Talk:Pro-ana

Requested move 23 June 2024

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Moved to Pro-ana by consensus in this discussion. (Note that the RM was originally headlined with the proposal Pro-ana subculture, until Special:Diff/1232966402, 6 July 2024.) (closed by non-admin page mover) Adumbrativus (talk) 03:38, 8 July 2024 (UTC)

---

Promotion of anorexia → Pro-ana – The umbrella term of 'pro-ana' in online spaces includes both the traditional 'encouraging anorexia as a lifestyle choice' definition as well as people who are not ready for recovery from their eating disorders, but desire a safe space to talk about them, such as venting about current struggles or sharing harm reduction tips to maintain as semi-normal a life as possible while struggling with their mental illness. Personal discomfort with the terminology shouldn't take precidence over the historical usage (documented as early as 2007). Ju1c3machine (talk) 07:42, 23 June 2024 (UTC) — Relisting. Queen of Hearts ^talk 00:45, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

• fixed malformed Queen of Hearts ^talk 07:46, 23 June 2024 (UTC)

@Ju1c3machine The previous discussion (see the section above) moved this page from “pro-ana” to this title because “pro-ana” was seen as unclear. I assume you disagree, correct?

Also, it would be helpful to find some evidence to back up the idea that “pro-ana” is the most common name for this topic in reliable sources, like a Google Ngrams graph.

Anyhow, I’m currently supportive of this move because the article clearly still uses “pro-ana” throughout. I will do some more research once I have access to my computer tomorrow. Toadspike [Talk] 07:52, 23 June 2024 (UTC)

Correct, I disagree because 'pro-ana' is the term used within the community to refer to itself, and doesn't always refer to actual promotion of anorexia, if that makes sense- the term grew past its original etymology. Proana actually seems to be the more commonly used term in recent years compared to pro-ana or promotion of anorexia (https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=proana,pro-ana,promotion%20of%20anorexia&hl=en). Interestingly enough, on the chart itself you can see the steep decline of usage after 2001, due to public outrage from an Oprah special on the subject. Ju1c3machine (talk) 07:58, 23 June 2024 (UTC)

Move back to Pro-ana: Ngram chart here. The overwhelming common name seems to be "pro-ana". Perhaps the low-participation RM of 2022 should just be reverted. I don't see any lack of clarity in that term, and there is no hatnote in the article that indicates that it is ambiguous. It is clearly more WP:CONCISE as well as more common. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 18:50, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

See Karen Kellock on THE MATURE ANOREXiC and you'll change your mind on this. It can be seen here: https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7211342012694872064/ 208.92.185.238 (talk) 18:16, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

Can you provide a reputable source that's not a social media post (especially not one that you need to log in to read)? Also, doubtful that I will change my mind on this given that I've spent 10+ years in these communities; while I'm fully aware of the harmful effects of them, I do think that the studies in place showing that they can provide a useful sense of support for some affected individuals means that we should try to frame the article as neutrally as possible, as per Wikipedia policy. Ju1c3machine (talk) 18:20, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

Also, for future reference, you might not want to point to the writings of what appears to be an absolute lunatic to try and back up your point. Ju1c3machine (talk) 18:25, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

Relisting comment: Include "subculture"? (I don't think fixing a malformed nom makes me "involved", but feel free to do whatever if you disagree.) Queen of Hearts ^talk 00:45, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

I included it based off of the wording of the “Punk subculture” page- I think it’s worth emphasizing that this is in fact a subculture where people find community, not just a random toxic internet phenomenon. Ju1c3machine (talk) 08:11, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

Do not include "subculture": Regardless of whether it's a subculture or not, the word is not necessary for identification of the topic, and it's not commonly included. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 14:30, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

The same arguments could be made towards punk subculture, which I’m using as a reference for consistency reasons. Ju1c3machine (talk) 16:36, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

I disagree. Pro-ana is currently a WP:PRIMARYREDIRECT; it currently redirects to this topic and is more WP:CONCISE than "pro-ana subculture". It does not commonly refer to any other subject. But Punk does not redirect to Punk subculture. Punk is a disambiguation page. The subculture is not a dominant meaning of "punk". For example, "punk" might refer to the punk rock music genre rather than the subculture. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 18:09, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

Very fair point, I concede to renaming the page to simply Pro-ana or Proana, depending on which spelling is more common. Ju1c3machine (talk) 16:48, 3 July 2024 (UTC)

Thank you. "Pro-ana" is clearly more common than "Proana", as is shown in the Ngram that I linked above. It also seems easier to read. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 16:55, 3 July 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Proposed edit: less female-centric language

''Pro-ana sites often feature thinspiration (or thinspo): images or video montages of slim women, often celebrities, who may range anywhere from being naturally slim to emaciated with visibly protruding bones.''

I believe ''images or video montages of slim women'' should be changed to ''images or video montages of slim women and men'', or ''images or video montages of slim people''.

I can attest, as someone who's extensively browsed pro-ana forums in the past, that only mentioning women here is not just inaccurate, but also harmful. It is inaccurate because online pro-ana spaces are populated by anorexics of all genders, and so there also exists 'thinspo' of men, and also of androgynous models; it is harmful because it perpetuates the myth that AN is an exclusively female illness. This contributes to the marginalisation of male (and nonbinary) anorexics, which is still an ongoing issue even in 2025.

Articles like this are sometimes peoples first introduction to sensitive subjects like this one, and readers put a lot of faith in Wikipedia for it to be 'complete' source of knowledge. That is why I think the choice of words should be changed as soon as possible.

I'd also suggest mentioning 'edtwt' which is a thriving pro-ana community on Twitter/X, and that much of 'reverse thinspiration' (now more often known as 'fatspo') are TikToks pulled from the pages of fat TikTok users. This would better reflect the modern pro-ana space experience because the bulk of this article was written in the 2000s. Urist McEditor (talk) 11:36, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

Proposal to Improve Article: Medical Accuracy, Cultural Context, and NPOV

This LLM-generated text has been collapsed and should be excluded from assessments of consensus.

The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

Hello editors, I’d like to suggest improvements to the Pro-ana article to better reflect current research and ensure a neutral, medically accurate portrayal of this topic. Areas for improvement:

Update sources with recent peer-reviewed research on pro-ana communities, especially in the context of social media. Strengthen medical and psychological framing, emphasizing the clinical risks of disordered eating. Address NPOV concerns by critically contextualizing quotes and claims from pro-ana advocates. Expand coverage of gender, cultural, and societal influences on pro-ana ideology. Include platform moderation efforts (e.g., TikTok, Instagram) and their impact on pro-ana content visibility. Add perspectives from recovery and harm reduction communities to balance the narrative.

If anyone has recent sources or ideas for restructuring, I’d love to collaborate. Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by KatieKat1992 (talk • contribs) 23:30, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 July 2026

include ariana grande’s most resent emancipation. ~2026-30789-14 (talk) 19:05, 4 July 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. LizardJr8 (talk) 19:11, 4 July 2026 (UTC)