The Enigma of Ana: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Pro-Anorexia Internet Forums

Wooldridge, Tom

doi:10.1080/15289168.2014.937978

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Wooldridge et al (2014) conducted a qualitative content analysis of proana websites to learn about men's engagement with the proana community. These researchers identified the themes of social support, community appreciation, and ambivalence about recovery (also identified in previous proana research; Dias, 2003;Wooldridge, 2014), with themes specific to men also identified, namely, alienation and teasing. Similarly, in their exploration of the male body and eating disturbances, Murray et al (2016) conducted a thematic analysis of proana websites; yet this examination focused solely on muscularity-related content and did not examine men's constructions of EDs in the wider proana movement.…”

Section: Forumsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Embracing or resisting masculinity: Male participation in the proeating disorders (proana) online community.

Quiniones¹,

Oster²

2019

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The proeating disorders (EDs) phenomenon is a controversial and thriving online community (referred to as "proana") that aims to promote the maintenance of EDs as a lifestyle choice. Despite the widespread perception of EDs as uniquely and exclusively female conditions, new research indicates an increased prevalence of ED behaviors in men. Yet men's experiences are underreported in the ED literature and, in particular, within the proana context. Examining men's engagement with the proana community can provide insight into how men think about and experience EDs, and the issues they face with EDs in their day-to-day lives. The aim of this study was to examine how men are represented, and represent themselves, within a proana online community. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted of 217 forum posts authored by men across 16 online threads from one of the largest proana communities on the Internet. Analysis indicates that men positioned themselves in relation to masculinity by either embracing or resisting social norms around masculinity. For proana website users that embraced masculinity, EDs were constructed in ways that engaged with masculine norms of heterosexual power, control, and accomplishment. In contrast, those who represented themselves in resistance to masculine norms challenged traditional masculine body ideals, stereotypes, and stigma. Within these representations were patterned responses that constituted four stages: acceptance, ambivalence, disillusionment, and support. Stigmatization of EDs in men and lack of adequate services supported engagement in the proana online movement, perpetuating a cycle of progression through these stages and limiting the potential for recovery. Public Significance StatementThe proeating disorders (proana) online phenomenon is a controversial community aiming to promote eating disorders as a legitimate lifestyle choice. Given the growing numbers of men with eating disorders, this study sought to understand how men represent themselves on public forum posts on a proana website. The main finding was that forum participants both embraced and resisted masculine norms, with stigmatization of eating disorders in men and lack of adequate support services limiting the potential for recovery.

show abstract

Section: Forumsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Embracing or resisting masculinity: Male participation in the proeating disorders (proana) online community.

Quiniones¹,

Oster²

2019

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Everybody around me thought they knew more about it than I did. I felt like the loneliest person on the planet ... everyone was telling me what was wrong with me and how I should feel (quoted in Wooldridge 2014 , p. 209).…”

Section: Loneliness In Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Users who may initially gravitate to ProAna sites for tips and suggestions continue frequenting them for their emotional and social rewards: “I used to go to them for tips, but now I mainly go for support and giving support to others in positive ways” (quoted in Brotsky and Giles 2007 , p. 100). Members of ProAna groups also express their relief at finding “true peers for the first time” (Wooldridge 2014 , p. 203).…”

Section: Loneliness In Psychopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness and Absence in Psychopathology

Krueger

Osler

Roberts

2023

Topoi

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Loneliness is a near-universal experience. It is particularly common for individuals with (so-called) psychopathological conditions or disorders. In this paper, we explore the experiential character of loneliness, with a specific emphasis on how social goods are experienced as absent in ways that involve a diminished sense of agency and recognition. We explore the role and experience of loneliness in three case studies: depression, anorexia nervosa, and autism. We demonstrate that even though experiences of loneliness might be common to many psychopathologies, these experiences nevertheless have distinctive profiles. Specifically, we suggest that: (i) loneliness is often a core characteristic of depressive experience; (ii) loneliness can drive, and even cement, disordered eating practices and anorectic identity in anorexia nervosa; iii) loneliness is neither a core characteristic of autism nor a driver but is rather commonly experienced as stemming from social worlds, environments, and norms that fail to accommodate autistic bodies and their distinctive forms of life. We aim to do justice to the pervasiveness of loneliness in many — if not all — psychopathologies, while also highlighting the need to attend to psychopathology-specific experiences of loneliness, agency, and (non-)recognition.

show abstract

“…As Kendall (2014) noted, even though anorexia arguably represents the most "successful" control over one's appetite, women with anorexia are portrayed as having lost control, and told they need expert intervention and force-feeding to gain control over their lives. Some feminist critiques highlight the potentially positive functions that pro-ana/mia websites serve, such as providing multiple forms of support, catharsis and coping mechanisms, reducing feelings of isolation, encouraging recovery, and offering a safe space to promote or challenge disordered eating ideologies and behaviours (Casilli, Tubaro, & Araya, 2012;Gailey, 2009;Schott & Langan, 2015;Tubaro & Mounier, 2014;Wooldridge, 2014). From this perspective, the censoring of pro-ana/mia websites is seen as an extension of the patriarchal control of women (Schott & Langan, 2015).…”

Section: Critical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neoliberalism, Pro-ana/mia Websites, and Pathologizing Women: Using Performance Ethnography to Challenge Psychocentrism

Schott

Spring

Langan

2016

SSJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Key terms such as “pro-ana,” “pro-anorexia,” and “pro-ED” are searched for on the Internet over 13 million times annually. These searches lead to web pages and social media sites where pro-anorexia and “pro-bulimia” (pro-ana/mia) contributors share weight-loss and exercise tips, “thinspiration” slogans, images and videos, and speak openly about their problems with eating and body image. In this article, we outline our initial research on online responses to pro-ana/mia, and describe how we used the data and analyses from this research to create a piece of research-informed theatre, or performance ethnography. The initial research identified a range of responses to pro-ana/mia that were aligned with either dominant or critical discourses on the causes of, and solutions for, pro-ana/mia. Our findings and analyses challenge media portrayals and medical approaches to pro-ana/mia phenomena, and support an alternative, critical analysis of how psychocentrism and neoliberalism foster social injustices for women and girls. Our work nurtures collective efforts to displace dominant ideologies and practices that have serious implications for the socio-cultural, economic, physical and mental health of women and their communities.

show abstract

The Enigma of Ana: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Pro-Anorexia Internet Forums

Cited by 17 publications

References 22 publications

Embracing or resisting masculinity: Male participation in the proeating disorders (proana) online community.

Embracing or resisting masculinity: Male participation in the proeating disorders (proana) online community.

Loneliness and Absence in Psychopathology

Neoliberalism, Pro-ana/mia Websites, and Pathologizing Women: Using Performance Ethnography to Challenge Psychocentrism

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About