I wrote a post last year about thinspiration (aka, thinspo) and it’s still garnering some attention. 
I just received this comment, in fact, and I do think the author of it makes some intriguing points (even if I don’t necessarily agree with her):
I think calling it demeaning is incorrect, in my opinion. Obviously your entitled to yours. I don’t get the feeling from it that anyone who looks at thinspo is supposed to be made to feel discusting or of less-worth then those in the pictures, if those viewing it have low self asteam they might… I don’t. To me it …read more

I have just become aware of pro-thinspo websites that claim to be different from pro-ana websites.  Personally, I find them rather similar… they even share many of the same “thinspiration” images”.
Have you heard of these sites?  What’s your opinion?  Can you be pro-thinspo (i.e., want to be super skinny) without having an eating disorder?

Thinspiration — also known as “thinspo” — is all over the Internet.  Really, if you want to find it, you can do so with a few simple keystrokes. 
As the Breaking the Mirror blogger, I find myself regularly investigating images and videos that could be considered “thinspo” in the name of investigation.  But some nights, like this evening, I’ve had to deliberately stop looking at them even though I’ve found some provocative stories that I’d love to share with readers.
You see, if I’m to be perfectly frank (and I don’t think you’d want it any other way), those thinspo pics still have …read more

I am kind of a blog statistics freak in that I love to see which Breaking the Mirror posts attract visitors time and again.
Consequently, I thought I’d share the top posts (as of today, May 31, 2008) by their month of origin:
May 2008:  Pro-Ana, Thinspiration, ED Stories — Break the Mirror Today! (went live 5/1/2008) 
April 2008:  In Mauritania, anorexics looking for love would be out of luck (went live 4/27/2008)
March 2008:  Is Adderall an Anorexic’s “Best Friend”?  (went live 3/16/2008)
February 2008:  The Challenge:  Fall In Love… with Yourself  (went live 2/1/2008)
January 2008:  If Renaissance Painters’ Muses Had Been Anorexic… (went live 1/14/2008)
December 2007:  “I …read more

I became anorexic in the 1980s.  This means I had no Internet to turn to for my thinspiration, no images immediately accessible with a tap of the keyboard.
But I still had thinspiration.  It just came in the form of books and articles.
I’ve always loved to read and when I discovered there were fiction and non-fiction accounts of girls striving to be thin JUST LIKE I WAS, I greedily gobbled them up (instead of gobbling up food.) 
I learned a great deal from these thinspo devices… and what I came away with was not what the authors intended, I assure you.  In …read more

As most readers know, I have a disordered eating past (and present, at least from the viewpoint that I totally “get” eating disorders from both sides of the aisle.)  Therefore, I must confess that while I was extremely thrilled to be chosen as the Breaking the Mirror blogger back in December, I was terrified, too.
You see, my role involves looking at dozens of “thinspo” images every week.  I also peruse pro-ana and pro-mia sites ad nauseum, checking them out, seeing what the participants are saying and reporting back to you their messages.
The idea of being around all that thinspiration on …read more

Thinspiration.  It’s what helps keep anorexic and bulimic women and men “in the game.”  Whatever form the thinspo takes, it gives eating disorder sufferers the “push” they need to starve themselves or clear their systems of all nourishment. 
In a nutshell, thinspiration is what turns Ana and Mia victims into cannibals.
But thinspo doesn’t always come in print or video format.  It can come from a living human being.  In fact, if you’re a mom, you could be the thinspiration for your child(ren).
Honestly answer these dozen questions and see if you respond with “yes” to any of them.  If so, you may be creating an environment …read more