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The Disturbing "Pro-Ana" Boards That Pinterest Banned

Pinterest recently announced it would ban pro-anorexia pages and other potentially harmful content. Just how active was the “pro-ana” community on Pinterest? Here’s a look.

I know, right? Now tell your friends!
The Disturbing "Pro-Ana" Boards ...
Hillary Reinsberg

Pinterest’s new terms of service dictate that as of April 6, any pins or boards that “explicitly encourage self-harm or abuse” will be banned from the site, a move that echoes Tumblr’s decision to ban similar content last month. That April 6 date is still almost two weeks away, which means tons of alarming pro-anorexia and “thinspirational” content is still live on the site.

2. This is what you find when you search Pinterest for “thinspo.”

Photos of women in bikinis are a common theme.

3. A search for “thinspiration” yields similar results.

4. You’ll also find lots of boards singularly devoted to aspirational thinness.

5. This board is called “Get Thin.”

6. Here’s a pin from that board.

7. Pasting “thinspirational” quotes onto photos is a big thing.

8. And more.

9. Pinterest does not think this is a “lol” matter.

10. Some boards are more fitness-oriented.

Will boards like these get taken down?

11. Kate Moss is a popular “thinspiration.”

12. (She’s kind of everywhere.)

13. Some of the fitness-oriented pins are a little more controversial.

Check out more articles on BuzzFeed.com!

Facebook Conversations
          
    • DanYelle   The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... and thinks it’s Ew & WTF  about 6 days ago
    • shamare thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about 2 months ago
    • Rachel W. thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is OMG  about 2 months ago
    • Sophia Leijon 2 months ago

      I was reading a lot of the Facebook comments, and I do agree that while exercising and eating healthy is okay, some of these photos show women that are too skinny. I’m not saying it’s their fault, necessarily, but people who are that much inspired from these photos are going a bit too far. The women is the photos seem to have too low BMI.

    • kalinnr thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about 3 months ago
    • secretlyowned thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is LOL  about 4 months ago
    • fossilgoth thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Trashy  about 6 months ago
    • rolor thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Trashy, Fail & Ew  about 6 months ago
    • thekingsQueen thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about 8 months ago
    • Emmalee thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Trashy & WTF  about 8 months ago
    • angrykitty 8 months ago

      And Kate Moss is a raging booze hound and chain-smoker. It’s all about aspirations, girls!

    • Meredith thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Trashy  about 8 months ago
    • erikachristine   The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... and thinks it’s Fail, Trashy & Ew  about 9 months ago
    • nkyamamoto thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is LOL  about 9 months ago
    • stefani   The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"...  about 10 months ago
    • Liza E. thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew  about 10 months ago
    • CoCo Blooded 10 months ago

      …How is working out and eating healthy “pro-anorexia?” This actually kind of perfectly illustrates why we have freedom of speech, and why banning certain topics online is utterly useless.

    • camcamely thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew & Trashy  about 11 months ago
    • suemacdonaldk thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew  about 11 months ago
    • rog thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew  about 11 months ago
    • joed23 thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is OMG  about 11 months ago
    • Cris B. thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Win  about 11 months ago
    • ashleye16 thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about 11 months ago
    • Mongognom thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew & Trashy  about 11 months ago
    • This is not all that ‘disturbing’. Where is the outrage over fat acceptance, when obesity is a much larger (pardon the pun) problem than anorexia or bulimia.
      Plus, not ALL thinspiration is unhealthy

    • Inquisitive Kat   The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... and thinks it’s Cute & Win  about a year ago
    • Kares Mas thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about a year ago
    • CJ thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • iainc thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail & WTF  about a year ago
    • Gabbi thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew  about a year ago
    • LeannL thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Win  about a year ago
    • caseyk2 thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF, Fail & Ew  about a year ago
    • buzzrabbit thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • Mary Facemire thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • Emily G. thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about a year ago
    • Robot On thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • kelseym8 thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • xsmall thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail, Ew & WTF  about a year ago
    • zos thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about a year ago
    • cattaca thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Trashy, WTF & Fail  about a year ago
    • lgagnon thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is WTF  about a year ago
    • vespo thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • Alexis a year ago

      I suppose any type of ‘motivation’ to your health is unacceptable so they just want to cover all their bases?
      Lame.

