Social media, skaters, 'fans' and bodyshaming

Playing devil's advocate, but I think it is interesting how much blame is place on the fans. This may not apply to the younger skaters, but the older ones who are posting certain things on social media are looking for some sort of reaction. Social media is just as much about the poster as it is the consumer. When a skate posts an image of themselves, you can assume it has been chosen for a particular reason and it is meant to illicit a certain reaction. I don't think it is the fault of fans if their reaction doesn't line up with what the poster wanted. Now that is not to say I condone people leaving unpleasant comments, but something was posted on a platform that is open to comments.

The reality is, the bodies of elite athletes are not "normal" by medical or societal standards. They also aren't always healthy. That is precisely why people both fawn over and are critical of them. It is important to acknowledge that. Many elite sports, including figure skating, promote habits that are not good for the body, physically and mentally. We can't ignore that disordered eating and body image is prevalent in the sport. Yes, some people are naturally smaller framed or have larger frames, but those are the outliers, not the norm. Those discussions need to be had, but they should in no way be had around the bodies of individual skaters. It needs to be more holistic than that. Everyone plays a role in this. The fans, coaches, federations, and the skaters themselves.

TripleAxelQueens3 said:

Looking through some tumblr blogs I have to say something:

the hypocrisy is insane. One moment they’re saying “Oh get well soon Alina!” and the next they are saying, “Oh she’s done for”. Like what? And this person insists that Trusova trying quads isn’t a breakthrough in advancing the sport, and anybody who supports her is sexist. The first part, okay, maybe your “worried about her health”, but the second? Isn’t it just as draining to boys to attempt quads at a young age? Why only target Trusova? Isn’t that sexist? And also, people are trying so hard to defend Rika’s quads praising the technique even though it’s just as bad as the über Russian juniors. Why do you need to put down Trusova and co to put up Rika? And they kept on hating on Nathan for her Nationals Score, did he request a super inflated score? No, he doesn’t control that. Thank goodness most skaters probably haven’t heard of tumblr, that place is horrible!

Instagram is just as bad really, so many comments are so hateful, but thank goodness the big video accounts are supportive and nice!

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Not only the IG. On the Twitter there are many hateful disgusting posts. I'm thinking always are these the new generations of the figure skating fans?

louisa05 said:

Assuming someone has an eating disorder based on nothing but appearance is wrong and potentially very damaging on many, many levels.

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This x100000000.

Overweight people can suffer from anorexia. Extremely thin people can be healthy.

(That said, seeing someone lose/gain a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time is often a warning sign. But simply BEING a certain size doesn't mean anything.)

Plenty of skaters have favorable genetics that means they can eat healthy (i.e, a normal amount of food for a healthy human being), exercise and still be appear extremely thin. Other skaters have to work harder than others to maintain what is considered to be their "ideal" size/weight for skating - and let's be honest, the majority of adult women, when consuming a normal amount of calories and exercising a lot, aren't going to be as thin as figure skaters. The hard work of staying an "ideal" size/weight when your body might be predisposed to be more curvy or weigh more can pretty easily turn into cultivating dangerous habits in order to be thin - that's an eating disorder.

andromache said:

This x100000000.

Overweight people can suffer from anorexia. Extremely thin people can be healthy.

(That said, seeing someone lose/gain a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time is often a warning sign. But simply BEING a certain size doesn't mean anything.)

Plenty of skaters have favorable genetics that means they can eat healthy (i.e, a normal amount of food for a healthy human being), exercise and still be appear extremely thin. Other skaters have to work harder than others to maintain what is considered to be their "ideal" size/weight for skating - and let's be honest, the majority of adult women, when consuming a normal amount of calories and exercising a lot, aren't going to be as thin as figure skaters. The hard work of staying an "ideal" size/weight when your body might be predisposed to be more curvy or weigh more can pretty easily turn into cultivating dangerous habits in order to be thin - that's an eating disorder.

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Eating disorders are often about so much more than weight, though.

