Outrage at 'skin and bones' Miss Universe contestant Australia

[sixmile]

Australia's Miss Universe competition found itself under scrutiny yesterday as doctors and dieticians questioned the inclusion of a finalist they claimed was severely underweight.

Dietician Melanie McGrice told Australia's Daily Mail that at 180cm (5' 10") and weighing just 49kg (105 lbs.), 19-year-old Stephanie Naumoska was well under the World Health Organisation's benchmark for malnutrition.



"I would certainly want to be doing an assessment of her diet to make sure she doesn't have some type of eating disorder," she said.

The controversy surfaced after images of Naumoska parading in a bikini during the swimsuit competition showed her ribs and pelvic bones protruding.

McGrice told the Herald Sun there appeared to be "significant muscle wasting" on Naumoska's upper arm and legs.

more at link:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/outrage-at-skin-and-bones-miss-universe-model-1673837.html

[MADem]

1. How horrifying. And she thinks she looks great. Ewww. nt

[Dragonfli]

8. The truly sad part is she probably thinks she is "fat"

Looks in the mirror sees a fat girl and goes to purge some more.

It is a horrible disorder that affects self perception in ways that are nearly impossible to believe.

She needs professional help before she inadvertently kills herself.
This is no joke and a very tragic disease, I am glad someone involved in the pageant finally intervened.

I wonder how she made it that far without intervention in local pageants? Sick how some turn their blind eye or even applaud "the effects" of her disorder.

[MADem]

18. I can't understand what judge would vote for someone who looks like that.

Perhaps she was larger at her last win, and only recently has gone a bit off the page with the body image issues.

There's nothing wrong with some meat on the bones. I don't "get" the need to be stick skinny. Down through the centuries it's been derided, and people who were "too thin" were pitied. I guess every fault's a fashion, eventually.

If people eat right and exercise reasonably and stay active, they'll settle at a healthy weight that is right for them. I think that poor girl looks incredibly hideous, though. There's no nice way to describe it.

[Dragonfli]

48. I am so cynical I believe they voted for her because of it

It is far from my area of expertize but I am of the impression the pageant sub-culture applauds this sort of body image. They have damaged the self esteem and even health of many women simply by their existence.

[MADem]

80. That's sad, if true. The rest of the contestants looked VERY fit and on the slim side, many of them

(though not all), but not wasted and stringy like that poor lass.

[katanalori]

49. I am weary

of the prejudice against skinny. I am weary of the assumptions that we are skinny on purpose. Most people know that it is politically incorrect to bash "fat" people, but think nothing about showing open disgust at those who are too thin. I lost 20 pounds due to illness, and I do not gain weight easily. It is as hard for me to gain weight as it is for others to lose it. At the workplace, I endured comments like "are you anorexic?" "Do you think you look good - you don't." It has taken me nearly 3 years to put the weight back on, and I have to be mindful every day to eat enough calories to keep it on. I do not know why this beauty contestant is so thin, but I will not presume it is on purpose or her fault.

[MADem]

79. Do you run about in bikinis, flaunting your thinness and posing proudly to show it off?

That was caused, as you say, due to ILLNESS? That you were "trying to overcome?"

Did you enter beauty pageants and hold up your skeletal frame as something to be emulated? No, of course you didn't.

By your own words, you say that you were working to gain weight and having a hard time doing it.

People "mentioned" your thinness out of concern for your health, not because they were getting some sort of jollies making fun of you. They feared you were anorexic because it's not an unheard-of condition.

Anorexia "is" a real problem, mostly amongst women, but even boys are getting into the act, because the girls won't touch them with a ten foot pole unless they have a six-pack and wear perfume with "manly" names like AXE. Or AX...whatever. I'll have to "axe" someone which it is...! These asinine body-type ideals are really making it difficult for children to just live and be healthy.

The more important question here is not so much why the contestant is so hideously thin, but why the judges passed her on up to compete in this level of the contest--unless she had more meat on her bones when she won the last round.

