slim and male. Who do these models look like? They look like young, slim, males.

Whoever said that men flirted with her more when she was skinny proved the point she was trying to disprove. It takes a certain kind of man to have the brains to realize he has been trained to be attracted to a certain kind of woman, then to admit to himself that he is attracted to someone other than a representative of the only kind of woman who considered to have any value in our culture, and it takes some serious balls to step up and acknowledge it by flirting with that woman in full public view. There aren’t many of them around.

posted on August 20th, 2010 at 3:36 pm