Very recently, I had planned on writing a paper on the strange world of food blogs, exam
ining in how far the public display of disordered eating has suddenly become acceptable, and maybe even gained support. I never got around to it because, well, some people say "life got in the way" but that's just idiotic. In reality, I got tangled up in work and other research, and that didn't get in the way, it just outranked the paper in importance.
Anyhow, I had all these links lined up in my Google Reader to serve as a basis for my research, and just gave them a once-over. Somehow I felt the need to at least write something about the topic, if
not on an academic level, then at least "privately" on my blog.
I suppose this needs a disclaimer so that - in case anyone does read this - I will not be accused of making generalizations. I don't question nutrition data or anyone's choice of diet. I looked at the relationship between so-called weight loss blogs and their behavior towards their readers. To be more precise, I tried to understand the connection between severely restricting your food intake on the one hand, and advertising products like bars, nut butters, and chocolate by affiliated companies on the other.
This, however, I don't even want to get into because I might still endulge in it academically. <-- See how I can make academia sound like a piping-hot batch of brownies? Yeah, you bet.
I found quite an interesting angle within these blogs. I came across emaciated women with inflated silicone boobs, claiming that juicing kale saved them from being eating disordered. There are women out there who post images of these sugar-laden, fatty treats they assemble but don't eat (and openly admit that they only nibble a bite and then give the whole tray to the neighbors). Then there are women who publicly shame themselves for eating, or sometimes just for desiring, an extra piece of cake at a social event. Pouring salt or detergent on leftover indulgences so they couldn't have more. Running five marathons a month and rewarding themselves with an apple. And all the while, these women have adamant followers who will try to crush all criticism.
What does this say about our society? People who obsess over food have become icons, like they ever really do anything to change the world or seriously contribute to society by photographing their carrot sticks. Also, do you know of any men that do this kind of thing? The whole gender issue is probably another can of worms altogether, and I'm not touching on it now, but I might later.
During my research I also stumbled upon the website Get Off My Internets that features a forum where people can discuss, among other things, what they hate about healthy living bloggers. Aside from being massively entertatining, it shows that there is another side to the story. So apparently there are people who are put off by this state of food blogging. Good to know.
I'm obviously not trying to prove a point here, in fact, I don't even really have one. I just felt like talking about this topic a bit, more to do some personal brainstorming than to actually inspire debate.
Coming to think of, I will write a paper on it, minus the vicious personal edge at the end. Toodles.
ining in how far the public display of disordered eating has suddenly become acceptable, and maybe even gained support. I never got around to it because, well, some people say "life got in the way" but that's just idiotic. In reality, I got tangled up in work and other research, and that didn't get in the way, it just outranked the paper in importance. Anyhow, I had all these links lined up in my Google Reader to serve as a basis for my research, and just gave them a once-over. Somehow I felt the need to at least write something about the topic, if
not on an academic level, then at least "privately" on my blog.
I suppose this needs a disclaimer so that - in case anyone does read this - I will not be accused of making generalizations. I don't question nutrition data or anyone's choice of diet. I looked at the relationship between so-called weight loss blogs and their behavior towards their readers. To be more precise, I tried to understand the connection between severely restricting your food intake on the one hand, and advertising products like bars, nut butters, and chocolate by affiliated companies on the other.
This, however, I don't even want to get into because I might still endulge in it academically. <-- See how I can make academia sound like a piping-hot batch of brownies? Yeah, you bet.
I found quite an interesting angle within these blogs. I came across emaciated women with inflated silicone boobs, claiming that juicing kale saved them from being eating disordered. There are women out there who post images of these sugar-laden, fatty treats they assemble but don't eat (and openly admit that they only nibble a bite and then give the whole tray to the neighbors). Then there are women who publicly shame themselves for eating, or sometimes just for desiring, an extra piece of cake at a social event. Pouring salt or detergent on leftover indulgences so they couldn't have more. Running five marathons a month and rewarding themselves with an apple. And all the while, these women have adamant followers who will try to crush all criticism.
What does this say about our society? People who obsess over food have become icons, like they ever really do anything to change the world or seriously contribute to society by photographing their carrot sticks. Also, do you know of any men that do this kind of thing? The whole gender issue is probably another can of worms altogether, and I'm not touching on it now, but I might later.
During my research I also stumbled upon the website Get Off My Internets that features a forum where people can discuss, among other things, what they hate about healthy living bloggers. Aside from being massively entertatining, it shows that there is another side to the story. So apparently there are people who are put off by this state of food blogging. Good to know.
I'm obviously not trying to prove a point here, in fact, I don't even really have one. I just felt like talking about this topic a bit, more to do some personal brainstorming than to actually inspire debate.
Coming to think of, I will write a paper on it, minus the vicious personal edge at the end. Toodles.
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