"Body ideals" come and go due to fashion, and sometimes thin is in and stout is out, and sometimes plump is what you wanna hump. The bottom line, though, is that "extremes" are perceived as unhealthy. Sometimes they aren't, depending on the body type of the individual, but more often, they are. This poor girl's image was the "Ugh!" heard round the world--every media outlet has a blurb on it. But it's not just her starved image that is the issue, it's the fact that she's competing in a beauty contest and flaunting it as though she truly believes it's some sort of "ideal."

[treestar]

109. Oh come on!

That's downright scary.

A beauty contestant? You can bet it's anorexia. And you're in denial.

[Name removed]

114. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seabeyond]

117. oh

what part of new mexico. i love new mexico. it isnt texas, lol

[blonndee]

118. Well, this is a weird diversion

but I'm from Eastern New Mexico. I know all the Texans will be just SHOCKED to hear it, but, strangely enough, I am proud NOT to be a Texan. :)

[seabeyond]

119. lol lol

seein how i am a calif that got stuck here, i am with you.

when i realized i had been here workin on two decades, i lost breath and started panicking. asked hubby when i would be considered a texan. he assured me, .... nevah. wink

parents have a house in cloudcroft, we enjoy it there. meet up in albq for weekends, love the sky. chukra is pretty. spend time in red river. whne my hubby married me, part of the contract was he would get me out of texas quarterly.

a little diversion doesnt hurt. i havent seen anyone from new mexico here. and i am in need of getting out of town. been about 4 months, lol

[blonndee]

123. Interesting

My family lives in Cloudcroft, a welcome respite from "Little Texas," where I live. The funny thing is, the Texan tourists think they OWN Cloudcroft, and they act accordingly. What they don't know is that they are sneered at and charged more, not because they are Texans, but because they act like effing a-holes when they come here. It's almost like they don't know that they get charged almost double at the stores. It's almost like they think we CARE about their opinions. It's almost like we New Mexicans appreciate their opinions. Almost.

[seabeyond]

136. i just appreciate

feeling the energies of new mexico. so if they want to rape me on prices, i guess i will bend over, and they can chuckle behind my back. i have always felt good talking to the people i visit and haven't felt the animosity you express. but i dont mind seeing their economy boom off my dollar.

i lived in two tourist areas. carmel and bishop, calif. the people in bishop felt the same way about the people that came up from los angeles. flatlanders. i didn't care. nice people, or not nice people, from bishop and from l.a. i just enjoyed the ones that allowed themselves to be enjoyed.

[blonndee]

141. Hi seabeyond,

Sorry I was rude last night. I totally didn't mean to be. I get too wound up and snarky when it comes to Texas, and I really shouldn't. This morning I was rereading what I wrote last night and I realized how snotty and pissed-off I sounded when I wasn't. I guess I had one too many glasses of wine, LOL.

I actually do enjoy the people I've met, and my parents have some GREAT friends who come in for the summer and the holidays from Texas. I should really work on my attitude about that, and I shouldn't say those kinds of things. I'm sorry.

[seabeyond]

144. ahhhh

not a problem. i understand

[quakerboy]

143. Are you kidding me?

Apparently this hit a nerve for you. But your reaction seems to verge on the absurd to me. "Prejudice against skinny" Really?

"Most people know that it is politically incorrect to bash 'fat' people". The next joke I hear that starts "yo momma is so skinny" will be the first.

The weird part of this whole story is that it is somehow a story, because every other time a skinny person has been in a beauty contest in the last 20 years, that was just a normal contest. When was the last time you saw an overweight person in one of these contests?

[RebelOne]

29. No matter how thin a woman is, she still thinks she is fat.

Someone called me skinny the other day, and I thought, "My bathroom scales don't tell me I am skinny." Within the past year, I have lost 20 pounds, but when I look in the mirror, I still see blubber around my middle even though I have gone down four dress sizes.

[sixmile]

35. The middle blubber is the hardest to lose

I am going through the same thing. Keep up the cardio and diet and one day you'll walk past the mirror and be pleased!

I read that Green Tea is helpful in 'turning on' your body's brown fat burning capabilities. Maybe look into that.

[Dragonfli]

43. You are probably quite beautiful

Having dropped 4 dress sizes I would say you have done all you need to do to be healthy.
Healthy is beautiful especially on a woman.

