Should Italy Criminalize #ProAna Sites? My Vote and Response: NO! Contrary to sensationalist media fear-mongering, ProAna researchers have determined in recent years that the three greatest arguments against the sites are, in fact, myths: 1) The promotion accusation is completely unsubstantiated. No one goes around trying to recruit people to pathology. People without eating disorders (EDs) who come to the sites wanting to get anorexia [AKA wanarexics] are vehemently discouraged (if not banned outright) from participating in the majority of non-mainstream ED support communities. 2) Members are NOT discouraged from seeking treatment. If a member of a ProAna community wishes to seek conventional recovery, s/he is fully supported. Further, if a member feels that the site is a bad influence and/or chooses to leave for any other reason, they are not talked out of leaving. 3) Participation in ProAna sites has not been shown to make people sicker. The majority of communities are harm reduction-based, and recent research indicates that ProAna sites can be a significant stepping stone toward Recovery. What about ProRecovery sites? ProRecovery communities are so censored that they fail many ED patients. Discussing numbers, triggers or ED behaviors are strictly prohibited. While this form of censorship is motivated by a desire to protect those committed to recovery, it backfires. EDs are very difficult to talk about to begin with. Add to that the fear of saying something wrong or bad, and the result is that many say nothing at all. Silencing and censoring already-sensitive people is not only unhelpful, it can be profoundly damaging. ProAna and other alternate-approach ED support communities offer unconditional support, without judgment or censorship. The ProAna Movement actually began in these communities in the mid-to-late 90s. Individuals with long-term, treatment-refractory EDs were tired of essentially being blamed for not being successful in conventional recovery despite genuine effort. They were (and are still) given damning labels [treatment failure; hopeless case; not working the program]. 60-75% of ED sufferers are not helped by conventional therapeutic approaches, and 20% of anorectics die -- statistics that have remained unchanged for years. Any legislation on Italys (or any other nations) part to criminalize ProAna sites would be a pitiful regression to historical prejudices; e.g., the belief that mental illnesses could be contagious, and/or that sufferers were criminals that needed to be locked away from the public eye. Meanwhile in Milan, tiny thin models go about their day on the catwalk, genuinely promoting much of what ED Support communities are being accused of doing. Ah, yes...the hypocrisy of the mainstream media machine! Censorship silences people who are very much in need of compassion...not judgment and condemnation. ED sufferers feel ostracized enough. Stigmatizing and demonizing their Journey only makes things worse. Love, support, tolerance and access to positive spaces are the answer -- not damning those walking a tortured Life! For more information on the truth about the ProAna Movement, please see the following video series: https://youtube/watch?v=XobnF9uXNNI&list=PLBF4E461C499C72E9 The Poll can be found here, should you wish to add your vote: sodahead/united-states/should-websites-that-promote-eating-disorders-be-penalized/question-4455567/
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:31:18 +0000
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