Livejournal encouraging eating disorders?

I usually enjoy Livejournal’s daily “writer’s block”. The questions are often silly, but harmless, and at times they can actually be interesting.

However, this is today’s question:

“If a magic genie told you your calories wouldn’t count for 24 hours, would it change what and how much you ate that day?”

To me it’s bordering on encouraging eating disorders.

And it looks like most answers are “YES!”. (Which is probably because most people who think this question is stupid don’t answer it at all.) But fortunately some users who have answered the question before me have said perfectly what I was going to say.

joshksingh:
“To put this question another way: If an evil djinn told you you could indulge your eating disorder for 24 hours, would you?
I’m definitely lucky I’m not a girl in this society. What a profoundly silly and abusive question.”

willowrs:
“No it bloody wouldn’t. I wish folk wouldn’t be so obsessed, and I wish social pressures and the media wouldn’t put out images of ‘people/figures to aspire to’ that nobody actually looks like. It’s all absolutely bollocks and makes me pissed as hell. Look at what it is doing to our young women and girls, it is beyond shameful.

Look after yourself properly, not how the media says to. They all have an agenda. I don’t want everybody to aspire to looking like prepubescent girls it’s just wrong, in so many ways and desperately unhealthy and damaging to the self esteem and body image. It’s an apalling aspect of culture.

Eat a varied and balanced diet and regular exercise and it won’t matter one iota.”

lolotehe:
“I would just lie down and take it very easy, considering my body would be STARVING FOR 24 HOURS.”

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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