Give yourself a break and learn to appreciate the beauty you posses rather than seeking the ever elusive goal of perfection.

I understand that women have trouble accepting anything other than the perfect body, my wife was the same way before she died, she was breathtaking but in middle age she worried about the middle blubber you mentioned.

What made her feel better about it was when she got one of those giant balloon balls and did core training, she didn't need it IMO but it made her feel better, try that, but remember you are beautiful if healthy because as a woman you were simply designed that way. To a man what you think is a terrible problem is most likely completely unnoticed.
To a man you are most likely gorgeous.
:loveya:

[MADem]

81. You probably look fantastic! Take lots of pictures.

We always look our best "twenty years ago!"

The scale doesn't always tell the tale, either. One pound of lose, jiggly fat takes up the same amount of "room" on your frame as six pounds of delightful, fat-burning muscle does.

[JerseygirlCT]

46. Absolutely

Nothing to fool around with. She needs help.

[JerseygirlCT]

47. Dupe - sorry

[tabasco]

95. Stop making shit up.

You don't know anything about her mental health.

[Dragonfli]

122. Define the word probably

Many women that show signs of emaciation and muscle loss are either physically ill, malnourished, or anorexic.

Those would be the three most likely, other things are also possible but far less likely.

Since she does not come from a famine ravaged village and there was no report of severe illness, I assessed what could "probably" be the cause of such a dangerous physical condition.

I am sorry if I show empathy for those thus afflicted and wish them to find treatment to save their lives. We can not all be psychopaths with a fetish for emaciated women.

That girl is not healthy, I do not care if she is thin, only if she is healthy while doing it.

What exactly about my post bothered you so? My concern? or my voicing it?

[21st century fox]

60. That's why it's called a disorder. It's a mental illness.

Someone who has a distorted body image is sick and needs help desperately, to avoid ending up like Karen Carpenter. No, it doesn't look good, but I have compassion for anyone struggling psychologically.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. That's a sad picture

She looks like a classic example of anorexia.

Not a beauty.
Definitely an ill-looking person.

very sad.

[Maru Kitteh]

107. Dr. Tinycat is AWESOME. :-)

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. She needs assistance... not a 'beauty' pageant.

[customerserviceguy]

17. Young women and girls who would copy her

don't need beauty pageants, either.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

30. I am in full agreement.

The societal pressures inflicted upon women to be just "so" is egregious.

[customerserviceguy]

78. And thinking people have been turning away from them

that's why asshats like Donald Trump will stage a cage fight between a flamboyant gay man and a bimbo fundie to gin up the ratings for next year's show.

[Love Bug]

4. Did she look like that when she won Miss Australia?

[sixmile]

24. She didn't win. She was a contestant

nt

[cali]

5. get her into a hospital stat

that's a sick, sick girl.

[frebrd]

6. She looks like a skeleton with skin!

Painful to look at.

[Systematic Chaos]

7. Five feet TEN? She shouldn't be an ounce under 140 at a minimum.

My mother was 5'5" and weighed around 130 in her prime and she wasn't "fat" at all. I get ill looking at that picture for too long. :scared:

[cali]

12. that' s not necessarily true. I have two nieces

who have always been rail thin. One's now in her mid-twenties and is around 5'4" and she's never weighed more than a 100 pounds. Her younger sister is the same. Neither is remotely anorexic or bulemic. That's just how they're built.

[MADem]

20. This woman is half a foot taller than your nieces, and the same darn weight!

THAT is a problem.

[cali]

25. I was responding to the claim that the Australian girl would have

to weigh a minimum of 140, not that my neices were in the unhealthy and dire state she is.

[MADem]

33. Well, she really should weigh at LEAST that much, at that height.

She's two inches shy of six feet.

Your neices aren't that tall, so they don't need to weigh that much.

[iris27]

21. yeah, 100 pounds is an underweight BMI for 5'4"...but how much more so for 5'10"?!?

To have the same BMI as your niece, Miss Australia would have to be 120 pounds. To have a clinically "normal" weight, she would have to weigh 129 pounds at a minimum.

