With the Internet, there is something for everyone. Anything you want to know or buy is just a Google search away. Keeping in contact with friends, sharing pictures, and being inspired is done with a simple mouse click.
There are so many great things out there, so many things to inspire us to better ourselves and our lives.
But with the good, inevitably, comes the bad. There are endless websites designed to inspire…but are they inspiring the wrong thing?
Thinspiration or “thinspro” refers to the promotion of eating disorders. Thinspiration sites offer tips on how to hide eating disorders, how to trick your body into thinking it is not actually starving, and post pictures of anorexic or unnaturally skinny women. Yes, really, they do exist, and people do visit and take them seriously. It is easy to point the finger at these sites and label them as bad. After all, we have the medical field on our side: eating disorders are dangerous.
But what about fatspiration sites? These are sites that promote fat acceptance, these are sites that promote beauty at any size, specifically well overweight, arguably even, dangerously. These sites are somewhat less easy to label, because isn’t acceptance of ourselves and others what it’s all about?
Maybe. But the truth is, both types of “whicheverspiration” can be dangerous. Both ends of the spectrum are focused on one thing only: body image. Both types of sites can be equally dangerous to those reading them, because the reality is, our bodies are only a fraction of what makes us who we are. Our bodies, and how much or how little fat we have on them, do not define us. They never will define us. The problem lies in being so obsessed with what we look like that everything else: fitness, emotional health, and all-around balance goes out the door.
If you’re not okay with who you are as a person, you’ll never be okay with how you look.
That’s not to say it’s a simple formula, and that’s not to say you shouldn’t always strive to keep your body healthy. But it is true that “health” looks different for/on everybody, and it is also true that emotional health and physical health go hand-in-hand.
If you know you are an emotional eater and you turn to a “fatspiration” site to justify your binges, you are not fixing the problem. Likewise for those who don’t eat. The point is to continuously look for ways to heal those parts of us that are hurt. There is no diet or any amount of exercise that can heal an emotional scar, just as there is no number on the scale that can make you feel good about yourself if the problem is on the inside.
In an ideal world, we would turn to websites (or friends or therapists, whatever), that would promote ways for us to find balance in our lives, that would promote being a beautiful person inside and out. In an ideal world, no one would need to turn to places like the aforementioned websites. In an ideal world, the Internet police would shut down harmful sites, find the owners, give them a big hug, and help them find some self-love.
But until we live in an ideal world, let’s do our part to uplift each other, to recognize beauty in others and ourselves–both inside and out (but mostly inside!). True beauty is so much more than just skin-deep. True beauty radiates from within. So let’s strive to make ourselves whole and balanced, so that our light may shine in the world and inspire those around us.
This is the right kind of inspiration, the kind that makes us all want to be better, not just look better.
Photo courtesy of Alan Cleaver
Yeah, the fat acceptance sites that go towards “its ok to be overweight” without focusing on the need to be healthy really bug me. I am not losing weight to get skinny, I am losing weight to get healthy. Sure, it is easier to accept my body at a lower weight, but that isn’t what it is about. I want to be healthy enough to harass my kids for as long as possible.
That being said, you can be overweight and healthy. I know its possible.
As it seems, we haven’t moved far beyond the Wolf’s “Beauty Myth.” With the extreme-makeover galores on cable and sculpting advertisements across the internet and in magazines, we still, as a nation, are perpetuating and promoting “disordered” relationships with our bodies. It’s not just a problem, its a social epidemic. While I am the first to admit to tearing up at the likes of the Biggest Loser, the mere premise suggests that if you don’t lose the weight, you are not a winner. Changing behavior however isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about learning to love your body–to treat it with care–and while it may feel like a triathalon at times, it’s a race without losers (in my book). It’s a journey to whole body health. It’s a body that has gifts that don’t necessarily need fixing. The messages are off, there is still work to be done. The myth is still pervasive. And I for one, am tired of it…aren’t we beyond this??
As it seems, we haven’t moved far beyond Wolf’s “Beauty Myth.” With the extreme-makeover galores on cable and sculpting advertisements across the internet and in magazines, we still, as a nation, are perpetuating and promoting “disordered” relationships with our bodies. It’s not just a problem, its a social epidemic. While I am the first to admit to tearing up at the likes of the Biggest Loser, the mere premise suggests that if you don’t lose the weight, you are not a winner. Changing behavior however isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about learning to love your body–to treat it with care–and while it may feel like a triathalon at times, it’s a race without losers (in my book). It’s a journey to whole body health. It’s a body that has gifts that don’t necessarily need fixing. The messages are off, there is still work to be done. The myth is still pervasive. And I for one, am tired of it…aren’t we beyond this??
I don’t mean this to be rude, but I don’t think you understand what fat acceptance sites are really about. They do not “promote” fatness. They are a place where people of all different sizes can see themselves represented. They are a place where people who have been torn down because of their size can talk about their experiences without fear of being bullied. They are also a place where people can learn to accept that no one SHOULD do anything. We are all adults and can make our own decisions. I don’t owe it to anyone else to be a certain size, look a certain way, or eat certain things. No one NEEDS to be healthy. These sites offer a space for people who would like a break from near-constant diet talk. I hardly think it can be compared to pro-ana sites.
Totally not rude! I appreciate heraing your side of things, and you’re definitely right when you say “no one SHOULD do anything.” I’m coming from the place of wishing we could all be healthy inside and out.
We can definitely agree on that!
Hi Kelli!
Just wanted to let you know we shared your article with our readers today because it has a fabulous message that we know our Ladies would so relate to!
Thank you so much for such a well written, insightful article!
Cher Tushiah
Brand Evangelist
SwimsuitsForAll.com
One thing I’ve found is “fitspiration” on tumblr and other blog sites. They do have a tendency to show ‘thin’ women and men but they aren’t skinny, they have muscles and definition. I prefer motivational pictures. Such as one that said “women who are naturally skinny are lucky, women who have to work for it are strong” implying (to me) that even though both are skinny there are advantages to both and it’s what you choose. I want to be strong.
Comments on this entry are closed.