New area for pro-ana
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Mandi
- Site Admin
- Posts: 270
- Joined: January 2021
- Location: Canada
- Pronouns: She / Her
- Gender:
- Contact:
Decided to put up an area to talk about pro-ana specifically. So much has gone on in the past two decades (yes hard to believe it is that long ago), so why not talk about it on one of the few sites still around.
Fading to perfection My faithful Obsession
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TeddyMadim
- Slightly Faded
- Posts: 152
- Joined: May 2021
- Contact:
Speaking of two decades with Pro Ana. This year it's been 20 years since Ana's Underground Grotto and Project Shapeshift first saw the light of day.. Some members who joined in 2001 are still members today! Some are new. The average age of the members is higher than most sites
Project Shapeshift isn't a huge site, but a very friendly and welcoming place where you gave a chance to get to know each other
The Grotto might be the most quoted sites of all Pro Ana sites. Much of the quotes are taken out of context and misunderstood. What made it stand out is probably that unlike most sites it presented a philosophy. And while sites were censored and taken down, a few sites remained as they like P S and the Grotto run on private servers. Narscissa, the creator of the Grotto and founder of Project Shapeshift had her own server and also hosted other sites. Another person who was important to the movement of course was Susan and her sites like Thin Page, Thin Forum and more. She also stood out from the mainstream as she stood for something. As I see it, a similarity between the two, was that yes, they were Pro Ana and stood up for it. But not at all like at the sites where you saw dangerous tips and tricks and destructive ideals. But reality based ideas that made Susan use slogans like Thin - not dead! And while most sites had a disclaimer with a message saying If you do not have an Eating Disorder you must leave at once! At the front page of the Grotto you see the absolute opposite! If you see yourself as a victim of sn Eating Disorder we urge you to leave at once.
The silly disclaimer you still see at many sites today was a result of the fear of getting the site closed down. That is one of many things the care and the haters did, that really backfired! It meant that in order to be accepted as a member you had to say that you had an ED. There are stats saying that the majority of the members of the sites did notsuffer from any ED. This caused a situation were some started the chase of wannas! You saw the attitude "I am sicker than thou, holier than thou.
For some who were borderline EDNOS it meant a situation - the EDNOS curse - where the care turned you dien as you weren't sick enough (we have patients way more skinny than you, who we prioritize. (what you heard was you are to fat to be worthy of help)) Then you turned to ProAna to find somewhere to talk openly and there you could be treated the same way. @We don't want any wannas here!" A healthy reaction to that was "Yes, we are wannas" and pro wannarexia sites was born
At the frontpage of the Grotto you can read "there are no victims here" And Anorexia is a lifestyle ". When the latter was used at numerous sites where many did suffer from anorexia nervosa, the shit hit the fan of course.
I suppose we all read the texts in the Grotto in our own way. To me it is about standing up for oneself. And freedom of speech. Freedom from all kind of things that stops you from living a happy, independent and healthy life!
For those in the grey zone where you find EDNOS, picky eaters/selective eaters and others whose eating is not accepted by society. You try to hide your eating. Even as it may even be more healthy, compared to the food bullies's own habits. Often much of the problem lies in the hiding and excuses and lies! It may even push you deeper and deeper into the ED world. That's why even the Pro Wannarexia approach can be a healthy sign
Lets reclaim the right to define ourselves! Avoid being a victim. No one is better than you. Don't adjust to the food bullies and self proclaimed experts. That is why I love the Grotto. Some parts are shooting over the target, no doubt. Like "We are the new elite". But ... It is pep talk.
Let me end this by saying that I found Project Shapeshift and the Grotto rather late. Someone at P S-evo suggested that I probably would feel at home at @the other P S. Long before that I had quoted the Grotto at my own sites and blogs, but I did not realize it is still up.
To those who don't know: Ana's Underground Grotto is mainly a one way communication. It was published in 2001 and some was added the following year. But it is preserved just as it was! It is now to be found as a section of Project Shapeshift, together with some texts from the sites Narscissa run before that.
Project shapeshift was launched at about the same time. It was and is open both for those who walks with Ana in volution and for those with any restrictive ED. Adults only. Proactive Pro Ana.
Narscissa gave birth to both sites. Since 2007? or 8 the siteowner is AnaGirlEmpath.
As I came late to P S and there are members who had been there a decade, others are likely to be able to give a better picture. But this is a little about my way of seeing these sites
TeddyMadim
Project Shapeshift isn't a huge site, but a very friendly and welcoming place where you gave a chance to get to know each other
The Grotto might be the most quoted sites of all Pro Ana sites. Much of the quotes are taken out of context and misunderstood. What made it stand out is probably that unlike most sites it presented a philosophy. And while sites were censored and taken down, a few sites remained as they like P S and the Grotto run on private servers. Narscissa, the creator of the Grotto and founder of Project Shapeshift had her own server and also hosted other sites. Another person who was important to the movement of course was Susan and her sites like Thin Page, Thin Forum and more. She also stood out from the mainstream as she stood for something. As I see it, a similarity between the two, was that yes, they were Pro Ana and stood up for it. But not at all like at the sites where you saw dangerous tips and tricks and destructive ideals. But reality based ideas that made Susan use slogans like Thin - not dead! And while most sites had a disclaimer with a message saying If you do not have an Eating Disorder you must leave at once! At the front page of the Grotto you see the absolute opposite! If you see yourself as a victim of sn Eating Disorder we urge you to leave at once.
The silly disclaimer you still see at many sites today was a result of the fear of getting the site closed down. That is one of many things the care and the haters did, that really backfired! It meant that in order to be accepted as a member you had to say that you had an ED. There are stats saying that the majority of the members of the sites did notsuffer from any ED. This caused a situation were some started the chase of wannas! You saw the attitude "I am sicker than thou, holier than thou.
For some who were borderline EDNOS it meant a situation - the EDNOS curse - where the care turned you dien as you weren't sick enough (we have patients way more skinny than you, who we prioritize. (what you heard was you are to fat to be worthy of help)) Then you turned to ProAna to find somewhere to talk openly and there you could be treated the same way. @We don't want any wannas here!" A healthy reaction to that was "Yes, we are wannas" and pro wannarexia sites was born
At the frontpage of the Grotto you can read "there are no victims here" And Anorexia is a lifestyle ". When the latter was used at numerous sites where many did suffer from anorexia nervosa, the shit hit the fan of course.
I suppose we all read the texts in the Grotto in our own way. To me it is about standing up for oneself. And freedom of speech. Freedom from all kind of things that stops you from living a happy, independent and healthy life!
For those in the grey zone where you find EDNOS, picky eaters/selective eaters and others whose eating is not accepted by society. You try to hide your eating. Even as it may even be more healthy, compared to the food bullies's own habits. Often much of the problem lies in the hiding and excuses and lies! It may even push you deeper and deeper into the ED world. That's why even the Pro Wannarexia approach can be a healthy sign
Lets reclaim the right to define ourselves! Avoid being a victim. No one is better than you. Don't adjust to the food bullies and self proclaimed experts. That is why I love the Grotto. Some parts are shooting over the target, no doubt. Like "We are the new elite". But ... It is pep talk.
Let me end this by saying that I found Project Shapeshift and the Grotto rather late. Someone at P S-evo suggested that I probably would feel at home at @the other P S. Long before that I had quoted the Grotto at my own sites and blogs, but I did not realize it is still up.
To those who don't know: Ana's Underground Grotto is mainly a one way communication. It was published in 2001 and some was added the following year. But it is preserved just as it was! It is now to be found as a section of Project Shapeshift, together with some texts from the sites Narscissa run before that.
Project shapeshift was launched at about the same time. It was and is open both for those who walks with Ana in volution and for those with any restrictive ED. Adults only. Proactive Pro Ana.
Narscissa gave birth to both sites. Since 2007? or 8 the siteowner is AnaGirlEmpath.
As I came late to P S and there are members who had been there a decade, others are likely to be able to give a better picture. But this is a little about my way of seeing these sites
TeddyMadim
To me ProAna is a revolution against illness. Proactive Pro Ana for a better life. You may also find me at Project Shapeshift and Ana's Underground Grotto
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Mandi
- Site Admin
- Posts: 270
- Joined: January 2021
- Location: Canada
- Pronouns: She / Her
- Gender:
- Contact:
The same silly disclaimer on the website portion of here. It just stuck. That is exactly how it was when I came into the scene. If you had any hope of the site staying alive you had to have that. Me with knowledge of doing adult sites already knew disclaimer page was an opportunity to incorporate some keywords and phrases into it and use it to an advantage from an SEO stand point. So mine kind of doesn't make sense, not that anyone reads them anyways.The silly disclaimer you still see at many sites today was a result of the fear of getting the site closed down
This! I admit I first heard about pro-ana from a media article, I think on Yahoo news. The "shock" language used just intrigued me and I had to look it up. The things I was reading was things I was doing for most of life, things I already thought. Then I found the forum that looked cool so I joined it. Was grilled to the max told I wasn't anorexic enough, wasn't sick enough, augh. It hurt me, made me angry, made me stop and stare at my screen thinking what a horrible way to treat someone. I told myself screw that and knew I wanted my own without such elitist attitude. Looked more for ideas on content, and what would be different. In a sea of black sites I made mine pink. Combined Mia and Ana into MiAna (searched it and that name never existed on any ED place, yay). Fading came from wanting a more harder edgier full on pro. That and having another site meant I had greater chance of staying on in the days of mass shut downs.This caused a situation were some started the chase of wannas! You saw the attitude "I am sicker than thou, holier than thou.
Being an owner and having sites been on media with all the traffic surge it made, I know what that forum I joined probably was going through. I hold no ill will towards it. It was actually a very friendly place that was just having a bad day and I am still a member of it.
2 decades of PS is amazing. It predates both facebook and myspace, and at least 2 years before I even knew of the movement.
Fading to perfection My faithful Obsession
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Alice In Winter
- New Member
- Posts: 7
- Joined: October 2024
- Pronouns: She / Her
- Gender:
Mandi:
How old is FO? I would love to figure out my old username...but I cannot even remember what email I was using at time...and that might help me figure it out.
Thx.
How old is FO? I would love to figure out my old username...but I cannot even remember what email I was using at time...and that might help me figure it out.
Thx.