Tribute to MLK

May today be a day where optimism triumphs over cynicism.

May today be a day when battles are fought with words and barbs tear apart hatred – but not the haters.

May today be a day when the marginalized look to the future with hope in their eyes instead of dread in their hearts.

May today be a day when we are all willing to die for justice instead of live for complacency.

May today be a day to remember that no person is defined by any individual characteristic.

May today be a day when doing the right thing takes precedence over doing the popular thing.

May today be a day when we love our friends and family for everything they are and not everything we wish they could be.

May today be a day where the measure of a person is not the color of their skin. Nor the consenting adults they take to bed. Nor the shape of their bodies. Nor their politics. Nor their religion. Nor the clothes on their back. But rather the shape of their heart and the intentions they hold.

Thank you, Dr. King. Without your courage, your devotion, none of what we have today would have been possible. You’re an inspiration for all of us who choose to fight. All of us who choose to believe. All of us who choose to stand up for justice.

Thank you for…

…I Have a Dream

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

…and so very, very much more. We are forever in debt to your memory, forever in debt to your true love for humanity.

-The PR Unfriendly Crew

Fight the Pro-Ana: Phase 1.5

While we’re not yet ready to officially move on to Phase 2 of Fight the Pro-Ana, Ms. Rüya (who requested that I reveal her real initials as M.W.) e-mailed me a copy of her very quick outline. It offers a few details on the process she will be taking to gather data from Harris County public schools regarding their eating disorder education and awareness of the potentially deadly movement promoting anorexia and bulimia as valid lifestyle choices. She actually has more textbook information gathered than this, however.

Ethics Guideline: Everything will be followed by the APA guidelines in ethics and handling of risk factors. (this will be elaborated more)

Method for creating questionnaire: Gather all textbooks used in health classes across Houston schools and surround areas. To cover the general area with a easier sample gathering, an inquiry of textbooks used by school district. Make a list of frequencies of  what the textbooks on the mention about the signs of Anorexia and Bulimia. See if there are any sections or chapters covering the mention of the internet age on promoting these disorders, and self-esteem.

After comparing the textbooks, create a questionnaire which can cover the mention of these textbooks. This will be tested knowledge of textbook versus Classroom application/material not shown in the book.

Data Gathered so for Textbook used by school district:
District – Textbook
HISD – Glencoe Health
Tomball ISD - Texas Lifetime Health published by Holt
Alief ISD – check syllabus

Fight the Pro-Ana: Some Excellent Websites

Happy New Year, PR Unfriendlies! Hope everyone is happy, safe, and comfortably settled into a routine again. I started a new job on January 4th, and while I am extremely happy with what I’m doing and the people I’m doing it with, the adjustment made it difficult to do much blogging for the past month. Fortunately, now that I’ve attained professional equilibrium it’s much easier to get back to editing.

It seems as if everyone had understandably been swamped by the holidays as well, but now that we’re all back to normal…why don’t you consider perhaps contributing? We’re always looking for fresh new voices and perspectives on the frustrations and social ills we encounter on a daily basis. And remember – it doesn’t have to share any parallels with our current social justice project. We really hope you’ll consider!

In the meantime, Fight the Pro-Ana is almost ready to unveil the questionnaire to be sent to all of the school districts in Harris County. We already received quite a few positive responses to e-mails asking about what textbooks are currently being used in high school health classes – which Ms. Rüya is using to finalize and streamline the poll. Considering the quick feedback we received when inquiring about textbooks, we are hoping that the response to questions regarding eating disorder education and awareness of the potential health hazards present in the Pro-Ana movement will follow suit.

While we wait to formally announce the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2, I would like to share with you a few links to some great websites dedicated to empowering women (and, occasionally, men) towards developing a healthy, positive body image. Posts associated with Fight the Pro-Ana have tended to focus mainly on those who foster – even actively encourage – negativity towards one’s own appearance. It’s about time we started looking at the antidote. At the people taking advantage of their time, resources, and experiences to ensure that nobody falls victim to hating themselves for not fitting into one arbitrary ideal.

This is only a small cross-section of websites, of course – just a couple of favorites to share and promote. We encourage anyone with any other suggestions to please share them in the comments section!

