With in Pro-Ana sites there are videos called “Thinspirations” which encourages young women to look a certain way. I understand the first amendment gives all Americans have the right to speech, religion, and press but there needs to be limitations. I can understand that everyone needs a safe place where they can say anything they want and feel save but could they talk about how they could recover from this disorder. There are even treatment centers where individuals at attend so that they can recover. Unfortunately, once a patient leaves treatment many will return to their old dangerous habits which can result in death.

Several of the Thinspiration videos show hundreds of young girls drastically underweight happy and content with themselves without showing the consequences of their actions. Within the Thinspiration video there are images of young girls who have their hips and ribs poking out of their skin. The Thinspiration video that I choose was one of the milder video. These video girls are laughing and playing around proving that they were in control and not their eating disorder. There one of the Thinspiration videos that you can see flash words on the screen to promote the behavior. The words that show are: “So Skinny”, “Bones are Sexy”, “Natural Beautify”, “Twiggy”, “Give Her Wings so That She Could Fly”, “Perfect Body”, “She is So Skinny”, “Girls You Are So Beautiful!!” There are other videos where there are individuals who are inches away from death. In one of the articles we had to read the author talks about how she was dying from this disorder. She lost so much in her life. Counting calories and watching everything she ate was her life. Physically individuals will lose teeth, hair, organ function, and the ability to look older. I do not understand who these videos are supposed to inspire these individuals that looking like a Holocaust survivor is pretty or even sexy.

If anyone claims that these videos are not dangerous I would like to object. I was watching these videos for not even a half an hour and I started feel insecure about my own weight. I started to look at myself differently in the mirror. I constantly was thinking about the Thinspiration video were they flashed the name Twiggy. To anyone who knows me, this included professors; they all know that my nickname is Twiggy. I started to spin into a depression because I was not the same weight that I was when I got the name. While was still living in Cleveland I weighted 118 and I could not be happier. It was not until I was diagnosed with acid reflex, asthma, and vertigo. My doctor prescribed me steroids to control the asthma along with other medication to make sure I would never go back into the hospital. After seeing all the images I was will stop taking all the medications so that I would lose weight again. After a couple of weeks of seeing those images and talking to my doctor she told me that I should never weigh 118 ever again. She explained that I was heading down a dangerous road and that for once in my life I was actually healthy. She gave me a rice crispy treat and gave me the option of taking the medications and be healthy or not take the medications and go back into the hospital with a tube down my nose. I chose my health and not my weight.

If you want to check it out click HERE. Oh, I am just warning you the images are not suitable for minors