[madrchsod]

26. i have a problem with her hair....

it looks like her hair is healthy and very thick. it would seem if she was starving herself then her hair would not look that good....or i could be wrong. she should be at least 125

[sixmile]

27. I think she has a gorgeous face and hair

She'd look great in a car.

[MADem]

34. As the stick shift???

She looks horrid. Poor thing.

[sixmile]

36. C'mon. This is not a horrid woman!

This is:

[MADem]

42. I'll bet she is a delightful young girl and has family who love her, but she needs help

because her appearance is just ghastly. She looks very unhealthy, like she's ready to die. I don't understand how she progressed that far in the competition. The rest of the contestants are slim, but they do not have the appearance of a starved animal.

It's pretty bad when she can make "cigarettes and chardonnay" dieter Coulter (to quote Brock) look like a person of normal weight.

[cherish44]

70. You can get fake hair

The lace front wigs on the market are very realisitic looking

[Sultana]

134. Yep

Beyonce is the Queen of lace fronts :eyes:

[tblue37]

131. Major pageants' contestants these days almost always have hair extensions.

On edit: Now that I have seen the full front view of the girl, I guarantee those are hair extensions.

[seabeyond]

138. where

did you find front view. i was curious if skeleton just cause side view and if front view would show, not so much

[tblue37]

139. Post #36 on this thread is a full body picture taken from the front.

She looks even more skeletal in this picture than in the side shot:

[seabeyond]

140. oh my...

ahhhh

that is just sad. i played this game for a decade.

[Lorien]

61. True, especially if she has any muscle mass at all

but it doesn't look like she does. :-(

[propagandagirl]

100. That depends...

I am 5'10" and weigh around 130 lbs. I eat a low fat, vegetarian diet and am perfectly healthy! I would not be comfortable with 140, but that's just MY personal preference!

[sam sarrha]

9. that would leave a bruse...

[cali]

15. ha ha. yeah, that's just a riot.

[SpartanDem]

10. Somebody mail her

one of these:

[DCKit]

73. It would probably cost less to mail HER to the cheeseburger. n/t

[SmileyRose]

11. What do we expect?

Apparently this is fat - WTF?

[cali]

14. no kidding.

[madrchsod]

22. "mom jeans" ....who decided to these looked good on any woman?

[iris27]

23. no kidding - that's no fat, just a really poor fashion choice n/t

[MADem]

38. My guess is they'll come back in a hurry, those high waisters.

The jeans can't go any lower without just skipping them entirely and going back to those Jane Fonda leggings. That might be a public safety or hygiene issue!!!

Hemlines and waistlines go up and down. The purpose is to make you look in your closet and feel as though you are "less than," and "out of step," and "not as attractive" because you don't have the latest and greatest thing in the shop window.

Also, the kids who wore those "pubic pants" are gradually getting older, but they're still at the stage where they have loads of disposable income (if they have a j-o-b, anyway) and they'll be wanting a bit more coverage now.

If you didn't throw out your eighties crap, don't do it now. You might be able to repurpose it!

I'm waiting for the Attack of the Profoundly Big Hair, Sloppy, Gooey Lipstick and Too-Bright Makeup!! And the MENSWEAR....ewwww, the horror!

Everything old is new again...

[Dragonfli]

53. Lime polyester leisure suit here I come!

Or for saturday night I will pull out all the stops

[MADem]

75. That's hysterical!!!

Heck, let's go back a bit further...to Nehru jackets and Love Beads!!! In for a penny, in for a pound!

[Sultana]

28. Aye, unflattering

[JerseygirlCT]

50. Horrible cut of pants, and at least one size too tight

That's the problem. She's not fat; she's dressed very badly.

[seabeyond]

57. or, lol lol what a concept, she is just fine and nothing wrong with either clothes or body

not all women all the time have to be presented for a fuck. or a sexual object, thing or anything else.

i mean, if we just saw her as a person, singing, what's the problem regardless. it is the way we are all looking at her, not the way she looks.

