Thinspiration: The Body Image Conversation We Should REALLY Be Having

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Over the past ten years, thinspiration has faded in and out of the media spotlight. The term “thinspiration” can mean a lot of things, but in general it’s the idolization of extremely thin women that often manifests itself online in forums and blogs. Pinterest and Tumblr recently banned images and boards that promote thinspiration and self harm. Even Instagram photos these days can be spun into thinspiration. While it’s understandable that many are shocked by the imagery associated with thinspiration, we are missing the point in not discussing the price women pay for unrealistic cultural body image ideals.

To dig deeper into this issue, I turned to The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg. The Body Project poses that unlike any other time in history, women have made their bodies into all-consuming projects that starts in pre-adolescence and continues through adulthood. Unlike our pre-twentieth century counterparts, the body has become the main mode of expression for women.

“American girls are on guard constantly against gaining weight, and, as a result, appetite control is a majore feature of the adolscent experience. ‘I’m too ugly. I’m too fat. I have a crummy personality,’ wrote Carol Merano, a sixteen-year-old. “Joan Jacobs Brumberg, from The Body Project

The body projects of 10 million American women has turned into an eating disorders. Forty percent of newly identified instances of anorexia are in young women age 15-19. But before women even develop eating disorders, children as young as seven report wishing they were thinner. If that doesn’t make you mad, it should.

And yet, here we are. Discussing thinspiration boards on Pinterest and Tumblrs dedicated anorexic models when what we really should be talking about is why women idolize thin women online to begin with. Every time the word thinspiration or pro-ana [anorexia] comes us, we could be discussing unrealistic societal standards instead of talking about the change of terms and conditions online.

Simply expressing disgust over what is posted online is missing the point. We should be talking about how we can create a more realistic world for young women and start asking why it is acceptable that an 42% of 1st-3rd graders think they need to lose weight.

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  • Brian Kings

    The post has come at the right time… girls should be proud of who they are and thank God for they are wonderfully created…

  • Paul

    Nice thoughts, I am happy you are thinking about this.

    • Thanks Paul! And thanks for stopping by.

  • Great post Courtney. I’ve just come from a post on a BIG style blog whre I was looking at a feature on a designer and the models used for the designers shoot were sickeningly thin – and we wonder why these kinds of pro anorexia sites pop up – if the aesthetic is touted as the mainstream norm then simply banning these sites is a sticking plaster over a much more deep rooted problem.

    • Exactly! We’re starting to see changes in less airbrushing, more ads featuring non-models, but it just isn’t enough. You almost want to tell young girls that models are like living breathing mannequins and no one should expect to or want to live up to that. Not saying that models are bad people, but their bodies are unrealistic at times.

  • ps, as far as constructive things to do go, i really advocate keeping your body as natural as possible, and then being seen. i know it’s hard to be confident about flaws, but i really believe (because it has been true to my experience) that the more real women’s bodies girls (and other women) see, being inhabited with confidence, serving functions other than ‘looking hot’ (athletics, breastfeeding, aging, etc.) the more people will feel like their bodies are acceptable too.

    i thnk that’s a real service being done by so many online fashion blogs featuring non-models. real people, enjoying their bodies, that others can look up to.

    • This is such a hard line to walk because I always feel nervous and unsure when I hear the term natural and real being thrown around. I think every woman should have the confidence to be herself and challenge body image ideals.

      Great conversation!

  • well said! we are such experts at missing the big picture in our society. nothing drives me nuts like the swiveling talking heads who go from criticizing thinspiration to criticizing fat brittany spears (or whoever) in the same breath. everyone wants to criticize others, and everyone wants their own choices respected unconditionally (ok i know this one is rough i’m not for running around criticizing everyone who gets plastic surgery, but i’m equally tired of the ‘i do it because it makes me feel good, it only affects me!’ idea so many women have about buying into this crappy culture). No one wants to take responsibility for what we, ourselves, have made our culture into, and especially the way it affects the next generation. i look forward to the day someone can say ‘anorexia is really a tragedy, now buy my new diet book!’ and be called on their crap. unfortunatley we aren’t there yet.

    • I think you’re right. I think celebrity culture has influenced everyday women to such a great extent that we can’t turn to women we know as role models. Of course famous women are always going to have more advantages than average women.

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  • So nice meeting you tonight! This post is spot on. A big part of why I got into fashion blogging is that fashion bloggers are of all shapes and sizes. I think if children were exposed to media that exhibits a larger variety of body shapes it would make a huge difference in their self perception.

    • Hi Tashia! I’m just about to go to bed, but I wanted to reply to your comment!

      Firstly, it was so nice to meet you as well! It’s so funny you helped put together the showing for The Purity Myth because I was SO close to going. Let me know if you hear of any other feminist-y events in Boston.

      I think a lot of education has to be done with children, especially young girls, about photoshop and how what you see in an ad is not real. Adults need that education as well, but especially young girls.

  • THIS IS ALL SO TRUE! It isn’t the “thinspiration” thats the problem- its the culture and thought process behind it. We’re not addressing a deeper issue by just “banning” this problem. And every time the news covers it as a “breaking” story (even though these websites and things have existed since I was in high school ten years ago) it drives MORE young women to seek them out. Its helpful of Pinterest and Tumblr to ban “self harm” posts and blogs but it isn’t THE solution.

    -Kara

    PS: I hope you can stop by my event at Reiss on Sunday! I’ve never hosted an event before and I’m terrified! We’re having gift bags, tea, cupcakes, mini makeovers from The Loft Salon and Define Beauty, etc. Please please please come anytime between 12-3 PM. xo

    • Thank you for this comment. I was wondering if I was the only person out there who felt this way! I’m like, why are we all freaking out that this is online instead of asking why women and young girls feel the need to look this way! We are not addressing the bigger issue by sitting around and complaining about Pinterest and Tumblr.

      Is the event at The Loft on Newberry? How do I RSVP? I should just go to your blog and find out 🙂

  • I was shocked to hear my 8-year-old daughter’s friend ask her if she looks fat in her jacket and then say if she does she’s taking it off. My first reaction was to laugh because it’s a skinny little kid, but I realize this is where it starts. She’s repeating the words of the adults around her who should be setting the example. I want to be a living example and that’s how I choose to deal with the issue of body ideals. I’m really vocal to my daughters about the images around them and how they’re not realistic and don’t let it give them a wrong impression of what they’re supposed to look like. I tell them to look at the girls at school or the women around them to get an accurate depiction of what women really look like.

    • I think that is great advice for moms and women in general. It just seems to be so automatic to say, “Does this make me look fat?” I think it’s hard because you don’t want to reinforce that behavior, but you also don’t want her to feel ugly. So complicated!

  • It is interesting that you are talking about this. My graduation paper for Professional Writing is on this topic. I am discussing the modeling agency and advertisment agency.

    • That’s great! I can imagine you’ve been thinking about this topic a lot then. I’d love to hear more of what you think on this issue!

    • Jane

      Patricia, what a coincidence! I am also doing a feature on this topic. Though it is not a graduation paper but I am doing a wide coverage on it so that it will appear in the school magazine. I am totally liking it to date.