Spring Break
'The Kyo Protocol'
Validity of pro-anorexia Web sites a little thin
Sarah Kyo
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Opinion
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I'm eating mine in front of the computer, and while surfing the Net, I come across this headline: "French bill takes aim at those who glamorize the ultra-thin."
The lower house of France's parliament passed a new bill punishing those who are behind Web sites that promote eating disorders, according to the Associated Press.
The punishment if this becomes law? It's a two-year prison sentence with up to $47,000 in fines for offenders; three years and up to $71,000 if a victim dies from the eating disorder.
According to Roselyne Bachelot, France's health minister, there are 30,000 to 40,000 anorexics in France, a majority of whom are women.
Anorexia nervosa is the constant pursuit of being thin, while not maintaining a normal or healthy weight and having a distorted body image, according to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. Excessive dieting and exercising may be involved, as well as self-induced vomiting and the misuse of laxatives or other related products.
French lawmaker Valerie Boyer, the bill's author, said she wanted to target pro-anorexia Web sites, online venues that provide advice on or encourage food deprivation.
There are different Web sites that can be considered pro-anorexia. For instance, there's an online community that considers itself the "World's Largest Pro Anorexia Site."
Number of registered users? 16,091 … and counting.
While sifting through the entries at the blog-based Web site, among stories of binging and analyses of calories in vegetables, I noticed a member had linked to BBC's story about the French bill. Interestingly, the person titled the entry "btw (by the way) France hated us."
No, I don't think France hates people with anorexia. Instead, I think Boyer and supporters of her bill hate the illness and those who promote it to others.
According to the Associated Press, these Web sites claim to provide emotional support for individuals wanting to become anorexics.
People who suffer from this condition should receive emotional support, but this kind of support should encourage them to stop harming themselves, rather than how to do it "properly."
Apparently, there is a right way and a wrong way to deprive one's self of food.
The description of this community I visited states that the purpose of its Web site is not to encourage people to become anorexic.
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