Wednesday, June 18, 2008


Millions of girls and young women are starving themselves to death by sculpting their bodies through starvation in an effort to emulate the bodies of models in the fashion industry.

Catwalks and magazines are full of images of models who look like they're knocking on death's door, and these emaciated models, some as young as 14, have become the icons of many young girls and women suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and those following the pro ana/pro mia lifestyle.

What those starving girls and women don't realize is that many of those photographs have been digitally altered. The bodies of the women in those altered photos are so thin that the only way a girl or woman could attain that "look" would be by dying and, tragically, many have.

This video shows the real images of the models and then the fake digitally-altered example of Photoshop being used in a most reprehensible way:

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week started yesterday, February 24th, and runs through March 8th, 2008.

If anyone you know is suffering from an Eating Disorder, please visit Joanna Poppink's blog here for more information on these horrific diseases:


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OhYeahBabe said...

That's really quite shocking to me. I can't imagine anyone feeling the need to glamourize a deadly illness.
My blog: Kimorexia

Catherine said... records Photoshopped images and their original counterparts very well.

Medusa said...

Catherine, thanks so much for the link.

Amazing how the body can be transformed using Photoshop.

The Genre Geek said...

I almost can't believe that these photos were really altered to look so ugly. I want to believe that it's a joke.

Being very tall and naturally thin is one thing. At least these women have some meat on their bones. But making them look like concentration camp survivors via Photoshop? When and how did this insanity become desirable or even visually appealing?

Why? Why do these images not INSTANTLY evoke memories of Holocaust pictures in any astute viewer? Or is it just only me who's reminded of the grainy black-and-white photos of piles and piles of dead, emaciated Auschwitz victims?

Medusa said...

Genre Geek, unfortunately I don't think it is a joke. You know what is horrific? Many young girls who embrace the pro ana mia lifestyle use these doctored photos as thinspiration.

And you're right about these photoshopped images being so like the ghastly photos of the bodies of women, children and men lying in mass graves at Buchenwald, Auschwitz, and other death camps of horror.

I am as puzzled as you are as to how on earth these photos could be inspirational to young girls, women (and yes, men) dying to be thin. It is truly beyond belief.

And thanks so much for your comments.

Nena said...

I wanted to take some time to thank you for writing on the subject of eating disorders, as I myself am currently struggling with one. I am eighteen years old and I have been struggling with anorexia and bulimia for seven years now. I am extremely grateful for this particular post because while I was watching that video, I saw all of the old thinspo pictures I used to look at. It is very mind-boggling to think I was starving myself for a type of perfection that didn't exist in the first place.
Thank you very much. You are helping me, and many other people, I'm sure, on my way from recoverY to recoverED.

Marita said...

Strange ... when I read what you were going to show I thought they`d use Photoshop to hide how much you can already see the bones when you have a certain outline (that still looks good when the light doesn´t hit so hard), because I dont want to gain weight myself but wish the bones wouldn`t show so much in certain places. But no, they even emphasize it ... seems like an upside-down world to me where ugly is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

This is really stupid. Those images are ones that have been altered as 'examples' of anorexia so people can go 'urgh! I never want to look like that!'. In actual fact the 'real' images are the more dangerous, those women are still all underweight, and as you've admitted yourself they are seen as the paragon of beauty in our society. It is aiming to look like those women in the 'real' photos that starts anorexia .

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I would say MOST of those models have eating disorders in real life. Retouching horrifying exagerates the already twig-like limbs! I am sadded by the REAL photos just as much as the FAKE ones....

Lorenzabiela said...
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Anonymous said...

I remember most of these from when they were new on the web. Yeah I thought they were real. It's especially sad since most of those women (especially the first few) were already VERY underweight as it is.
One of them being Jodie Kidd, a model we know had\has anorexia.

Way back when, I took those pics to mean that you could still walk around like a normal person & be emaciated. *Sigh*

Anarcoming... out said...

They were alrady skinny!!! :-O