anorexia and sex survey: results, part 2

this is part 2 of my preliminary report on the “anorexia and sex” survey. i’m trying to figure out what internet surfers find so fascinating about looking at pictures of nude or scantily clad anorexic women.

as i said earlier, this is not a scientific study. however, it could probably serve as an exploration for a thorough investigation of this topic. in the back of my mind, i’m also wondering what the big picture is. is there a deeper question i am trying to ask, and if so, what might it be?

what intrigued me in the first place was the huge difference between how many people google phrases like “nude anorexics” – tons of them – and how few google phrases like “recovering from anorexia” – very few, comparatively speaking.

if our internet behaviour is a reflection of our “real” life (and that’s a big if, plus there is a question of what that “real” life actually is), then what does that say about us? is there a similar relationship between our need/desire to pursue (search for) quick thrills, as opposed to long-time relief from a potentially fatal illness? by the way, in the post that started all of this, i saw a similar relationship in regard to alcohol (e.g. a 1:27 ratio between “drunk girls” and “drunk driving”).

so what’s the driving factor in all of this? is it that our brains/emotions find it so much easier to get their teeth into the image or idea of a “naked anorexic” or “drunk chick” than into the idea of recovery and a healthy life?

is it because health seems so much more boring than sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll? or, seeing that both alcohol and anorexia have a high potential of resulting in death, maybe it’s because there is something irresistible about the combination of death and sex (good old freud is nodding vigorously in his grave)? is it simply the allure of that which is different?

my hunch right now is that it all has something to do with thrills; and “different” is definitely one thrill factor. in the survey, there were also quite a few comments that alluded to that:

there is no attraction besides a sexual derived interest in seeing the female form differently.

it’s the bizarreness; it’s the fetish of it

just weird that it’s there… a friend was joking about it & i had to see.

a WOW!!! LOOKIT THAT! factor. real anorexics naked and displaying their charms can be arousing.

some do fascinate me (some ribs, the muscles, …) while it fits their posture. has some predatory look, like a hungry lioness looking for prey during the dry season and food is scarce. if the world was full of perfect people, it would be a boring place. it’s the flaws that make each people unique.

as a matter of fact, about seventy per cent of the responses had at least one element of strong feelings in it (“ew!”; “i feel like i’m looking at holocaust victims”; “there is something both scary and sexy”).

so … is it all about the thrill?

more about this in my next post.

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