Hannah and Leo are teenage siblings from a competitive family. Hannah takes classes in interpretive dancing, hoping to be at the forefront of an upcoming dance meet, while Leo's time is taken up mostly by wrestling, which requires him to make weight and undergo a strict regimen of diets and training. This focus on Leo leaves Hannah, 17 years old, largely up to her own devices. She works part-time at a donut shop, and spends time socially with her friends.
One day, she and her best friend, Kayden, are browsing the internet in Hannah's bedroom when they accidentally come upon a pro-ana blog on Tumblr, which features multiple gifs of unnaturally-thin people, skeletons, cinematography from The Lovely Bones, and motivational quotes that mock fat people and offer tips on how to avoid eating. Kayden is briefly curious but soon becomes bothered by the blog and leaves it, closing Hannah's laptop. Hannah returns to the blog after Kayden leaves, and joins a forum featured there, which is moderated by the mysterious and enigmatic "ButterflyAna".
Hannah envisions the forum's visitors in her mind as real people, all abnormally thin and attractive-looking, attending an exclusive club adorned with rainbow string lights for a party, but no food or drinks anywhere. "ButterflyAna" visually appears looking like supermodel Abbey Lee Kershaw, and relates to Hannah's inner feelings of poor self-esteem and concerns about things such as her weight, perceived stomach distention and eating too much.
At first, as Hannah begins to eat less and less, nobody takes notice. Her parents are mildly confused but initially do not care until her mother happens to walk in on Hannah and find the pro-ana blog open on her computer. Disturbed by it, she begins closely monitoring Hannah's internet browsing activity, while Hannah's father insists that this invasion of privacy is unnecessary if Hannah is not actively using the blog; to prove to her parents that she is eating, Hannah consumes a breakfast muffin in front of them. They are too occupied by Leo's upcoming wrestling competition to focus on Hannah, and they urge Leo to make weight and keep his attention on winning.
Meanwhile, Hannah's behaviour gets worse. Her friendships suffer, and she rudely insults her dance coach, Ms. Christie, who observes Hannah nearly fainting at a dance practice and forces her to stop attending the classes until she is willing to go to mental health counselling. At the donut shop, Hannah is told by her boss to dispose of a bag of half-eaten donuts that have gone stale in the dumpster. In a starvation-induced panic, Hannah rips open a garbage bag and eats most of the old donuts, only to then vomit them up. Hannah visits the forum and admits that she slipped up by eating the old donuts, but "ButterflyAna" is unsympathetic, chastising Hannah for gaining weight. She offers to "help" Hannah by making the younger girl her new "personal project", which Hannah readily accepts.
The visual rainbow string light party club imagined by Hannah has deteriorated into a frightening, decayed backdrop with dark colours, and all the other Forum members swiftly flee the blog, fearing that their own parents will catch them there if Hannah's mother reports any of it. One forum member, who goes by "HipPopK" as their screen name, gives Hannah a serious warning to stay away from the pro-ana blog. Hannah assumes that Kayden is "HipPopK", but upon confronting Kayden with this accusation, Kayden argues that she has no idea who that person is, and also that she finds the pro-ana blog creepy.
Hannah's mother goes into Hannah's room to check on her, and discovers her daughter's bedroom walls covered in cutouts from magazines of thin supermodels and women in bikinis. She finds a strange number of moths fluttering around the room, accompanied by a pungent smell, and the curtains have been drawn closed, making the room extremely dark. Hannah's mother opens the bedroom closet and sobs hysterically when she discovers numerous dinner plates of moldy food hidden among Hannah's clothing. The moth caterpillars are feeding on the food and laying eggs there. Hannah comes home, looking haggard and pale, and she flies into a rage upon finding that her mother has gone through her room. She confronts her mother and begins to tear up the room in fury, but she then collapses and is taken to the hospital. Her parents' insurance coverage gives Hannah a brief number of inpatient counselling sessions, during which Hannah is forced to confront her mental illness. She realizes the physical damage that she has done to her body, and also realizes that "ButterflyAna" is not a real friend to her.
After painting a picture of her anorexia as personified by a dark, sinister butterfly in black ink, which she hangs among similar artworks made by other minors suffering from eating disorders, Hannah is able to return home, in part because her parents' insurance will cover no further sessions at the hospital. Hannah is at risk for relapsing back into her old habits, so her parents need to keep a close eye on her. Hannah tries to distract herself from the Internet by going with her parents to attend Leo's wrestling competition at school. Leo nearly wins, but his opponent recoils in horror after Leo falls unconscious underneath him.
