The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

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Tilly Barnes , (she/her), S10, discusses the impact of recent events on eating disorders

When you hear the phrase ‘the height of eating disorders’, a few things probably come to mind – the late 90s and early 2000s, pale skinny teenage girls, edgy fashion, diet coke and cigarettes. And perhaps more importantly, you are confident that society is now better, that we are no longer obsessed with thinness and diet culture, that nobody would dare to pressure a young girl into losing weight.You believe that in the age of body positivity, we have moved past the ceaseless promotion of being skinny. Unfortunately, to believe any of these things would be to believe a lie. According to NHS statistics, more people are being treated for eating disorders now than ever before, with numbers rising by almost two thirds more than what they used to be before the pandemic. Covid-19 and lockdown had a horrific effect on the mental health of many young people and eating disorder rates have rapidly increased due to the events of the past few years. Now more than ever, teenagers are at risk of illnesses like anorexia, which has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder. Not only does anorexia put you at an increased risk of heart disease and organ failure, but it also means you are 56 times more likely to commit suicide than a mentally healthy individual. Unfortunately, 18-20% of people with anorexia die within 20 years of developing the disease, which is made even more concerning by the fact that over 90% of people suffering from it are between the ages of 12 and 25. Other eating disorders, such as bulimia and orthorexia, are also taking a significant number of victims. But why? You would think that we have come so far in recent decades, with the body positivity movement and messages of self-love taking over the internet, and an increased awareness of

the harms of promoting weight loss to minors. However, the marketing of starvation has not disappeared at all, only taken on a new form. In recent years, fashion has taken a turn towards reviving the styles of 20 years ago with the ‘Y2K’ style, accessorized with crop tops, low rise jeans and other outfits designed to show off flat bellies and small waists. Unsurprisingly, this new clothing style was taken directly from an era where skinny was the standard – and anything was deemed ‘too ugly’. In addition to this, plenty of new subcultures and fashion aesthetics have appeared on apps like tiktok, where it is an unspoken rule that you have to be under a certain weight in order to even attempt looking good in the outfits. New weight loss challenges marketed as ‘detoxes’ and ‘cleanses’ can be found all over social media, accompanied by videos of skinny girls showing off how thin they are.Whilst there may not be many posts which are straightforwardly tagged ‘pro ana’ or ‘thinspo’, it is the same content under different, more socially acceptable, names. Approximately 96% of the teenagers with eating disorders viewing this ‘pro ED’ content online have learned and utilised new dieting and restricting techniques. that are encouraging this unrealistic standard: the app’s algorithm caters towards thinner bodies, choosing only to promote people who are ‘thin enough’. Don’t believe me? Just take a look through the most popular videos on the most popular hashtags and see how little diversity there is. Look at all the women branded as ‘Gen Z It Girls’ and notice how none of them are over a certain size. And it’s not just the TikTok users

The problem also extends further than just skinny, white girls – studies show that 25% of people suffering from eating disorders are male, transgender people are four times more likely to develop an eating disorder than cisgender people, and that POC are also highly susceptible to suffering from ED’s. And as shocking as it may be to some, less than 10% of people with eating disorders are underweight.This agenda of unhealthy weight loss is being pushed upon everyone who chooses to go online, regardless of who you are. being skinny is a bad thing, or that enjoyingY2K fashion makes you a horrible person.What I’m trying to point out is that the rise in eating disorder cases over the years is not a coincidence with the turn that social media and fashion has recently taken.Whilst there are many other factors at play here, it would be foolish not to notice how teenagers’ mental health and self-image have been irreversibly damaged by an unrealistic standard created by what is promoted online. Eating disorders are a matter that should be taken seriously, and that needs to start with taking down the content which encourages them. Now, I don’t mean to say that

Artwork: Sienna Harriss, LVI

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