It was already in the spring of 2023 that the New York Times drew attention to morbidly thin models during New York Fashion Week. The trend is called heroin chic and also goes by the name “pro-ana”, which stands for “promotion of anorexia”.
Now the debate about the new old trend has also flared up in Sweden. The starting shot was a blog post by Camilla Gervide, founder of Blogbevaking. In the post, she puts her foot down against influencers and companies who post pictures of protrusions, ribs, spine and collarbones.
Influencer Alexandra Nilsson has previously been hit hard by thinness. She became famous as a young teenager and already as a 15-year-old she had developed an eating disorder. Alexandra is now one of those who is critical of the reborn trend.
– It feels extremely sad to have to see this trend once again. I have been on the side where I was exposed to an eating disorder but even now I am exposed to seeing these pictures. You never get completely healthy, she says
“This is not okay”
She believes that both influencers and companies have a lot of power and she is critical of her peers posting pro ana-like pictures.
– I don’t understand how you can think that this is appropriate. Why doesn’t anyone say that this is not okay, this is strange?, says Alexandra Nilsson.
She says that she doesn’t blame anyone for being sick, but believes that you have to take responsibility for the type of pictures you post. Alexandra herself follows influencers who trigger her and advises her followers to do the same.
– I like them as people, but I can’t follow them because my well-being is much more important than following cool influencers, she says.
Many affected are young, it is not uncommon for 13 year olds and even younger youth to be exposed to this age of content. Lisa Thorell is a professor of psychology at the Karolinska Institutet and has researched the subject. She has some tips on how to support your child as a parent during the current trend. Her most important tip is to talk openly with the children.
– It is important that you have a dialogue with your children, but you should start early and then you should continue to have a dialogue with them, says Lisa Thorell.