VASQUEZ: Thinspo vs. social media

Thinspo, short for thinspiration, consists of photos, tips and angst-ridden quotes that are meant to provide motivation for those looking to diminish their bodies to thinner proportions. It is seen on social media sites such as Tumblr and Pinterest, where people – mostly females – will post, follow, pin, search or reblog this type of content. It has a worrying similarity to pro-anorexia websites and generally serves to promote the thin-obsessed culture perpetuated by societal pressures.
Speaking from the point of view of someone who is constantly on social media, I see this is as an increasingly dangerous trend. Body image pressures are disturbingly prominent in young people’s lives, fostered extensively by the media depicting Photoshopped pictures of “perfection.” The development of this type of thinking on the Internet is alarming, and many websites are taking active steps to prevent it.
Last month, Tumblr issued a ban on content that advocates self-harm. This new policy was not only limited to thinspo, but also addressed cutting and suicide. Pinterest, generally known as having a female-heavy user base, became another virtual place for users to continue the trend by creating thinspo boards. The number of complaints led Pinterest to follow in Tumblr’s footsteps and announce their own ban on such content.
I appreciate the intent behind the actions of these websites. I think it is important to take decisive action in these cases, and their efforts to avoid being associated with unhealthy thinking are better than taking no action at all. However, the effectiveness of the bans must be considered more objectively. Realistically, there is much wiggle room in both cases. It is difficult to pinpoint the offenders and enforce the policies successfully.
The websites do not create the thinspo and the self-harm content. They are simply mediums for users to share or create their own content. This content comes from whatever society gives us. Advertisements and fashion industries tell us this is what we need to be aspiring to be. So in turn, young people are taking that line of thinking and sharing it with their own networks. It is not difficult to understand why this occurs, but it is hard to put a stop to it when we are bombarded with these images daily.
It is a destructive cycle. I don’t necessarily know how to stop it. There is only so much that social media websites can do to prevent it. In reality, how much power do they have? Users will find loopholes within the bans and the policies. There are plenty of other places on the Internet where they can go to participate in the trend. This is the most important thing to realize. The fight is not between thinspo and social media. The fight is against society. It is against that vague higher power that seems to dictate our words, our appearances, our thoughts and our opinions. Why do we let these pressures have so much control over us?
The most recent example that comes to mind about the influence of the media and society is about Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games.” After watching the movie, I started seeing all these reviews criticizing her for not being skinny enough to play Katniss. In the books, her character is almost always near starvation. The criticisms arose because Jennifer Lawrence, who is naturally curvy, did not meet the emaciated expectations of avid fans of the books. I could not understand this. I am a big fan of the books, but I realize how difficult it is to portray that type of character exactly (not to mention the fact that every person is going to have a different picture in their mind). These critiques were not reviewing the movie or her acting – they were attacking her body image. They send a dangerous message to younger generations about the disturbingly strict expectations of the real world.
Again, why do we let these pressures control us? Young people should not be creating these distorted images about an unattainable perfection. It saddens me to see the extent of thinspo and the worrying images and harsh words that are meant to provide inspiration. Social media websites can’t do anything about it. Bans and policies can’t do anything about it. It has to be a personal realization. If we recognize the problem and work to solve it through our individual words and actions, we might be able to stop it. There is a way to defeat society.
Dany Vasquez is a sophomore in the College of Communication and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at vasquezd@bu.edu