We Are The Real Deal – This impressively comprehensive blog inspires women to love and embrace themselves regardless of whether or not they conform to the unrealistic image of female beauty the media tries to sell. They post frequent articles on positive and negative trends regarding fashion and body image and host an extremely active, vibrant, and insightful community. We would encourage anyone who feels uncomfortable inside his or her own skin to seek out this blog and become surrounded by positive support that will never cut someone down for looking “different.”

We Bite Back – We’ve discussed We Bite Back on here before, but they warrant a second mention. They provide a recovery option for those formerly entrenched in the Pro-Ana movement and seeking real, honest therapy with a community that wishes to heal instead of hurt.

About-Face – These body image activists have taken to the streets and launched nonviolent, completely legal forms of protest that inspire women to think they are attractive and desirable no matter what the media may say. They post up regular lists of businesses that embrace diverse body shapes and do not treat women as objects as well as those who exist as part of the problem.

Obviously, this is by no means a comprehensive list. But all 3 of these sites are available for your perusal on the side of the page as well. We hope you will give them a chance and see all the wonderful things they are doing to help build people up instead of cutting them down for being “different.” And – again! – we hope you will share some of your favorite sites with the same messages.

More to come!

-Meredith

Fight the Pro-Ana: Credit Where Credit is Due

After months and months of prodding, the woman behind Phase II of Fight the Pro-Ana is finally letting us give her some recognition for all her hard work! She has been extremely busy this semester with her psychology and neuroscience studies at University of Houston, but in between classes, homework, exams, and work she has been designing the questionnaire that will launch along with Phase II. Her schedule has been understandably erratic, but we’re grateful for her help all the same and are more than willing to work around it for the sake of doing this whole thing right.

So it is with pride that we publicly thank Sabriel Rüya for all the hard work she has put into this project. After the finals capping off her hectic semester, she will have more time to devote to helping us better formulate poll questions in a reliable, respectable manner. In addition, she was also responsible for submitting the insightful video provided in this previous post.

Sabriel is operating under a pseudonym for her safety.

-Meredith

Sing a Song

All text is the property of Cory Garcia. If you wish to reprint this entry, please give him the proper credit.

The morning hadn’t gone very well. I walked out of my office for my lunch break a wreck. I could feel the breakdown that I feared right over my shoulder, and all I had to do was make it to the safety of my truck and I could just let it out. I almost welcomed it. I got in my vehicle and turned on the radio and closed my eyes and prepared to give in to my sadness and my loathing.

And then a funny thing happened. The guitar part starts quietly but quickly. I know what it is instantly, and better still I know what is coming. The moment that happens at :10 can be described a variety of ways; objectively, it’s nothing more than a chord strum and the tapping of some high hats, but on a physical and mental and emotional level it resonates in me every time I hear it. And as I sat in my truck with my head full of emotions and my eyes closed, I let the song take over. And even though the lyrics have nothing to do with what’s going on in my life, I can feel the change in me. When the opening guitar part repeats itself later in the song, I’m already starting to feel better. It’s when the chorus kicks in for the last time that I open my eyes, put the truck in reverse, and decide that today is not that day I’m going to curl up and die.

4 minutes I go from feeling that everything I’ve done is hopeless to feeling like I can handle anything. For me that’s the power of music.

Music has always been a way of coping for me. Some people, they get upset and they go out for a run; or they break something; or they go buy ice cream; or they have a drink or 10. For me, when I’m upset, immediately it becomes a search for what song will be convey this moment for me. Is it something slow and broody and wordless? Is it something full of angst and screaming? Is it something direct and heartfelt?

The music does something to me, stirs something in me. It can help give a frame of reference to a bad situation. It can provide something to focus on other than whatever it is that is making me upset. Most importantly, it can serve as a reminder that no matter what I’m feeling, I’m not the first to feel this way. Loss, hurt, disappointment… these are all universal concepts that we can all identify with. Knowing that someone else has been in that place before is reassuring, and can be a source for hope.

I believe that the best songs, the perfect songs, they’ll find you. So many times in my life I’ve been in a moment of hurt or weakness, when the songs that usually help aren’t. And somehow, be it dumb like or divine intervention, the random or fate, something has come along for me to seek comfort in.

