Journal of Sociology
0(0) 1­–18
© The Author(s) 2013
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1440783313486220
jos.sagepub.com
Managing a marginalised
identity in pro-anorexia and
fat acceptance
cybercommunities
Naomi Smith
University of Queensland, Australia
Rebecca Wickes
University of Queensland, Australia
Mair Underwood
University of Queensland, Australia
Abstract
This study examines how members of pro-anorexia (PA) and fat acceptance (FA) cybercommunities
manage their ascribed ‘offline’ socially marginalised identity in an ‘online’ environment. While
much of the sociological literature continues to focus on the corporeal or face-to-face practices
of socially marginalised groups, we use online non-participant observation to explore how
members of these sites use the internet to manage their marginalised identities. We find that
cybercommunities provide a safe place for identity management where members come together
to understand, negotiate and, at times, reject the marginalised identity ascribed to them in their
offline environment. From the accounts of the PA and FA members we studied, we find that
online and offline identities are mutually reinforcing and collectively inform and shape identity.
However, the online environment provides an anonymised space for identity work, emotional
support and an acceptance of their body, whatever their shape or size.
Keywords
cybercommunities, deviance, fat acceptance, identity, identity management, pro-anorexia
Corresponding author:
Naomi Smith, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Level 3, Michie Building, Brisbane, QLD 4072,
Australia
Email: naomismith@uq.edu.au
486220JOS0010.1177/1440783313486220<italic>Journal of Sociology</italic>Smith et al.: Managing a marginalised identity
2013
Article
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
2	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
The growth of cybercommunities creates fertile ground for varied sociological research
and has reinvigorated debates concerning the nature and definition of ‘community’.
Though some continue to argue that cybercommunities create disembodied, fragmented
and disengaged subjects (Robins, 2007), studies increasingly demonstrate that cybercommunities
provide a forum where online and offline experiences are linked, and a
space where identity can be explored and managed (Bakardjieva, 2005, 2007; Castells,
1997; Turkle, 1996). This is particularly true for socially marginalised groups (see Adler
and Adler, 2005, 2008). For those experiencing social marginalisation in the ‘real’world,
belonging to a cybercommunity may improve wellbeing and provide a ‘safe’ space to
explore and manage an identity that stands outside the norm.
Cybercommunities are a distinct forum for community building and identity management,
and, although they can be anonymous, they are embedded in daily life. Unlike
social network sites like Facebook or Twitter, which are structured for the development
of personal networks, cybercommunities are those that emerge around topics where
members may or may not reveal their identity (see boyd and Ellison, 2007).
Cybercommunities therefore have the capacity to augment traditional sources of social
support and identity construction as they provide users with space to create and understand
themselves. While this can also be achieved through face-to-face and other forms
of communication, the interactive, archival and anonymised properties of cybercommunities
offer a unique space for identity management for those seeking to understand
ascribed socially marginalised identities.
With the increasing intertwining of online and offline identities, the internet is an
important site for empirical sociological research to interrogate the practices of identity
management. However, while interest in the uses and utilities of social network sites
(Ellison et al., 2011; Hargittai and Hsieh, 2011) is growing, few consider the ways in
which socially marginalised individuals use cybercommunities to understand and contest
their status. This means that the technologically facilitated avenues that individuals use
to understand their socially marginalised status remain largely unexamined. As technology
is now a banal feature of everyday life within developed countries, we argue that
scholarship must seriously engage with these media as important sites of identity work.
The aim of this study is to provide a deeper understanding of the ways in which members
explore, negotiate and manage a marginalised identity in an online environment.
Drawing on online non-participant observation using naturally occurring data, we consider
these sites as safe spaces for identity management. We also examine how they are
structured and maintained and how participants use these forums to enact their sense of
self. Here we focus on pro-ana or pro-anorexia (PA) and ‘fat acceptance’(FA) cybercommunities.
PA cybercommunities comprise individuals who have an eating disorder (anorexia,
bulimia or eating disorder not otherwise specified) and are not in recovery.
