偉民 ([info]andr00) wrote,
@ 2004-06-25 11:33:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
News flash: Mary-Kate Olsen anorexic!! Or no, wait, if we judge the magnitude of a chunk of information by how unpredictable it was, this is barely any information at all. Skinny celebrity woman anorexic? Hold the press! What's next? Hell-raising rock star turns out to have substance dependancy? Iconoclastic author sits around thinking more than most people?

So they say that she's being "treated". How do you treat a celebrity, whose public image is professionally managed and constantly being revised, for a condition which involves being overly conscious of public image?

(Post a new comment)


[info]n3m3sis42
2004-06-25 02:58 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, seriously, not surprising.

If you want to get technical about it, anorexia isn't actually really about public image. It's not even really about losing weight or being fat. That's just surface stuff.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]andr00
2004-06-25 03:13 pm UTC (link)
Well hey whoa now, if you want to be helpful, tell me what it IS about! I thought it had everything to do with one's body image.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]n3m3sis42
2004-06-25 04:41 pm UTC (link)
It does, on the surface. But the body image is sort of a metaphor for deeper issues--it's not the same issue for every person who suffers from an eating disorder. One of the really common underlying issues is a feeling of having no control over your life (and that your food/body is the only thing you can truly control). But really, it's different for everyone. It's a deep fear or self-hatred that manifests itself as an obsession with one's body, and while that's hard to let go of in itself, it's really not the main thing.

Did that make sense? I'm not feeling very coherent at the moment.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]andr00
2004-06-25 04:57 pm UTC (link)
Sure, that made perfect sense. I'm no stranger to neuroses, but I do appreciate the elaboration, especially if you have personal experience with the topic. Poor ol' Mary-Kate.

That's also consistent with the personalities I can think of who have tussled with various eating-related disorders.

(Me, when I feel like my life is out of control, I wind up rewiring the living room. Fortunately, this has few health risks.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]n3m3sis42
2004-06-25 05:04 pm UTC (link)
I totally left a whole lot out, unfortunately. Perfectionism and a desire to achieve are often big factors, too. Also the whole school of thought that eating disorders are basically addictions. Again, not so coherent at the moment, mainly because it's time for me to go home from work (finally!).

I do honestly think that it would be horrendously hard to successfully undergo treatment for an ED in the public eye like that. Especially because it's one of the most publicized-yet-misunderstood psychological disorders at the moment, IMHO. I mean, for fuck's sake, hit "random" on LJ enough times and you'll find plenty of girls who want to be anorexic. Being some sort of teen-idol in a society like this and trying to recover from anorexia sounds ridiculously hard to me. so your point didn't suck. I just sort felt like it needed something added to it, I guess. ;-p

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]cheesetruck
2004-06-26 03:54 am UTC (link)
So, the best thing I can do to help is to not give a flying rat's patookus.

Which I already am doing. So I'm helping! Yay me!

(Reply to this)

re: how does one treat a celebrity?
(Anonymous)
2004-06-29 04:38 pm UTC (link)
MOCK THEM. mercilessly and without end.

it's the only way to be sure.

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…