I was harassed by an employer once because of assumptions about my weight. Some adult women are naturally quite thin. I was also verbally harassed with profanity and sexually charged insults by a co-worker at the same job. All because I was thinner than the average woman in her 30s. Without any special attention to my diet and with only sporadic serious exercise. Because bodies come in all sizes.

louisa05 said:

Eating disorders are often about so much more than weight, though.

I was harassed by an employer once because of assumptions about my weight. Some adult women are naturally quite thin. I was also verbally harassed with profanity and sexually charged insults by a co-worker at the same job. All because I was thinner than the average woman in her 30s. Without any special attention to my diet and with only sporadic serious exercise. Because bodies come in all sizes.

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I 100% agree.

My original post said that dramatic weight LOSS/GAIN can be a warning sign that something is wrong. Whether it is an eating disorder or something entirely different. Dramatic weight changes in short periods of time are almost never healthy.

andromache said:

This x100000000.

Overweight people can suffer from anorexia. Extremely thin people can be healthy.

(That said, seeing someone lose/gain a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time is often a warning sign. But simply BEING a certain size doesn't mean anything.)

Plenty of skaters have favorable genetics that means they can eat healthy (i.e, a normal amount of food for a healthy human being), exercise and still be appear extremely thin. Other skaters have to work harder than others to maintain what is considered to be their "ideal" size/weight for skating - and let's be honest, the majority of adult women, when consuming a normal amount of calories and exercising a lot, aren't going to be as thin as figure skaters. The hard work of staying an "ideal" size/weight when your body might be predisposed to be more curvy or weigh more can pretty easily turn into cultivating dangerous habits in order to be thin - that's an eating disorder.

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I don't know what they eat, but I have observed marathon runners and triathletes seem to be as thin as figure skaters. It is hard to tell without a side by side comparison. I don't know if you'd consider that in the range of "eating a normal amount of calories and exercising a lot." I used to do Silver Sneakers class with a lady who was 60ish and very thin, but she ran miles every day because she felt compelled to do so. Not sure if that qualifies as "exercise addiction" but she was very thin.

andromache said:

I 100% agree.

My original post said that dramatic weight LOSS/GAIN can be a warning sign that something is wrong. Whether it is an eating disorder or something entirely different. Dramatic weight changes in short periods of time are almost never healthy.

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When I first got sick I lost 11 pounds in one week. I hate it when people say "oh, you look so good." I lost 11 pounds in a week (and the next week I lost 6 lbs) because I was very very ill.

A lot these inappropriate compliments go on with people on chemo, who are very, very sick.

Lester said:

They are not cruel or harmful if you keep in mind that it is just some bored people somewhere tossing out their super important opinion as if anyone cares about it.

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I had in mind posts like, "You're ugly and everybody hates you. Why don't you kill yourself."

It was in the news the other day. A girl was sentenced to prison for goading her boyfriend into committing suicide. After resisting for a while, he did. I guess he was just a silly snowflake who deserved to die for being such an impressionable wuss.

How can you say that her actions were not cruel and harmful. How can you say that what she wrote on Twitter "didn't matter much." Why don't you send out a tweet to the boys grieving parents and tell them "Suck it up, wimps."

dorispulaski said:

A lot these inappropriate compliments go on with people on chemo, who are very, very sick.

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I don't think people realize how much a casual comment such as "That costume made him/her look fat" can effect someone. I've spoken on this subject many times and I have seen it first hand. If you don't have something nice to say....Please, say nothing.

dorispulaski said:

A lot these inappropriate compliments go on with people on chemo, who are very, very sick.

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This. My sister had colon cancer and got very thin before she died. Personally I don't mention weight loss or gain unless someone broaches the subject with me. I stick to complimenting hair, clothing, shoes, purses, etc. Most people like those compliments and it's no skin off of my nose to give them. Occasionally someone looks at me funny but whatever.

malya said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BttovuQHcPV/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1e62tssjmxare

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i really wish instagram and other social media sites would just get rid of commenting all together because of this. all anyone does is argue, fight, insult, shame, etc regardless of what the post was :noshake:

Well, I don't have that big of a problem with that - this is part of life.
However, if you are a troll, than don't tag the skater on the post or comments - that is both mean and stupid.

louisa05 said:

Assuming someone has an eating disorder based on nothing but appearance is wrong and potentially very damaging on many, many levels.

