1. Perfect Body -An elite gymnast with anorexia. I remember watching this one when I was pretty young (Grade 4 or 5-ish) and it triggering the crap out of me. The main actress looks like a cross between Hilary Swank and Jennifer Garner.
2. A Secret Between Friends -two high school friends who both have ED's. One teaches the other one about Bulimia and she ends up dying from it.
3. Little Girls in Pretty Boxes -Inspired by the book by Joan Ryan on gymasts/skaters and ED's.
Watching these movies brought me back to my early eating disordered years. Even back then, I felt compelled to lose weight, inspired by the strength of the girls portrayed, intrigued by the act of pushing your body to its limits. Little did I know then that it would become so much a part of my life. Looking back, part of me wants to reach out to that "little me" and hug her. stop her from watching the movies, tell her that it's not worth it.
I don't think they realized then how damaging those movies can be. I watched the first two as a little kid too, and remember them vividly. I thought they were inspiring and I saw how much attention they got. I remember reading about a 9 year old who spiralled into anorexia after seeing a talk show on it. So sad!
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