Discussion is primarily focused on matters related to eating disorders. FA cybercommunities
comprise members who protest against the medical model of healthy weight.
Existing online in a loosely affiliated network dubbed ‘the Fatosphere’ by its members,
the focus of FA cybercommunities is to encourage an acceptance of ‘fat’ and to promote
‘health at every size’. They exhort members to stop dieting and start accepting their bodies.
In contrast to medical discourses that construct obesity as a disease, FA cybercommunities
critique mainstream definitions of obesity.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 3
PAand FAcybercommunities were chosen for this study as they represent unique sites
that allow for a deeper understanding of how people manage an offline, ascribed and
marginalised identity in an online environment. Members of both sites are ascribed a
deviant status in mainstream society and, although they do not purportedly engage in
law-violating or criminally deviant behaviour, they transgress commonly held cultural
norms concerning the ‘healthy body’. Members also embrace or encourage practices that
go against the advice of health experts. Additionally, the comparison of PA and FA cybercommunities
illustrates how members use anonymous online spaces to manage an identity
that has an offline, corporeal reality. Members of both PA and FA cybercommunities
have bodies that are deemed biologically and culturally unacceptable and, unlike tattoo
enthusiasts or self harmers (Adler and Adler, 2005; Atkinson, 2003), those who are too
thin or too fat cannot hide their ‘markers’ of difference in the offline world. Thus, their
identity as a fat or a thin person is not easily concealed from the gaze of others. Finally,
both PA and FA cybercommunities are essentially amalgamations of what would be traditionally
described as ‘loner deviants’ (Adler and Adler, 2005: 347), where one’s deviance
is independent of the presence or support of other persons. Until the advent of
cybercommunities, there was little opportunity for potential PA or FA members to come
together to discuss their attitudes, behaviours and marginalised status with like-minded
others. The comparison of these sites therefore provides an opportunity to identify the
interactive identity work that takes place among members of groups with a distinct
offline corporeal identity in online environments.
In what follows we provide a brief review of the PA and FA literature, and comparable
cybercommunities of ‘loner deviants’ (Adler and Adler, 2005: 347; Dobson, 2008). We
then discuss our research design and present our findings. Drawing on the accounts of PA
and FA members, we suggest that cybercommunities provide a safe place for identity
management where members can come together to understand, negotiate and, at times,
reject the marginalised identity ascribed to them in their offline environment. While
online and offline identities are mutually reinforcing and collectively inform and shape
identity, our study shows that the online environment may be particularly important for
the identity work that occurs among the members of these socially marginalised groups.
Deviant identities, deviant bodies and the role of
cybercommunities
Though some scholars are beginning to recognise the importance of cybercommunities
for identity formation, few have examined how marginalised identities are managed and
negotiated in an online environment (Adler and Adler, 2008; Dobson, 2008; Wilson and
Atkinson, 2005). This is not surprising as the literature on marginalised or subcultural
identities primarily centres on physical co-presence as a central element in the acquisition
and negotiation of identity. Like the classical approach to understanding community,
traditional theories of deviance also highlight, at least implicitly, the idea of
corporeality and the importance of the actor/audience interaction (see Goffman, 1963;
Lemert, 1951, 1967).
Subcultural communities are acknowledged as important for the negotiation of marginalised
identities as they provide an alternate normative framework that may replace or
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
4	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
supplement common cultural understandings of certain practices (Atkinson, 2003;
Dickins et al., 2011). Though there is a limited amount of research that expressly examines
online subcultural and/or socially marginalised groups, what does exist indicates
that online identity construction processes are similar to those that occur in offline settings.
This is evidenced in Adler and Adler’s (2008) study of the cybercommunities of
self-injurers. Self-injury is viewed as a pathological behaviour and is defined as the
‘deliberate, non-suicidal destruction of one’s own body tissues … such as self-cutting,
burning, branding … biting … hitting … and bone breaking’ (Adler and Adler, 2008:
34). Until recently, people who engage in self-harm had few, if any, opportunities to seek
support and interaction with others. In their research, Adler and Adler (2005, 2008) find
that cybercommunities provide a safe space for self-injurers to connect in a non-judgemental
environment. Adler and Adler (2008) conclude that cybercommunities provide
‘back places’ (see Goffman, 1963) where individual pathology need not be concealed.