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well, but appearance is the clearest and the most visible symptom of this terrible disease. closing both eyes on obvious symptoms because of fear to hurt anyones feelings is not the solution either and could lead to disaster. people suffering under this terrible disease are living in denial- it is another well known symptom. of course it needs to be done with a lot of sensibility and not via rude social media comments. however, I do think its allowed for us fans to talk about weight changes of athlets in fora ( in a respectful way). weight is a very important factor in this sport. its a fact

halulupu said:

well, but appearance is the clearest and the most visible symptom of this terrible disease. closing both eyes on obvious symptoms because of fear to hurt anyones feelings is not the solution either and could lead to disaster. people suffering under this terrible disease are living in denial- it is another well known symptom. of course it needs to be done with a lot of sensibility and not via rude social media comments. however, I do think its allowed for us fans to talk about weight changes of athlets in fora ( in a respectful way). weight is a very important factor in this sport. its a fact

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Also, as to what an athlete says (as opposed to what may actually be happening, if anything) - we wouldn't expect athletes to acknowledge that they were doing something they shouldn't, would we? Maybe they do, maybe they don't - the only way to know for certain is after they retire, and probably not even then.

The only time I see athletes acknowledge a health or eating problem is after it's taken care of, but not while it's happening.

Casual said:

Also, as to what an athlete says (as opposed to what may actually be happening, if anything) - we wouldn't expect athletes to acknowledge that they were doing something they shouldn't, would we? Maybe they do, maybe they don't - the only way to know for certain is after they retire, and probably not even then.

The only time I see athletes acknowledge a health or eating problem is after it's taken care of, but not while it's happening.

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But for many anorectics it is normal not to eat and they see nothing wrong with it. They no longer realize they should not be doing these things....

Mathman said:

I had in mind posts like, "You're ugly and everybody hates you. Why don't you kill yourself."

It was in the news the other day. A girl was sentenced to prison for goading her boyfriend into committing suicide. After resisting for a while, he did. I guess he was just a silly snowflake who deserved to die for being such an impressionable wuss.

How can you say that her actions were not cruel and harmful. How can you say that what she wrote on Twitter "didn't matter much." Why don't you send out a tweet to the boys grieving parents and tell them "Suck it up, wimps."

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Right, but she is not a stranger on the internet. There was obviously great emotional investment on the part of the boy there, otherwise that would not have been possible. It's a totally different situation, and quite incomparable.

I am not saying people who get upset are 'wusses', I am just saying that there is no reason to give arguments on the internet any weight and teach teenagers that they are important and harmful rather than mindless noise in the wind.

Why don't you send out a tweet to the boys grieving parents and tell them "Suck it up, wimps."

Now this is just cruel. Do you even read the other person's argument before you quote it in outrage? Forget that girlfriend and strangers you don't know on the internet are as different as the moon and the sun, and your example is largely irrelevant to whatever I said. But did I ever say anyone is a wimp or should be chastised for being upset? I merely suggested that it is important to have more respect for teenagers and their ability to deal with critique and to not actively stall their progress in this area by teaching them to argue with strangers or fear negative feedback. But I guess the important thing is to disagree and have an argument.

Edit: I am sure that if I said to you, for example, "You're ugly and everybody hates you. Why don't you kill yourself." you wouldn't even think twice before deciding that there is probably something not right with my head and you'll probably forget about me in 15 minutes. Which is the normal reaction to such online noise.
Now of course there are people who are in depression or otherwise plagued by difficulties but they shouldn't be online to begin with, and hopefully they are receiving help for their situation.
And of course it is better to be considerate of others and kind to them, there is no argument about that, but there is no way to ban people from either being rude or talking whatever nonsense pops into their brain so it is better to be adapted to deal with such stuff as with annoying noise rather than lamenting the cruelty of others and obsessing about it.