Spectrum of eating disorders and society (Warning a couple possibly graphic photos) [View all]

[nadinbrzezinski]

Yup, this is one



Bulimia. It affects a lot of people, and it is the least obvious externally of these eating disorders. Those who suffer it can reach the "ideal" of what society expects to be healthy weight and looks. It is not healthy and it is an eating disorder.



This is a photo of the perceived self image and the real image of a kid suffering anorexia nervosa. Yes, it is shocking and these kids end at times dying a fairly early death. But lord are they thin, well beyond our standard of beauty, except that many have argued Seventeen and others have used borderline anorexic kids as the ideal that other kids should achieve. Yes there is literature on this.



This is the other extreme. Obesity. It is an eating disorder... one that is hard to overcome since a lot of the issues, like the other two, are emotional and psychological.

Here is the difference, and why I am bothering to post this... and yes I was morbidly obese... so to a point this comes from personal experience. The kid who is bulimic LOOKS normal... unless you want to check the teeth... the kid who is anorexic, especially not that advanced as the picture, ok they are a little thin. But the obese are called fattie and a few other terms of endearment. They are also told regularly "if you had self control." Which is bullshit.

So let me tell you what a Fat person should do with those comments. "FUCK YOU and mind your own business". But at the same time we as a society need to acknowledge that part of our obesity epidemic comes from food policy. Yup, what we chose to subsidize and make WIC eligible has a bit to do with it. Don't believe me? Go down to the supermarket, I have, and check on what is eligible for WIC. What is eligible for Food stamps, same deal. What we subsidize, and food deserts.

People want to feel full. It's just natural... and yes there are foods and better foods.

But people one reason why obese people really get frustrated is because we as a society are judgmental of them in ways that truly we never use with either bulimic or anorexic individuals. And now we are starting to do things like discriminate for jobs. And I get it, this gentleman cannot in any way, shape or form be a firefighter. Take my word done the job. But there are many other jobs he can, and he will face job discrimination because of how he looks.

Here is another little factoid here. Fun fact. the gentleman in that photo will never in his life become thin and svelte and maintain it. He would do well to lose and maintain some... but it is rare the person who can go from real morbidly obese to what society thinks is beautiful. Some do...

But you see, those three disorders are truly fraught with psychological issues too... and are in the spectrum of eating disorders. So time to start talking of them the way we should and leave our puritanical bullshit to the side.

As to excuses... yup, I've heard them all from all three types of people. I used to have mine to. It wasn't a moment of epiphany... nope, it was more finding what I could do about it and what would work for me. And yes, a healthy dose of FU to the society at large. So I will never meet your true ideal of beauty... so what?