You’ve probably heard about the Marie Claire food blogger cluster#!@# making its way across the blogosphere. Since it was my birthday weekend and I was generally offline, I didn’t hear about it til Carla ( MizFit ) told me about what had happened. And my feelings are mixed.
Here’s the article, The Hunger Diaries.
The article itself is clearly very biased from the get-go. I’ve blogged in the past about how I wonder if sometimes food bloggers mask disordered behaviors , so I don’t entirely disagree that some behaviors of healthy living bloggers could be viewed as disordered — especially if the anecdotes the writer shared are, indeed, true.
Let’s be real here: shrouding or destroying food IS disordered behavior, regardless of context. I call them like I see them; been there, done that … I know it when I see it.
And while I never really lumped any of those specific blogs into the category, I’ve wondered myself: is taking pictures of every morsel you eat (or 10 pics of the same bowl of food) “normal?” Is exercising the way some bloggers do normal … or excessive? I think there’s a fine line in the sand between obsessiveness and a job.
And I think it depends on the readers’ perspective how “disordered” they view things.
I know that these women are paid to write about what they eat and how much they exercise; for some, it’s their job. So it’s arguably not an easy call to make, the distinction between obsessiveness and work.
That said, I admit sometimes I’ve read what these girls (who I do read and love) eat and how much they exercise and feel like I fall short or might even get a little envious of their lifestyle (getting paid to be fit). But they worked hard for what they’ve achieved, and I’d never begrudge them that.
I also admit I’ve had to take some time away from even these blogs I love because I found them to be triggering when I was at my worst.
But for the most part, I think these blogs in particular promote a healthy balance (some more than others — and I like when the bloggers have themselves addressed their own realizations about maybe becoming obsessive).I still say perspective is everything. If I were in weight-loss mode, or training mode, or recovery mode … I’d steer clear of some or latch on to others. They CAN be triggering … or inspirational.
I continue to read blogs like these because I have learned a lot about new products and ways of doing things from reading them, and if/when I find them to be triggering again, I’d stop.
I’ve read the bloggers’ responses and I feel bad for them because it’s obvious some of their words were taken out of context, or the frame of reference was just enough off to make what they said appear differently than intended.
Ultimately, I think it’s up to readers to make their own decisions about what is disordered or isn’t. Sometimes I’ll read one of their posts and think, “That’s all she ate today and she ran X miles?!” but then other days, you realize they have found (what I hope is) a natural rhythm to hunger and satiation. I envy intuitive eaters — if that’s, indeed,what they are.
I do think this article has opened a can of worms … and at the very least, maybe a positive discussion can come out of it. I’m just sorry it’s at the expense of some really cool women who have made names for themselves in the blogosphere.
[Updated to add, this article at Hollaback rocks, as does this at Jezebel .]
What do you think? Do you find these blogs beneficial and inspiring, or does it depend on where you’re at in your recovery?
You’ve probably heard about the Marie Claire food blogger cluster#!@# making its way across the blogosphere. Since it was my birthday weekend and I was generally offline, I didn’t hear about it til Carla ( MizFit ) told me about what had happened. And my feelings are mixed.
Here’s the article, The Hunger Diaries.
The article itself is clearly very biased from the get-go. I’ve blogged in the past about how I wonder if sometimes food bloggers mask disordered behaviors , so I don’t entirely disagree that some behaviors of healthy living bloggers could be viewed as disordered — especially if the anecdotes the writer shared are, indeed, true.
Let’s be real here: shrouding or destroying food IS disordered behavior, regardless of context. I call them like I see them; been there, done that … I know it when I see it.
And while I never really lumped any of those specific blogs into the category, I’ve wondered myself: is taking pictures of every morsel you eat (or 10 pics of the same bowl of food) “normal?” Is exercising the way some bloggers do normal … or excessive? I think there’s a fine line in the sand between obsessiveness and a job.
And I think it depends on the readers’ perspective how “disordered” they view things.
I know that these women are paid to write about what they eat and how much they exercise; for some, it’s their job. So it’s arguably not an easy call to make, the distinction between obsessiveness and work.
That said, I admit sometimes I’ve read what these girls (who I do read and love) eat and how much they exercise and feel like I fall short or might even get a little envious of their lifestyle (getting paid to be fit). But they worked hard for what they’ve achieved, and I’d never begrudge them that.
I also admit I’ve had to take some time away from even these blogs I love because I found them to be triggering when I was at my worst.
But for the most part, I think these blogs in particular promote a healthy balance (some more than others — and I like when the bloggers have themselves addressed their own realizations about maybe becoming obsessive).I still say perspective is everything. If I were in weight-loss mode, or training mode, or recovery mode … I’d steer clear of some or latch on to others. They CAN be triggering … or inspirational.
I continue to read blogs like these because I have learned a lot about new products and ways of doing things from reading them, and if/when I find them to be triggering again, I’d stop.
I’ve read the bloggers’ responses and I feel bad for them because it’s obvious some of their words were taken out of context, or the frame of reference was just enough off to make what they said appear differently than intended.
Ultimately, I think it’s up to readers to make their own decisions about what is disordered or isn’t. Sometimes I’ll read one of their posts and think, “That’s all she ate today and she ran X miles?!” but then other days, you realize they have found (what I hope is) a natural rhythm to hunger and satiation. I envy intuitive eaters — if that’s, indeed,what they are.
I do think this article has opened a can of worms … and at the very least, maybe a positive discussion can come out of it. I’m just sorry it’s at the expense of some really cool women who have made names for themselves in the blogosphere.
[Updated to add, this article at Hollaback rocks, as does this at Jezebel .]
What do you think? Do you find these blogs beneficial and inspiring, or does it depend on where you’re at in your recovery?