When Leo is brought to the hospital, it is revealed that his heart has given out and he is being kept on life support, showing no brain activity. Hannah's father is outraged at the suggestion from the doctor that Leo himself suffered from an eating disorder, arguing that "boys and athletes" don't suffer from such things. Hannah comes to the realization that Leo himself is the unknown "HipPopK" after discovering that her brother had carved the words "DON'T EAT" "on his own stomach, a marking that had been on the screen name's profile photo. Leo dies in the hospital, surrounded by his family. After Leo's death, Hannah is welcomed back to dance class by Ms. Christie, who hugs her and praises her for facing her illness.
Hannah then seeks out the real "ButterflyAna", and finds an adult woman who is living with anorexia, hoarding decaying cosmetics and beauty supplies and keeping an old laptop computer with her. She has a small house, but it looks filthy and neglected. The homeless woman claims not to be "ButterflyAna", but finally admits the truth after hearing that "HipPopK" has died. She apologizes for the loss of Hannah's brother, and says that she didn't know the pro-ana blog was hurting other people. Hannah tells the woman that she hopes she gets better soon and seeks help. Afterwards, Hannah starts a self-esteem inspiration website in honour of Leo's memory, which contains only positive inspirational quotes and no pro-ana content at all.
Starving in Suburbia received mixed reviews from critics. The Atlantic argued that the film was just repeating the same patterns as other predecessor eating disorder-themed films, and that the feature of pro-ana websites was just a nuance, stating, "recently, Lifetime aired Starving in Suburbia, a 2014 film that expanded the confines of the genre [eating disorder films] by including a new scare factor: pro-anorexia (colloquially known as pro-ana) websites, which supposedly lure unsuspecting teens into starving themselves by encouraging anorexics to share their own tips and tricks. On the one hand, Americans are surprisingly educated about anorexia. Eighty-two percent of people surveyed in 2010 described eating disorders as a serious mental and physical illness, with only 12 percent dismissing them as afflictions of vanity. On the other, cultural portrayals of anorexia have become inextricable from the disease itself."[2]
Molly McAleer of Mother, May I Sleep With Podcast? was more positive, taking a comedic approach to the film, while arguing that it offered a "surprisingly accurate portrayal of Tumblr and classic Lifetime family disfunction".[3] Kimberly Neil, a writer for Teen Vogue who had previously suffered from anorexia and a relapse into anorexia and laxative abuse after an esophageal tear, agreed that Starving in Suburbia, along with the book Wintergirls, are accurate in their portrayal of healing from anorexia as a chronic, unending process, stating, "healing from an eating disorder is almost as stigmatized in discussion as admitting the problem itself. From books like Wintergirls to movies like Starving in Suburbia, the media presents a consistent message that the process of healing is a continuous, upward journey. I cannot speak for everyone with an eating disorder. I can admit how difficult it has been to tell my story at times, because my illness comes and goes in waves. I’ve yet to experience recovery, full stop."[4]
Related Research Articles
Promotion of anorexia is the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It is often referred to simply as pro-ana or ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchangeably with pro-ana. Pro-ana groups differ widely in their stances. Most claim that they exist mainly as a non-judgmental environment for anorexics; a place to turn to, to discuss their illness, and to support those who choose to enter recovery. Others deny anorexia nervosa is a mental illness and claim instead that it is a lifestyle choice that should be respected by doctors and family.
Adi Barkan is an Israeli model agent and activist who has campaigned for legislation banning the use of anorexic models. Barkan started his career as a fashion photographer.
Starved is an American television sitcom that aired for one season on FX for seven episodes in 2005. The series was about four friends who each suffer from eating disorders, who met at a "shame-based" support group called Belt Tighteners. Its characters included those with bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating disorder. Eric Schaeffer created the show as well as writing, starring in and directing it, based upon his own struggle with eating disorders. In addition to his own life experiences, Schaeffer also drew upon the experiences of the other members of the principal cast, each of whom coincidentally had struggled with food issues of their own.
Hannah Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen on 27 September 2005 and her last appearance was on 12 February 2010. It was announced on 8 November 2023 that she was to return after 13 years away for a number of episodes in early January, and was later announced to be making a permanent return. Hannah briefly returned for a short stint from 19 to 23 January 2024, before a permanent return on 26 April of the same year. Rigby quit the role once again, only one month after her permanent return, in June 2024.
Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame was an English television personality and author. She was a contestant on the seventh series of the reality show Big Brother in 2006, which she finished in fifth place. Following the show, she starred in her own reality series Princess Nikki, and won a National Television Award for Most Popular TV Contender. In 2010, Grahame was runner-up in Ultimate Big Brother, and in 2015, she appeared as a guest housemate on the sixteenth series of Big Brother. In 2016, she competed in the fourth season of Big Brother Canada, finishing in sixth place.
Ana Carolina Reston Macan was a Brazilian model.
Wannarexia, or anorexic yearning, is a label applied to someone who claims to have anorexia nervosa, or wishes they did, but does not. These individuals are also called wannarexic, "wanna-be ana" or "anorexic wannabe". The neologism wannarexia is a portmanteau of the latter two terms. It may be used as a pejorative term.
Danny Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by David Judge. He first appeared in 2007 and made his final appearance in 2008.
Thin is a 2006 cinéma vérité documentary film directed by Lauren Greenfield and distributed by HBO. It was filmed at The Renfrew Center of Florida in Coconut Creek, a 40-bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. The center has been described as "one of the nation's best-known inpatient eating disorders centres". The film follows four women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders in their struggle for recovery. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in 2005, before premiering to the general public on November 14, 2006 on HBO.
The Best Little Girl in the World is a 1981 television film directed by Sam O'Steen and executive produced by Aaron Spelling. The film is based upon the 1979 novel of the same name written by Steven Levenkron.
For the Love of Nancy is a 1994 American made-for-television drama film directed by Paul Schneider. The film, based on a true story, deals with anorexia nervosa. Lead actress Tracey Gold was actually recovering from the disease while making the movie and used her own life experience for the portrayal of Nancy.
When Friendship Kills is a 1996 American made-for-television drama film directed by James A. Contner. The movie is a part of the Moment of Truth franchise and deals with the danger of anorexia nervosa among teens.
Wintergirls (2009) is a realistic fiction novel by the American author Laurie Halse Anderson. The novel was published in 2009 by Viking. The story focuses on a girl, Lia Overbrook, who suffers from anorexia and self harm. Lia struggles to cope with her mental illness while balancing everything else going on in her life. Some months after a fall out with her best friend Cassie, Lia receives the news that she has died from bulimia. This complicates Lia's life even more and forces her to confront her own illness.
To the Bone is a 2017 American drama film, written and directed by Marti Noxon. The film follows a young woman, portrayed by Lily Collins, as she battles anorexia. The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2017, as a contender in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. It was released worldwide on Netflix on July 14, 2017. Netflix's release of the film was met with controversy, with some arguing that the film glamorises anorexia.
Eugenia Sullivan Cooney is an American YouTuber, Twitch streamer and Internet personality. She initially began livestreaming on broadcasting service YouNow and eventually created a YouTube channel in 2011, which has more than 2 million subscribers. Known for her eating disorder and emaciated appearance, Cooney's content mainly involves clothing hauls, beauty, cosplay, emo, gothic looks and vlogs of her daily life.
The Art of Starving is a 2017 young adult science fiction novel by Sam J. Miller. It was published by HarperCollins.
The Truth About Size Zero is a TV documentary starring English singer, songwriter, and media personality, Louise Redknapp. Redknapp, concerned about the pressures that women face to be very thin, decided to document what happens when she tries to drop two dress sizes in 30 days. She describes the documentary as her proudest moment away from music. The documentary originally aired on ITV1.
"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" is a quote popularized by English model Kate Moss, though she did not originate the phrase. Moss first publicly used the quote in a 2009 interview with Women's Wear Daily where she stated it was one of her mantras. The quote was immediately controversial, and subsequently used for pro-anorexia purposes. It has also been used for product marketing and been the focus of academic study. Moss later expressed regret for using the phrase.
Letting Ana Go is a 2013 book about a girl suffering from anorexia nervosa, published anonymously with no discernible author. The main character, "Ana", is a sophomore student and athletic track star who keeps a strict food diary and finds herself growing increasingly distant from her own family, while her own mother struggles with newfound morbid obesity and separation from her husband. The book calls into question the mental healthcare system in The United States and the financial cost of such care as a barrier to sufferers of issues like eating disorders. Letting Ana Go was published under various imprints of Simon & Schuster in 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