(not talking to you specifically, just posted on your post, wink)

[JerseygirlCT]

64. The problem I have with her outfit as presented

is it looks exactly LIKE she is being "presented for a fuck" as you put it.

Put the correct size pants on, and if you want to look better, find a pair in a more flattering cut. (That one probably wouldn't flatter anyone!). I don't think the woman has an ounce of talent, personally, but obviously there are some people who wish to hear her sing - so of course, that ought to be the center of attention, not her body.

As she's dressed, however, it appears her body is what someone (her, a "stylist", who knows?) is attempting to "sell".

[seabeyond]

67. i do not have a clue who she is

so i am with you on that.

and i agree, a size too small is never flattering and seems to be the in thing today. doesnt work for me

[JerseygirlCT]

98. Me either. Beyond aesthetics, I don't like to be uncomfortable! nt

[Number23]

58. And don't forget this

These chicks are HUGE! HUGE, I tells ya!





:crazy:

[Regret My New Name]

86. heh... I don't understand why she wore such horrible looking jeans...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

125. She's not fat, but she needs to get rid of the mom jeans with the big front patch pockets

They just accentuate her weight gain, plus they're just fucking ugly jeans.

[Malikshah]

13. Since when did this (see image) become the goal of all women??

[lunatica]

19. Olive Oil is the ultimate sex symbol!

Bluto and Popeye fight over her in every cartoon! She is the epitome of womanhood!

[Malikshah]

44. How does one write out Popeye's laugh

Aaaa..gagagagagagagaga....:) my mistake.

[propagandagirl]

103. Bad memories!

Growing up, and all through my teens and into my 20's I was extremely skinny, and tall! 5'10" by the time I was in 7th grade. I was teased endlessly. Olive Oil was a particular favorite for the boys at school, and in my neighborhood, when I was younger. The skinny jokes, and comments were just as hurtful as ones made to people who are overweight. I tried everything I could, and ATE everything I could but just didn't gain weight! Until I had kids, that is. ;)

People should know that it's not always a matter of an eating disorder. Sometimes people are just underweight due to no fault of their own. NOT that I am saying this is true for this story. Just in my own life.

[21st century fox]

I am a little sensitive to that picture

20 years ago, when I was in my early 20s and pretty confused about life, I weighed around 98 lbs. (I am around 5'5"). I look fairly anorexic below 118 lbs., so you can imagine how I looked at below 100. I had started smoking to keep my weight around 110-115. Well, it worked a little too well and that's how I got so thin. I knew exactly what I looked like, but I forgot that smoking had caused it! I finally quit smoking, but at my lowest weight, it was amazing how I was treated. I had a stranger walk up to me and put his hand around my wrist (to demonstrate how thin it was). I had a woman come up to me in a natural foods restaurant (while I was eating!) and ask me if I was a recovering anorexic! (I burst into tears after she left, by the way.) And finally, someone yelled out 'Olive Oyl!' to me from a passing car. Now, at 150+ lbs., I never get looks or comments! It was being underweight.

[madrchsod]

16. better check her teeth....

this girl has a medical/psychological problem...

[MindPilot]

31. Why do we assume that anyone who's skinny has an eating disorder?

Well into my twenties I was about 120 at six feet tall. Even today in my 50's I'm still about 160 -- I couldn't gain weight if I tried.

I've spent my entire life dealing with people imploring me to cram food in my face at every opportunity. Thanks, your food is fine and I'm not sick, but I'll eat when I'm hungry and I'm just not that hungry that often.

[dmallind]

37. Same reason most assume anybody who is flabby is a lazy slob,

[MindPilot]

39. Try starting a thread about how fat people need to just put down the fork

and see how far you get.

Fat people need acceptance while skinny people need treatment. Another DU double standard.

[katanalori]

52. thank you for that. n/t

[tabasco]

97. Hahahahaha! Excellent point.

I support this post.

[dustbunnie]

101. Most obese people will say they got that way because of medical treatment.

Or a hormonal imbalance. Barely anyone who is overweight would ever admit it's because of their eating habits.

As far as the Miss Australia thing goes, the ones who came before her look about the same height, but probably have maybe ten pounds on her. Don't see what the big deal is. And from the pic in the OP, it looks like that woman walking away in the backround is pretty close to the same body type.

