Pro-eating disorder (pro-ana) and pro-self-harm groups are notorious for espousing their contentious lifestyle philosophies online. Members of these groups argue that starvation and self-inflicted injuries are valid ways of expressing deep distress and asserting bodily autonomy. As such, they challenge prevailing attitudes towards medicine and health. This paper explores some of the reasons why participants feel antagonistic towards medical professionals and conventional wisdom on weight and diet. In addition, it looks at alternative wellbeing narratives created by community members who present divergent metrics for measuring health or evaluating sickness. Members of self-harmful communities tend to dislike engaging with medical professionals who make them feel pressured to recover. Instead, they turn to fellow community members who are strong sources of advice and support. Philosophically, they see value in pain as a marker of discipline, control, and success. Significant injury or emaciation are correlated with happiness and accomplishment. Until these alternative scripts about health and the optimal body are better understood by mainstream medical professionals, there will be an inherent schism between this industry and self-harmful communities.
Anti-Medical Attitudes: A Brief Introduction to Arguments Against Mainstream Health and Medicine from Online Self-Harmful Communities
Preview