Disordered eating, disordered reading: Wintergirls and the fannish practices of pro-ana

Abstract

Since the emergence of pro-anorexia (pro-ana) online communities in the early 2000s, the role of written materials in these communities has received substantial attention, with some scholars theorizing that pro-ana readers consume texts in a distinctly disordered way. I interrogate that theory by examining the fannish practices of pro-ana communities on Tumblr and X (formerly Twitter). The 2009 young adult novel Wintergirls serves as a case study for how pro-ana readers negotiate between their own disorders and authors' anti-anorexia/pro-recovery intentions. Despite the highly controversial nature of their content, pro-ana reading practices mirror many of those found in modern transformative fan communities. Further, the communal nature of these practices serves to not only reinforce individual pro-ana readings but also turn originally anti-anorexia/pro-recovery texts into signifiers of a pro-anorexia sensibility. Analyzing these practices within a fan studies context allows for a more nuanced and detailed discussion of how pro-ana readers transform and deploy texts to perform their eating disorders online.