[propagandagirl]

104. Amen to that! n/t

[Rob H.]

40. I was like that in my early twenties, too

My first 3-1/2 years of college I weighed 115 lbs soaking wet at 6' tall, and trust me, I was not starving myself. I had the metabolism of a squirrel because I didn't have a car so I walked everywhere--I could put away an entire large pizza by myself and not gain a pound. Age and a sedentary lifestyle finally caught up with me, though, and now I could stand to lose about 30 pounds. :(

[MindPilot]

41. I bulked up a little bit in boot camp

but a few months in Vietnam took that right off.

Did you have a plethora of relatives, friends and well-meaning strangers who constantly told you you needed to eat more?

[TahitiNut]

65. Viet Nam was more effective than Jenny Craig + heroin

I weighed 140# less than I do now in Viet Nam. Of course, playing beach volleyball in a sand pit helped.

[Rob H.]

82. Oh, absolutely, people told me that all the time

I'd have to tell them that I was eating plenty (including pizza and junk food) but I was just walking so much I wasn't gaining any weight.

It didn't help matters any that I'm very fair-skinned, either, because I'd get the occasional, "Do you feel okay? You look a little pale." All I could do was roll my eyes and say, "I'm always this color!"

[JerseygirlCT]

51. There's a chance she's just naturally like that.

But there's a much larger chance, I think, given her involvement in pageants, that she's suffering from a serious eating disorder.

And if she's going for attractive in order to compete, (assuming she's of the naturally very skinny type), then she'd do well to put some muscle on those bones. What we've got now, looking at that picture is truly skin and bones. Her BMI is well below what's healthy.

[surrealAmerican]

72. There's also a chance, given her age, ...

... that she's had a recent growth spurt. Most girls are at their full height by 16, but a few are still growing that late.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

126. She has muscle wasting, that doesn't happen in growth spurts

[dustbunnie]

106. Her BMI would be high if she were a competing bodybuilder.

BMI is a bad indicator of health. This girl is skinny, but not necessarily THAT unhealthy.

Not all thin people are sick, or actively seeking to be that way. I was as thin as that for many years. I didn't exercise, so had no muscle mass. But rather than eat a lot, just never felt like it. Particularly if I was stressed. Some eat like crazy when they're going through turmoil, love loss, exams, life, and can't imagine skipping a meal for any reason. Others shut down and can't eat, or just forget about it on occasion. I used to sit with friends and down two cheeseburgers, a pile of fries, and ice cream for dessert, but that was after three days of living on a banana or apple here and there. Exams made me queasy. But other people would interpret it as skinny people can eat everything and not gain weight. Or an eating disorder. As soon as I started exercising, I needed to eat regularly. It's probably a function of being young and burning a lot of fuel, no exercise, and stress-related appetite shut-down. Not everything is willful, or psychological prob.

[treestar]

111. Exactly, it is not even beautiful

And one hopes the judges would recognize it. It is a beauty pageant, after all, not a most skinny competition. Her competitors who have healthy looking bodies should at least win over her.

[Lorien]

59. I did too. I weighed 97 pounds at 5'8", and I was anorexic/ bulimic

the most obvious cause of the problem is usually the cause of the problem (and yes, being that thin is a problem because it causes MAJOR health issues over time).

[Stephanie]

89. I was like that too

Because I was anorexic. Fortunately it didn't last long or require treatment. When a friend convinced me I didn't look good, I stopped. I have other friends who've struggled with it well into their forties. This is a fatal disease for many girls.

[treestar]

112. I was thin in my early 20s - no matter what I ate and how little exercise

I got. I walked a lot but that was it.

But I never looked like that. I was healthy looking.

[readmoreoften]

54. But the doctors said she has muscle wasting. I'm sure you don't have muscle wasting.

I think there are subtle but very perceivable differences between healthy skinny people and anorexics.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

127. I'm a size zero and weigh about 8lbs less than her

The key difference: I'm 9 inches shorter.

I'm a normal skinny. She's anorexic skinny. I don't understand how people on here can say she's normal skinny.

