Comments on: Teen Girls are NOT Fragile http://www.karen-strong.com/2009/05/13/teen-girls-are-not-fragile/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:12:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Karen http://www.karen-strong.com/2009/05/13/teen-girls-are-not-fragile/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Karen Wed, 13 May 2009 16:59:12 +0000 http://www.karen-strong.com/?p=345#comment-22 Summer, I know exactly the NY times response you are referring to. Sometimes I wonder if people realize how many "triggers" teens experience just walking around in the world today. It's never ending. I also think by talking about these types of issues is how we address them. You can only change what is acknowledged. The ironic thing is that by sheltering teens from "bad" things makes them more vulnerable when they are exposed to them. And in this world--it's only a matter of time for the exposure. Summer, I know exactly the NY times response you are referring to. Sometimes I wonder if people realize how many “triggers” teens experience just walking around in the world today. It’s never ending. I also think by talking about these types of issues is how we address them. You can only change what is acknowledged. The ironic thing is that by sheltering teens from “bad” things makes them more vulnerable when they are exposed to them. And in this world–it’s only a matter of time for the exposure.

]]> By: Summer http://www.karen-strong.com/2009/05/13/teen-girls-are-not-fragile/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Summer Wed, 13 May 2009 14:08:36 +0000 http://www.karen-strong.com/?p=345#comment-21 I was reading the comments on the NY Times blog about this and one comment struck me saying something to the effect of, while Wintergirls does display the crazed mental state of someone with an eating disorder and is not glamorous at all people who do have eating disorders are also in that same mental state so they are reading the book differently and could see it as some sort of trigger or challenge or inspiration or guide... whatever. Of course they put it more eloquently but I took that point to heart. Everyone is going to interpret a book in a different way. I don't think people will be influenced negatively by the book if they weren't already pre-disposed to developing an eating disorder. I think not to talk about it or read about it or wonder about it or try to understand it is a mistake. I was reading the comments on the NY Times blog about this and one comment struck me saying something to the effect of, while Wintergirls does display the crazed mental state of someone with an eating disorder and is not glamorous at all people who do have eating disorders are also in that same mental state so they are reading the book differently and could see it as some sort of trigger or challenge or inspiration or guide… whatever.

Of course they put it more eloquently but I took that point to heart.

Everyone is going to interpret a book in a different way. I don’t think people will be influenced negatively by the book if they weren’t already pre-disposed to developing an eating disorder. I think not to talk about it or read about it or wonder about it or try to understand it is a mistake.

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