In my many adventures through the Internet whilst procrastinating, I came across a common theme in multiple blogs: being thin. It seems as if almost every form of media promotes this need to be not only in shape, but to be small. Actresses become plastered over every tabloid cover whenever they seem to gain anything over five pounds. The definition of beauty today is the complete opposite of that during the Renaissance, where voluptuous women were considered beautiful and sexy. To be fair, many full-figured actresses, like Queen Latifah, Mo’Nique and Scarlett Johansson, are praised for their confidence and curves, and companies such as Dove promote women to be comfortable in their own skin. This message, however, seems to be lost on girls who are obsessed with the vast collection of expressionless models with visible rib cages and hip bones.

Google the words “thin” or “skinny” with the words “blog” or “Tumblr,” and you’ll understand what I’m trying to get at. The teenage girls who run these blogs are not just concerned with their body image—they thoroughly believe that they are not beautiful unless they are skinny. The more shocking aspect, however, is the extent to which some girls are willing to go just to drop a few pounds. Those with blogs that are strictly for recording weight loss and posting pictures of models usually post their age, current weight, Goal Weight and UGW, or Ultimate Goal Weight. A 17-year-old’s UGW is 78 pounds, a 15-year-old’s is between 100-106 pounds while another 15-year-old is hoping to drop down to 88 pounds.

Though these desired goals are unimaginable to begin with, the means to attain the UGW are even worse. One of the girls follows a diet consisting of 500 calories while fasting for three days in a week. Tumblr, a website for microblogging, offers the option of asking bloggers questions, and many of the questions asked in “skinny blogs” are from anonymous readers worried about the bloggers’ health. Despite concerns, these bloggers are content with their decisions to fast or binge and purge, claiming that they are fat and “need to be skinny.”

I understand that anorexia and other eating disorders can stem from psychological factors, including a desperate desire to be in control. These bloggers, however, are not seeking help—mostly because they see nothing wrong with their lifestyle. Instead, they post their progress to becoming thin and share diets and exercises for their followers. On the second day of the “Apple Diet,” dinner consists of a slice of bread with cheese and an apple; the “2468 Diet” involves eating 200 calories on the first day, 400 calories on the next, 600 calories on the fourth day, and 800 calories on the last day; the “Milk Diet” is an all-dairy diet that involves drinking only six cups of milk on the first day and fasting on the eighth. Unfortunately, the list goes on.

From what I have witnessed and experienced, girls have a strong tendency to have issues with their weight and body, and I am certainly no exception. But according to one of the readers, many girls “just want to be thin, thin, thin, thin.” I am a complete believer of “to each his own” and “live and let live” philosophies, but after scrolling through pages after pages of these blogs, I remain unconvinced. I am not categorizing all teenage girls into a lacking-confidence-and-desperately-want-to-be-skinny-in-order-to-feel-pretty group, but sadly, there are way too many girls that perfectly fit this description. Thin, for many girls, has become synonymous with beauty, and the unhealthy, and possibly dangerous, habits they form to reach this beauty baffles me. Wanting to be in shape is different from wanting to lose 30 pounds just for the sake of losing 30 pounds. There are enough problems with the world, and eating disorders simply add on to the pile of diseases and sickness already prevalent around us.

Exercise, do cardio, lay off the chips for a week or two, maybe replace a daily sandwich with fruits and vegetables, but starving yourself? “Fasting” in order to reach an Ultimate Goal Weight? Maybe I’m ignorant in these matters or maybe I’m missing a key element, but from what I can tell, the desire to be stick-thin is spreading. After looking at the pictures posted by the bloggers, I saw a glimpse as to why the obsession to become like models is so strong. The girls in the pictures are pretty— there is no doubt about that. They wear flawless outfits, have beautiful eyes, perfect makeup, and from a distance, they seem happy. Pictures, however, can lie.

Repulsed may be too strong of a word, but I am certainly disturbed by some of the content posted by bloggers whose only aim at the age of 15 is to be less than 100 pounds. Can we blame this phenomenon on our material world? Or maybe our society, which showcases beautiful women who do not carry an ounce of extra body fat? Or perhaps, our schools, where bullying is commonplace and peer pressure is at its highest? Or how about we place this blame on ourselves. Look in the mirror, whether you just rolled out of bed for your eight am class or are ready to go out for the night, and smile. Know who you are and where you stand, and don’t let a billboard or magazine cover change that.

To contact The Ionian’s Ranisha Singh e-mail her at [email protected].