[krispos42]

145. I remember that picture L-in-V posted in the Lounge last year

I remember you were lean, but I didn't see any bones poking against your skin.


This lady is skinny enough to make me wince.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

147. Yeah, definitely no bones poking anywhere

[Bluebear]

55. 1) Doctors say her muscles are wasting; 2) She is being held up as an ideal.

[lunatica]

68. My perfectly healthy sister was so think you could see her backbone, ribs and

her pelvic bones stuck out like gun holsters. She are everything but just couldn't gain weight. There was a gap between her legs just like you see on emaciated people. After having her kids she was able to put some weight on.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

94. Probably the line about "muscle wasting" that's done it.

[treestar]

110. Anyone as skinny as that woman is has an eating disorder

If your ribs are sticking out and your hips are sticking out like that, it is not believable that you can't gain weight.

[cabluedem]

130. Probably a reaction to what killed Karen Carpenter: Anorexia Nervosa.

She hid it well under her loose clothes, unlike this young lady in a bikini. You are lucky; most people can't keep the weight off as they age.

[Sultana]

32. She's probably a hero to "ana" communities

Yikes, so gross. There is nothing cute about looking like that.

:puke:

}(

[JerseygirlCT]

45. That's really frightening.

While there's a small chance that she's just a naturally skinny person, I doubt it. And I have to say - there's nothing even vaguely attractive about that. She looks to be someone who needs some serious medical intervention, to be honest.

[applegrove]

56. She looks awful.

[Seldona]

62. That is so sad.

I hope she gets the help she needs, if it turns out to be an eating disorder. I can't imagine it not being by the look of that picture, though I am certainly no expert.

Do some men actually find this attractive? I can't think of a single girlfriend or wife of any man I know that looks even remotely like this. And no I am not talking subjective beauty, but her physical health. I would be to concerned to date her.

[skooooo]

63. Susan Boyle is more attractive, and probably more interesting...

yikes...scary

[dipsydoodle]

66. Dem Bones,

Dem Bones, dem..............

[cherish44]

69. This picture will be up as thinspiration on Pro-Ana web sites everywhere now

Honestly, this is a textbook anorexia body. No one who eats normally would be that thin "naturally".

[Better Believe It]

71. She looks like she just got out of a concentration camp.

Why does she think she looks good? Who is telling her that she looks beautiful in that terrible condition?

[sixmile]

74. I think she's beautiful; thin, but beautiful

She thinks she looks good because she does. Men are telling her she looks beautiful because men, like women, are shallow and naturally seek facial symmetry and healthy (looking) hair.

If she weren't beautiful I doubt she'd be competing for Miss Universe.

But I'll admit she could put on a few pounds.

[Better Believe It]

88. If she puts on about 40 pounds she'll look human!

I don't think very many men are telling her she looks beautiful because she has healthy looking hair.

That's about the last thing most men would notice!

Sleep with a skeleton that has a thin layer of skin.

That's real comfy.

[Toucano]

76. Yikes!

Somebody feed that girl!

[Obamanaut]

77. If she sings well we will heap praise and adoration upon her. nt

[mnhtnbb]

83. She has a serious health problem--and probably has anorexia and may be bulemic.

I can't imagine why the organization would allow her to compete.

[Liberal_in_LA]

84. OMG. I hope she doesn't win. She needs to eat something..now!

[JackDragna]

85. As a straight man, I find how she looks disturbing.

Not attractive at all. What society has pushed women to do to themselves to be "sexy" is an abomination.

[Quantess]

87. Poor thing.

[Canuckistanian]

90. That is just plain UGLY and disturbing

Do the women not look in the mirror?

Do they not take out a picture of Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly or Angelina Jolie and say, "Why don't I look like them?"

Do they REALLY think it's SEXY to resemble a concentration camp inmate?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

91. Anorexia Nervosa is a physical AND a mental health problem

Anas think they are beautiful, even down to the layer of downy hair many of them grow all over their bodies.

I believe she is anorexic, mainly because of the wasted arms and legs, and the pinched look in her face. I'm naturally very thin, but I have "meat on my bones."