    • chEEkiD a year ago

      these boards to me are nowhere near what pro-ED websites are like. most of these women seem pretty healthy and there are no overt statements or pics showing that you should be fasting or starving yourself. that’s what I think of when I think pro-Ana/mia websites

    • ambersolnickr thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • dadeej thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Ew  about a year ago
    • The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is starting to get hot on Facebook Share It  about a year ago
    • conquestofbread thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Trashy & Ew  about a year ago
    • kati24 a year ago

      I think these are on the edge of danger. a lot of the woman in these pictures aren’t healthy. which is what shouldn’t be promoted. again, a lot of those pictures are PhotoShopped and not realistic. so already, that is a big no no. no one can reach standards that aren’t real. I work out often, and eat healthy, I refuse to starve myself. refuse. I am not perfectly thin, and don’t have ripped abs… but I feel great everyday about my body. I am the healthiest I have ever been in my life. it really is a great feeling. Tue plus side to being healthy is you do lose weight the right way :)

    • kati24 a year ago

      being fit is one thing, starving is another. honestly people who believe this is attractive or ok, have serious issues… i think they are doing the right thing by taking that kind of stuff down. healthy body produces a healthy mind :)

    • kyrski a year ago

      so you’d be thinspo if someone was using images of you for inspiration. which happens. people’s images of themselves are often used without permission.

    • kyrski a year ago

      thinspo translates to “thin inspiration,” it’s photographs of skinny celebrities or women that people use to motivate themselves to lose weight.

    • I have a health board on my pinterest. I use it for healthy recipes, and fitness ideas. I’m inspired to be thin, but I’m 200lbs and I have a thyroid problem. Because of it I’ve gained a lot of unhealthy weight. I just want to be 130 again, which for my height is a normal weight. I guess I’m thinspo?

    • armadillorider a year ago

      I have a ‘fitness/diet’ board on pinterest and it has some of those pins like “if you eat what you’ve always eaten, you’ll weigh what you’ve always weighed”…but those are not there to convince me to be a skeleton, just to remind me to stop eating like the teenager I no longer am. Sometimes I need an occasional boost of motivation. Most of these are not even close to the degree of ‘thinspo’ we should be concerned about.

    • kyrski a year ago

      it’s just sad because pro-ana and pro-mia were terms used to describe communities of women suffering with EDs to help each other cope and move past bad behavior. it worked much like the idea of alcoholics anonymous, where you’d look for support to keep yourself from making bad decisions. it has since been taken over by teens forcing themselves into eating disorders. i’m 22 now, and since the age of 14, i’ve seen sites and blogs dedicated to pro-ana and pro-mia, some healthy some very much not. “10 ways to throw up without your family or friends catching on” or “5 tips for fasting over 72 hours” are just two of the many disturbing articles i remember seeing on these sites and blogs. it’s out there and it’s been out there forever. the internet just makes it more accessible and able to hit a larger and more impressionable audience of young women. there’s nothing wrong with having a goal for yourself but comparing yourself, and aiming for bodies that are unattainable (because your body isn’t built like that, or you don’t have a personal trainer and dietician like many celebs) is where the trouble begins. just the fact that many are quick to defend this makes me sad.

    • steveaustin thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • mete24 a year ago

      Losing weight is hard. Wanting to be healthy and posting motivation to do so is not a problem if you are overweight or just have fitness goals. Honestly, why are these users getting bashed for posting healthy recipes?? So there is an obesity epidemic, but if you try to do anything about your health, you are pro-ana? This article is FAIL.

    • kyrski a year ago

      pro-ana has been around long before pinterest and tumblr. as someone who has had an eating disorder and is in recovery, pro-ana and pro-mia content is triggering and harmful. it’s not about fitness to a lot of these women, it’s about obsession and losing touch with reality. these image examples are tame.

    • alejpanda a year ago

      to the lady whose “thinspiration” was kim kardashian, i salute you. that’s a lady who knows her limits.

    • Amy B. a year ago

      I’m not sure how to comment on this. Since sadly discovering the term “pro-ana” on here a month ago, I’ve seen some pretty disturbing things, like the one short-haired gal posted. That makes me want to cry and fear for the future of womanhood. But at the same time, I’d support people motivating each other to eat healthier and exercise. The pins in the original post seem to lean more towards that. In conclusion, pro-ana bad, but I question if the pics fall into a pro-ana category.

    • SamMicCham a year ago

      Pintrest is really bad (I think more valid examples would have easy to come by), but the “thinspo” tag on Tumblr is much more terrifying. I’m glad they’re working to minimise that sort of thing.

    • abdulk thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Win  about a year ago
    • msmcgee82 thinks The Disturbing "Pro-Ana"... is Fail  about a year ago
    • Davine S. a year ago

      I wish people would stop thinking Kate Moss invented that quote. The actual quote is “Nothing tastes as good as being slim feels” and it’s been around in Weight Watchers for decades. It’s a legitimate comment to make among people who are having trouble controlling their impulse to eat at the start of a long journey. It never had a *face* attached to it, before. I hate that she mangled it and it became a motto for pro-ana people just because she’s the poster-child for Heroin Chic.

    • Davine S. a year ago

      Most of these are pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to thinspo - with different captions, they’d just be standard underwear models.  There’s a pro-ana site that divides its images in to Black, Grey and White - the “white” section is pictures like these, and the “black” section is virtually skeletal bodies. Very disturbing. (Not that I condone the creepy competitive nature of online pro-ana/mia stuff, but these fall very much in the “least overt” end of the scale.)

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