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Reflections on the Waif : Images of Slenderness and Distress in Pro-anorexia Websites

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 18:21 authored by Eliza Burke
The term ‘thinspiration’ is used within the pro-anorexia (pro-ana) community to classify images of slenderness that represent aspects of anorexic experience and/or idealise extreme to emaciated slender bodies. This paper discusses thinspiration via an analysis of 1990s grunge culture and its stylisation of subjective crisis. By reflecting on some of the meanings associated with British fashion’s figure of ‘the waif’, it argues that images of extremely slender bodies presented in pro-ana thinspiration menus can be located within a discursive field where distress is a problematic signifier of subjective agency and power. It suggests that although some strategies of the pro-ana community are aligned with the feminist challenge to the dominant gaze and its demand for slender femininities, some images of anorexic distress, such as those found in the category of ‘real girl’ thinspiration, have the potential to reproduce oppressive representational strategies and sustain a view in which damage to women’s bodies is promoted as a source of identity. As thinspiration is produced largely online and by women themselves, this paper calls for a renewed focus on the debate about the impact of slender ideals not only on women as consumers but also as producers of images.

History

Publication title

Australian Feminist Studies

Volume

27

Issue

71

Pagination

37-54

ISSN

0816-4649

Department/School

School of Creative Arts and Media

Publisher

Carfax Publishing

Place of publication

Rankine Rd, Basingstoke, England, Hants, Rg24 8Pr

Rights statement

Copyright 2012 Taylor & Francis

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in human society

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