[madrchsod]

92. women have a natural layer of fat and i see none on her

her skin is to tight on her muscles

[XemaSab]

133. Her eyes look sunken to me

That's the "tell."

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

148. Yep, actually pretty much everything looks sunken

[ReverendDeuce]

93. Sorry, I disagree. She's totally delicious...

GIMME!

[blonndee]

113. "Gimme."

Yup. Knew it would happen.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

129. Yeah.

Disgusting.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

128. You like starving women?

Ick.

[mudesi]

96. She Looks Hot To Me

Though I guess a few pounds wouldn't hurt.

[dem629]

99. Definitely NOT as HOT as Miss Virginia.....

[BlooInBloo]

121. rawr.

[elshiva]

102. My goodness, she's NOT ugly.

Just tired of "OMG, she's ugly" posts. Yes, there is probably a good chance that she MIGHT have an eating disorder. If so, I hope she gets help. However, I am glad that a few DUers have posted that we should not be judging a person (usually a WOMAN in most cases) because of her weight.

Also, yes, I am overweight and I do have an eating disorder. Being the other extreme than this woman, I'd hate it if people post "ZOMG you're ugly." Not constructive criticism. Also, "eat a sandwich/put the fork down" is easier said than done for eating disorders. "Get medical attention" would be the best advice because we don't know this woman.

[Systematic Chaos]

124. I don't think she's ugly, but sickly is NOT "beautiful".

But I do think she needs help as badly as I do being at the opposite extreme of overweight.

Karen Carpenter wasn't much skinnier than that photo when her heart rhythm went kaput due to malnutrition, and that's a fact, just like I'm wide open for my own slew of problems due to the weight I carry.

As she looks now, she is NOT an ideal of beauty. Get her eating right and put some muscle back on (and a little body fat, too) and she would be.

[Catherine Vincent]

105. Oh my!

Poor thing.

[BreweryYardRat]

108. That's not necessarily an eating disorder.

Might just be a really unhealthy diet, possibly combined with a fast metabolism -- an acquaintance of mine is about that build (tall, sticklike) from subsisting mainly on cigarettes and booze.

[Lisa0825]

115. Remember, the camera adds at least 10 pounds....

she probably looks even more severe in person.

She has beautiful hair and a pretty face, but whether by metabolism or illness, she is too thin to be healthy, just as I could stand to lose weight myself.

[dustbunnie]

116. My uncle bequeathed me his 60's afghan coat.

Why I do not know, but he did. He was a law student in the Abbie Hoffman days. It didn't fit me in the shoulders and I am so not huge at all. How skinny were men back then when pubic hair ran rampant? You all must have had lots of great sex, so you say, but you were a skinny bunch. And I mean, skinny.

[MindPilot]

137. You know that is true.

Thinking back, I recall only a few overwieght people in high school. Most were pretty slender and yes we had awesome free-love non-fat unprotected sex. Boo-YAH!!11!

(And the hair made the women look like they were, umm adults.)

[dustbunnie]

142. Lol at the free love and hair!

:D But yeah, I'm always amazed when old news clips are aired, at how thin the guys were back then. The girls too.

And then of course, there was Twiggy!

[BlooInBloo]

120. EEEW.

[workinclasszero]

132. She's in love with Ana

and its going to kill her.

She looks like she just escaped from a nazi death camp.

[Forkboy]

135. Not my taste, but if she's happy with herself who gives a fuck what we think?

[girl gone mad]

146. She looks fine to me.

She's got a lot of fat on her face, in her butt and some in her stomach. I come from a thin family. I probably looked like that at her age. I got all of the same insults: you must be anorexic, real men only like girls with curves, etc. Needless to say, I was healthy as could be and was never rejected by a man because of my physical appearance.

I think people need to look at pictures of Americans from the 70s and earlier. Thin like this was normal. It was rare to see an overweight young person. Our standards of normal and healthy have changed dramatically in recent times. Travel to Asia, where they eat healthier whole food diets and you will encounter smaller, thinner populations who are less prone to heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

[bdamomma]

149. definitely suffering from an eating disorder.

she needs some help.