Controversial New Body Trend- Girls Dying to Achieve ‘Thigh
Gap” Look
By: Christine McFarlane
As a woman in recovery from eating disorders, I find it
disturbing to hear of another dangerous trend - it is called ‘thigh gap.’ I
read about this via a link to a Globe and Mail article and video.
The objective with this new fad is not to have your thighs
touch. I remember when I was in the throes of my eating disorder, anorexia
nervosa, my obsession with being as thin as possible had me engaging in many
problematic behaviors. Whether that was being extremely restrictive in what I
allowed myself to eat, or taking laxatives, purging or exercising, this
obsession could have killed me.
As it was, I landed in the hospital countless number of
times where I was watched like a hawk and forced to eat. I remember people
telling me “oh you’re just doing this for attention, why don’t you just eat,”
and I remember the pain those comments brought me because I knew it was a lot
more than not wanting to eat. It was like something evil had a grip on me, and
wouldn’t let me eat. It pained me to sit at the nurse’s desk while I was in the
hospital and eat what was put in front of me. I would cry, when I was told “you
have to eat everything on your plate,” and when I was weighed and found out
that I had gained a pound, I thought my world was going to end.
Well I got through that part of my life, with a lot of
treatment and therapy, and though technically I am no longer considered
anorexic, I am considered EDNOS which means (eating disorder not otherwise
specified) and it is still a daily struggle to be accepting of where I am now.
Trends like this are disturbing, and it is something that I
wish as a consumer society we didn’t have to deal with. As women, we are
inclined to judge ourselves and our bodies very harshly, particularly when it
comes to comparing ourselves to those in the modeling industry and the
celebrities we admire.
I remember the impossible standards I set for myself, and
how it could have killed me. I am
lucky, in the sense that it didn’t, and I am lucky in the sense that I now have
people in my life who accept me for who I am, and don’t judge me as harshly as
those in my past did.
This ‘thigh gap’ trend needs to stop, and it needs to stop
now. When I saw the video on the Globe and Mail website and then did another
quick search on other links, I was alarmed to see that this trend is happening
on websites, tumbler and among young girls.
It reminded me of my own fight, and how miserable I was. My
eating disorder clouded my judgment and stopped me from enjoying so many
things. It made me focus on something unattainable-being as skinny as possible
and perfect, and I wouldn’t wish that battle on anyone-not even my worst enemy.
It is important for all women, young and old to develop good
and healthy self-esteem. To know that there are more important things in life
than what size you are.
Believe me, I fight the battle every day. Below is a poem
that I wrote:
Fighting the ED
Voice:
My stomach grumbles
My head hurts
A voice tells me
“don’t eat”
I feel faint
I try to stay steady
But my limbs
Don’t want to
Cooperate
My stomach grumbles
My head hurts
A voice tells me
“don’t eat”
My thoughts
Are not coherent
A voice tells me
You don’t need to eat
You don’t need food
To stay powerful
I want to cry
Because I’ve been
through
This before
And could have
Died
My stomach grumbles
My head hurts
I’m not going to let
My ED voice win
I make a plate
Of food
Pick up my fork
And eat
ED
You’re not going
To win
This time
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