Its awareness and surveillance with a tinge of shame as a deterrent.
Still, these narratives are unhelpful at best and potentially dangerous at worst.
These articles didnt include quotes from the celebrities they centered on but rather thoughts from anonymous sources.
Design by Ingrid Fowler, Source Image: Getty Images
Adding a tinge of concern to the conversation doesn’t make it better or more useful.
At my sickest, I pored over pro-ana message boards hoping to swap tips with other sick people.
I know now we were just enabling each other in potentially dangerous ways.
But Stark has mixed feelings about celebrities publicly discussing their own diets and exercise, too.
Cautionary tales didnt ultimately help me, nor did hearing people shame each other for looking too skinny.
Discussing my feelings about my body didnt necessarily help, either.
Recovery took years, and I had to weather any number of awkward, uncomfortable, or triggering conversations.
But I still hope that, eventually, well simply get bored of these conversations.
Ill let Stark summarize my point: We should not be commenting on peoples bodies, period.
Interviewers shouldnt be asking; social media pages shouldnt be creating content around how celebrities lost or gained weight.
There are so many more interesting and important things to talk about.
More on body image:
Now, see Martha Stewart’s 10-minute beauty routine:
