Dear Michael Jeffries,

In light of the recent comments you've made as to the type of clientele you wish to attract, I have found myself motivated to initiate a correspondence with you. I can't say that I was completely surprised to hear that your company openly discriminates based on size due to its history with institutionalized racism (U.S. Employment Equal Opportunity Commission). However, there are still a few things that I would like to say.

Have you been feeling like your relationship with your body is on the rocks? Like you're always talking at each other instead of with each other? Like one wants to go to bed early while the other wants to go out dancing?

Well fear no more! Have we got a deal for you...

Before calling it splitsville, consider the following:

This quote comes courtesy of a 60-something woman at Starbucks, and though it was not directed at me, I am still thinking about it weeks later. 

I'm stuck on this statement because it is just another reminder that the link between morality and eating is pervasive across nearly all age groups. Don't believe me? The next time you're in line at the grocery store notice the language that the magazines use around weight. The celebrities who've lost weight are celebrated as heroes while those who have gained weight are labeled as being weak-willed or lazy.

So, I have some exciting news: I'm seeing someone.

It's fun to be in a new relationship with someone who has been in my life for years but I actually don't know very well. She's smart, funny (at least she thinks so), and our relationship is moving pretty fast. In fact, we even shared a bed last night. Oh, and one more thing about her...she's me.

Eating disorders aren't just about trying to lose weight. There are a host of issues that accompany it.

Aesthetic:
-Osteoporosis (brittle bones that break easily and also can cause curvature in the back, AKA hunchbacked)
-Partial or complete baldness...possibly for life

Guest author Kim Tran is a graduate student in the Ethnic Studies program at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work examines refugee communities, transnational labor, gender and queer studies. She is originally from San Jose, California, a proud survivor of California’s public schools and universities who aspires to think alongside young people in classrooms and community. Her work can be found at www.kimtranpoetry.com

About two years ago I found myself slumped over my toilet, gasping for breath on my bathroom floor.  It was the last time I binged and purged.  Since then I’ve taken numerous steps toward recovery.  However, as a woman of color my path toward recovery has been limited by the literature and language of standard clinical models of treatment that fail to address the world as I experience it; a place in which people are divided by race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

1. It's a liar
Your weight fluctuates during the day (even if you refuse to eat all day) so the number at 10am is almost certainly not going to be the same as at 10pm.

2. It does not tell you anything about your well-being
Your weight is not necessarily an indication of health because there are many other factors involved.

         Every Body has its own agenda. We are born with a genetic roadmap. Just as our genes tell us the color of our eyes, hair etc. they also decide the shape of our body. Every Body has it’s own personal point of equilibrium, a place were our body is comfortable and healthy. It is essential to understand that one person’s equilibrium is not like another’s. Even if the weights are the same, we have different heights, different body types etc.

        In our disorder we have the notion that we are in control of our bodies. When really we aren’t. Yes, we decide when to move or what to eat but our body decides how to deal with what we have just put it through. If we starve it, our body will go into survival mode, shutting down one organ after the other. Each body dealing with this survival mode differently. If we constantly binge and restrict our body also goes into survival mode, since the amount eaten is not constant. All your body wants to do is return to its unique equilibrium and it will try to do so until it completely shut down. You cannot change your genetic makeup through food!

Let's be real. Media representations of woman are way messed up, man.

Women in the media are most commonly tall, white and emaciated (or nearly so). The resulting outcome is a world in which only a very small (miniscule!) group has the luxury of seeing themselves reflected in the media. This elite group has become even smaller with the advent of Photoshop and other digital editing software.

Many people are aware of the effects of Photoshop but don't realize how prevalent its use really is. Below are some examples of just how much the pictures in magazines are altered.

Dear ED,

I can't be with you anymore. It's been years and at first I was so glad that I found you. You were my savior, my escape. When I was with you I didn't have to think about how lonely I was, how much I felt like an outsider. You told me that you could make me happy, that you could teach me how to be lovable, and it worked for a while. Finally I was getting the attention that I desired from all of those people who I thought truly mattered.