Tags
ana, inspirational quotes, pro ana websites, rosie, rosie huntington-whitely, thin celebrities, thinspiration, thinspo, weight loss inspiration, weight loss tool
Oh, Rosie Huntington-Whitely! You’re so pretty and skinny in your leather pants! I want to be just like you. Seriously. Love your clothes.
If you haven’t heard of it, “thinspo,” or “thinspiration,” is a cognitive weight-loss tool used by many women on the internet. Thinspo sites or Youtube videos display pictures of thin celebrities, models, and “real girls” for weight-loss inspiration. These pictures are often featured on Pro-Ana websites alongside starvation tips and inspirational quotes, such as Kate Moss’s famous “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”
In my opinion, utilizing thinspo is a way of facilitating the same ideas projected in beauty and fashion advertisements. Except, instead of listening to what the marketing professionals tell you is beautiful, you’re believing whomever made the video, posted the picture, or copied the quote. Then, you can pick and choose your favorites and eventually develop a skewed version of what you should look like. So I definitely think that Thinspo is effective, just not in a good way. It might be so effective that it leads to disordered eating and low self-esteem, especially for younger girls. I don’t believe anyone should want to look like someone else. However, I do think it’s okay to want to be the best possible version of you. So…
What are your thoughts?