Reflections on the Waif

The term thinspiration is used within the pro-anorexia (pro-ana) community toclassify images of slenderness that represent aspects of anorexic experience and/or idealiseextreme to emaciated slender bodies. This paper discusses thinspiration via an analysis of1990s grunge culture and its stylisation of subjective crisis. By reflecting on some of themeanings associated with British fashions figure of the waif, it argues that images ofextremely slender bodies presented in pro-ana thinspiration menus can be located within adiscursive field where distress is a problematic signifier of subjective agency and power.It suggests that although some strategies of the pro-ana community are aligned with thefeminist challenge to the dominant gaze and its demand for slender femininities, some imagesof anorexic distress, such as those found in the category of real girl thinspiration, have thepotential to reproduce oppressive representational strategies and sustain a view in whichdamage to womens bodies is promoted as a source of identity. As thinspiration is producedlargely online and by women themselves, this paper calls for a renewed focus on the debateabout the impact of slender ideals not only on women as consumers but also as producers ofimages.