Songs, they might not fix my problems or change my world, but they do manage to make the world seem less bleak. They help me find the words when I can’t conjure them up myself. Make a sad heart feel a little less hopeless.

So what happens, that day, if “Everlong” doesn’t come on the radio? I can’t tell you. For that, I am thankful.

I’m Not Dead Yet!

When collaborating with others on an independent project, delays and setbacks due to schedules and professional obligations inevitably crop up. I assure everyone that Fight the Pro Ana Phase II is still under construction. My lovely associate – who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being – has been extremely busy as of late, and far be it for me to add any extra pressure. Not to mention, I myself started a new job last month and needed to adjust my lifestyle and schedule accordingly. Between working and hunting for apartments, it has been difficult to find the time to do everything that needs doing.

Does that mean PR Unfriendly is done for? Absolutely not! For as hectic as life is right now, this is a labor of love with a message I am passionate about. Remember, though, that you are most welcome to send in submissions of your own – I’d love to have some new voices chiming in!

Normally I would not consider it my place to discuss my other writing projects in this space. However, I was not paid for this essay – nor will I – and I wanted to share it simply because it has some relevance to current discussions. This was an essay I wrote for the blogs at Skirt! Houston, and it deals with how I had to come to terms with my appearance, perceptions of my appearance, and the role fashion plays in society. I feel as if it dovetails harmoniously with many of the themes of PR Unfriendly and wanted to share it with you all. Perhaps show people who do or have felt similar that they are not alone.

It is titled Dedicated Follower of Fashion?, and I hope that someone, somewhere, gets something out of it. I also hope that many of you will open up about your own experiences as well. Please send in your own essays and stories, as I’d love to post the perspectives of others in the interim between Fight the Pro Ana Phase I and Phase II!!

-Meredith

Fight the Pro-Ana: What Our Contributors Have Found

As of September 23, the survey questions for Phase 2 are being finalized. Because I am having to work around the schedules of multiple individuals, I cannot guarantee any specific timeframe for them to be made available. However, be assured that we are working as hard as possible to propel this project further. I will be keeping readers regularly updated as to our progress as often as possible.

In the meantime, however, I have been honored to receive e-mails with information that some of our contributors have been very eager to share. Both were completely unexpected and unsolicited, so it’s wonderful to see that others have been taking an interest in supporting Fight the Pro-Ana with their own personal research and findings! Thank you both for everything you’ve done!

The first comes to us from a contributer who wishes to remain anonymous. It’s an insightful video lecture from the University of Houston’s psychology department, with the class labeled as PSYC 3339: Introduction to Clinical Psychology and taught by Dr. Edward Sheridan. He discusses bulimia as it relates to society, other panic disorders, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Much of this, of course, ties into some of the research presented earlier in this project, and I am appreciative that this video was brought to my attention.

Agent Provocateur of Twitter and frequent contributer Cory Garcia has discovered yet another Ars Technica article relevant to Fight the Pro Ana’s interests. The project has been explicitly against calling for outright censorship due to its violation of the First Amendment, choosing instead to urge parents, teachers, school boards, server hosts, and others to practice discretion as to whether or not they would allow Pro-Ana websites to prolificate. As always, censorship is a thorny issue wrought with any number of variables. But its subjective nature can certainly lead to interesting and enlightening debates from multiple perspectives - when executed civilly, it is certainly an activity that PR Unfriendly stands behind.

According to the Jacqui Cheng article Cory discovered, the French parliament is considering a law that requires Photoshopped images of the human form to carry a warning label. The intent is to promote a positive, healthy body image amongst the French peoples, alerting them to the ways in which the media can instill insecurity and promote unrealistic expectations through the manipulation of photographs. It doesn’t outright ban Photoshopping – merely the use of a clear indication that a photo had been altered.

With the knowledge that France has also passed laws against Pro-Ana websites – which Fight the Pro-Ana has discussed before – there are several perspectives as to whether or not their efforts infringe upon free speech or if their obviously altruistic intentions override it. I could pose a myriad of questions on the topic, but I’d much rather hear what readers have to say and what sorts of issues they may or may not take with France’s decision. As always, post without fear of being insulted for your beliefs – all perspectives deserve an equal chance to be heard. Anyone caught being outright disrespectful or degrading towards other’s opinions, however, will have their comments deleted.

