All Skinny People Have Eating Disorders

Jeg har lige læst en artikel i EuroWoman, i hvilken der bliver skrevet om en ny “tendens” på Instagram, hvor slanke, eller tynde, piger er begyndt at lægge billeder op af deres usunde måltider, såsom burgere. Pigerne selv udtaler, at de gør det for at vise, at de er helt normale piger, der godt kan nyde et usundt, syndigt måltid en gang i mellem. Dog har eksperterne i artiklen en anden mening: Billederne af usund mad, sat sammen med de andre billeder af en veltrænet, slank krop, er en syg tendens, og er et tegn på, at disse piger har snært af spiseforstyrrelse. Den ene ekspert udtaler blandt andet, at der er fællestræk hos disse piger, og piger med spiseforstyrrelser – fordi de er glade for, at vise deres mad frem, ligesom piger med spiseforstyrrelser har stort fokus på mad. Der bliver desuden skrevet, at pigerne muligvis ikke engang spiser de burgere de lægger billeder op af. Og at de får dårlig samvittighed hvis de gør. Af artiklen fremgik det også, at det er en lige så farlig tendens når der kun bliver lagt billeder op af sund mad. Disse eksperter har klart erfaring mht. patienter med spiseforstyrrelser. Men denne her artikel gjorde mig altså virkelig, virkelig forarget og vred.

Jeg er en slank pige, og jeg har altid haft en stor appetit. Jeg spiser faktisk hele tiden, og jeg spiser meget, og det er ikke altid de sundeste ting. Jeg har en høj forbrænding og har derfor hele mit liv været slank alligevel. Sådan er mine søskende også. Jeg har somme tider fået at vide, at jeg var for tynd. Da jeg var omkring 14 år, blev jeg spurgt af en voksen kvinde til en fødselsdag hos en veninde, om jeg havde anoreksi, fordi jeg så syg ud. Da jeg fik målt min fedtprocent i en prøvetime på gymnasiet blev jeg skældt ud af læreren, som sagde, at det jeg gjorde ved min krop var usundt og at jeg skulle begynde at spise ordentlig mad og tage på. Jeg er ikke så tynd som jeg var da jeg var yngre, men det gør mig vred, at slanke mennesker ALTD skal sygeliggøres! Dét, at fortælle en tynd pige, at hun ligner én der har anoreksi er lige så ubehøvlet og fordomsfuldt som at fortælle en tyk pige at hun er for fed. Ingen af delene er OK! Den artikel fik mig til at tænke på de ting man som tynd skal finde sig i, og tænk, at det stadig i så høj grad er normalt at sygeliggøre slanke, sunde piger.

Artiklen gjorde mig især vred på grund af følgende: Det er forkert og tegn på spiseforstyrrelse, hvis slanke piger lægger billeder op af deres sunde måltider. Okay. Men hvorfor? Må man ikke være stolt af sin krop, må man ikke være interesseret i hvad man fylder sin krop med, og må man ikke lægge billeder op af sund kost, som kan inspirere andre? Det er endnu mere forkert, hvis de samme piger så begynder at lægge billeder op af deres usunde måltider, for at vise, at de bare er helt normale mennesker, der nogle gange spiser en fed, lækker, usund burger. For nu er det pludselig fordi de er besat af mad. Dog spiser de jo ikke burgeren – de køber simpelthen en burger for, at lægge et billede op af den, så de kan følge tendensen og skabe et image, samt dyrke deres spiseforstyrrelse. Og HVIS de spiser den, får de i hvert fald meget dårlig samvittighed bagefter. Come on! Så generelt er det bare bedst, hvis slanke piger slet ikke lægger billeder op af deres mad. Eller deres krop. Jeg kan slet ikke forklare hvor slemt jeg synes disse udtalelser sygeliggør de her piger. Og det gør mig virkelig vred. Lad nu folk se ud som de gør – tyk eller tynd – lad nu vær med, at sygeliggøre folk der lever sundt eller har en høj forbrænding. Det gør kun de virkelige problemer værre.

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I just read an article in Danish EuroWoman in which they write about a new “trend” on Instagram, where slim, or skinny,  girls are starting to post photos of their unhealthy meals like burgers. The girls themselves say that they do it to show their followers that they are completely normal girls who also enjoy an unhealthy, sinful meal from time to time. The experts in this article though, have a different opinion: The photos of unhealthy food, along with photos of a toned, slim body is a sick trend and a sign that these girls have a little eating disorder. One expert says that these healthy girls have some things in common with girls with eating disorders. – because they love food, they love showing their food off, just like girls with eating disorders really focus on food. They also say that the girls probably do not even eat their burgers up. And if they do they feel guilty. Of the article I also sensed that it is just as sick a trend when they post photos of their healthy meals. These experts of course have experience when it comes to patients with eating disorders. But this article still made me really, really angry.

I am a slim girl and I have always had a huge appetite. I actually eat all the time and I eat a lot, and it is not always the healthiest things. I have always been slim in spite of that. My siblings are like this too. I have sometimes been told that I was too skinny. When I was around 14 I was asked by a grown up at a birthday party if I had anorexia because I looked so sick. When I had my body fat percent measured in the gymnasium i was yelled at by our teacher who told me that what I did to my body was too unhealthy and that I needed to start eating proper food and gain weight. Now I am not as skinny as I was when I was younger, but it makes me angry and sad that slim and skinny people are ALWAYS being called sick! To tell a skinny person that they look like someone who has anorexia is just as rude and judgemental as telling a chubby girl that she it too fat. None of those things are OK! This article made me think about all the things you have to hear when you are skinny and I can not believe that it is still so normal to call slim, healthy people sick.

The article made me really angry. Mainly because of this: It is wrong and a sign that they have eating disorders if slim girls put up photos of their healthy meals. Okay. But why? Can you not be proud of your body, can you not be interested in knowing what you eat and feed your body with and can you not put photos up of healthy meals which can inspire other people? It is even more wrong if the same girls post photos of their unhealthy meals to show that they also are totally normal people who sometimes eat a greasy, delicious, unhealthy burger. Because now it is apparently because they are obsessed with food. They do, however, not eat the burger – they simply buy it to take a photo so they can go with the trend and create an image as well as focusing on their eating disorder. And IF they eat it they do get very bad conscience afterwards. Come on! So generally it is just best if slim girls do not post any photos of their food at all. Or their body. I can not even explain how badly I think these statements call healthy girls sick. And it makes me really mad. Just let people look the way they do – chubby or skinny – just stop calling people who have healthy lives sick. It only makes the real problems worse.