The presence of people with eating disorders is becoming more known in the American general public. Within this category, there are various different illnesses that can affect people. Patients who are in recovery programs often group themselves with people who have similar symptoms to them in order to obtain emotional support as well as validation. They want to have people who are like them and form bonds to do so. There has been a social phenomenon called pro-ana that focuses on people who have the eating disorder. Pro-ana is a subculture in the United States and in various parts of the world. The term ana comes from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Ana is also used as a personification with the name Ana. This essay will discuss some of the cultural and social realities of the subculture pro-ana.
There are various pro-ana organizations within the United States, with each of them having a different stance on the way that they run their community. Some are communities where people with …show more content…
Group members often face a lot of hostility for their state of being when they are not on the internet (Dyke 148). Yet, online, many people feel like they can be truer to their authentic self (Dyke 147). In this interview, after being asked how this person thought that pro-ana culture could be more accepted by the general American public, the response was that people needed to have a better understanding of just what the pro-ana culture is and the way that it helps people who are in situations where they do not have support with their eating disorder. Yet, the issue with this is position is that pro-ana sites are not just used for emotional and social support, it is also used to perpetuate eating disorders as they exist in