-Meredith

Fight The Pro-Ana: We are Not Alone!

First and foremost, special thanks to Matt Miles for bringing this article to my attention. As much as his self-deprecating sense of humor emphasizes how “nerdy” he is, without his devotion to technology I wouldn’t be able to pass the information on to you. Keep doing what you’re doing, Matt. It’s all appreciated!

According to Nate Anderson at Ars Technica, The Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK is encouraging parents, schools, and the government’s Child’s Internet Safety commission is bringing to light the dangers of the Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia websites and communities. Like our own Fight the Pro-Ana project, they are not asking for outright censorship – doing so would be a violation of their right to free speech. All they seek to do is bring the hazards to the attention of the mainstream, encouraging the government, parents, and teachers to issue warnings and practice discretion in what types of websites and communities they’d like their children to avoid. It’s a relief to see the issue being brought to the forefront in the United Kingdom, and the RCP deserves a commendation for their efforts. Hopefully in due time such measures will come to pass here in the United States – all we can do at the moment is keep up our fight. I’m one very important e-mail away from being able to commence Phase Two.

There’s little point in writing more about the article, which can be found here (the RCP’s original press release can be found here). I’m sure patrons of PR Unfriendly are perfectly capable of reading and processing the information found in the previous articles on their own without need of my commentary. As always, please feel free to leave any comments on your thoughts and opinions on the RCP’s actions.

-Meredith

Fight the Pro-Ana: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Headed

Just because it’s been a little quiet here at PR Unfriendly doesn’t mean it’s en route to inactivity! While I do admit I have been on the busy side with other obligations and writing projects, Fight the Pro-Ana has not, however, fallen off my list of priorities. I figure I owe it to everyone participating or following our progress to give an update as to the status of the project.

We are well into Phase One at the moment, which involves background information on Pro-Ana and the dangers associated with it as well as discussing some of the myths and realities regarding eating disorders. I am very appreciative of all the supportive comments the project has received so far, and gracious to Karnii for bravely opening up about the whats and whys behind anorexia and bulimia. There is very little ground we have left to cover in Phase One – some of which I am working out with other writers, some of which I am still researching myself. Suffice to say, even if we move on to Phase Two within the next few weeks, I will never turn down any testimonials or informative articles that may come our way. Any and all reliable, verifiable information and research that we may have skipped is more than welcome.

At the moment, the beginnings of Phase Two are gelling “offline,” as it were. I don’t want to post the methodology and procedures of the poll until we’ve fully solidified how it will operate. I am very excited to see it progressing, and can’t wait to see what results we find. Everyone involved has been most cooperative, helpful, and resourceful, and deserve as much praise as I can give.

Thanks for taking the time to read this update. If anyone has any questions or comments, you know exactly where to voice them! And remember – submissions are always welcome, even if they’re not directly related to Fight the Pro-Ana!

-Meredith

Quick Fix: Webcomic Wisdom

The other day I was catching up with one of my favorite webcomics, Subnormality by Winston Rountree. Its sharp, satirical, and highly surrealist humor definitely isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but I quite enjoy it. One strip in particular jumped straight out at me. It was more somber, emotional, and earnest than the others – a strip that even readers who would otherwise not enjoy the series could still appreciate and find provocative.

A few people have asked me what sort of message we’re presenting here at PR Unfriendly, and I honestly could not find a better example of everything we stand for than this one comic strip. As with PR Unfriendly, its message is twofold: Be true to yourself and your convictions, and find the inner strength to stand up for those who are being wronged. Having confidence in your individual identity and disconnecting from superficiality can lead to a more just society.

And The Line, by Winston Rountree, does the best job of underscoring how this is accomplished and how this works. It’s something of an extreme example – few of us, if any at all, will end up fighting injustice in a manner that literally risks our lives. But nevertheless the ideas he presents resonate through cultural and temporal boundaries, presenting a message that is just as necessary now as it always has been.

Out of respect for his copyrights, and the fact that this was not personally submitted, I am not posting a thumbnail. Please click on the link in the previous paragraph if you wish to read. I hope you perhaps leave inspired.

-Meredith