A similar pattern is evident in Dobson’s (2008) examination of cam girl websites,1
where she finds that participants use the affordances of the internet to perform their identity
in a way not previously available. As the work of Adler and Adler (2008) and Dobson
(2008) suggests, the anonymity of online interactions lowers the social risk of communicating
(see also Baym, 2010). We argue that PA and FA cybercommunities can be considered
‘back places’ (Goffman, 1963) as they allow members to discuss behaviours or
attitudes that are regarded by society as pathological or irresponsible.2 They are also
policed as ‘back places’, as evidenced by their frequent censorship and the declassification
of their internet sites (Boero and Pascoe, 2012; Dias, 2003; Giles, 2006; Reaves,
2001). While we do not categorise PA and FA as subcultural groups, we suggest that
drawing on the subcultural literature helps to better understand how and why members
of PA and FA cybercommunities seek out companionship with like-minded others.
There is considerable scholarship concerning the gendered aspect of deviant bodies
– in particular, fat and anorexic bodies (Bordo, 2003). Most notable is the feminist literature
concerning anorexia or bulimia that critically explores the social and cultural processes
that lead to self-starvation (Day and Keys, 2008). For example, Day and Keys
(2008) detail the culturally bound expectations espoused by PA members and touch on
the identity work of ‘rebels’ who promote an alternative understanding of the thin body.
Similarly, scholarly work on ‘fatness’ demonstrates the way in which individuals understand
‘fat’ as a stigmatised and culturally prescribed identity that requires ongoing management
(Dickins et al., 2011; Monaghan, 2005). However, what is missing from this
work is a focus on the specific strategies that members of PA and FA cybercommunities
use to negotiate and manage their deviant corporeal status.
Outside of feminist literature, studies of PA and FA cybercommunities do not engage
with the pro-social aspect of group membership but instead examine the pathology or
anti-social aspects of individual and group behaviours. Within the PA literature, scholars
have examined use of ‘thinspiration’pictures – images of extremely thin men and women
– that are used to inspire weight loss among PA members (Ferreday, 2003; Gailey, 2009;
Giles, 2006; Giles and Brotsky, 2007). Other studies are concerned with PA members’
resistance to medical definitions of their illness (Fox et al., 2005: 961), the misuse of
pharmaceuticals (Fox et al., 2005) or the sharing of ‘tips’ and ‘tricks’ for hiding eating
disorders or sustaining weight loss (Giles, 2006). As with the feminist scholarship on this
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 5
topic, the development and management of the ‘fat’or ‘thin’identity is yet to be explored
extensively in these studies.
We argue that PA and FA cybercommunities should be examined as sites of critical
importance for participants who would otherwise be socially isolated (Adler and Adler,
2005). We extend the scholarship concerned with PA and FA cybercommunities by privileging
the active agency of the members as they attempt to make sense of the sociocultural
discourse associated with their bodies. By looking at how processes of identity
management play out in an interactive setting, we consider the specific techniques and
strategies that PA and FA members employ as they come to terms with what it means to
be too fat or too thin in an online environment.
The present research: non-participant observation in an
online environment
Researching online is an effective way of exploring the cultures and norms associated
with particular groups as it allows for researchers to access socially marginalised groups
that may be inaccessible via traditional research methods. One research method gaining
recognition is online non-participant observation. This research method allows the
researcher to explore unfolding interactions without intervening (Liamputtong and Ezzy,
2005). This is essential for observing how identities are constructed and maintained in a
group setting, as the presence of the researcher may alter group dynamics, and consequently
the practices of forming identity, producing misleading results (Barker, 2008;
Giles, 2006). Non-participant observation was chosen for this study because of its ability
to provide insight into how individuals negotiate identity online as a naturally occurring
social phenomenon (see also Barker, 2008).
The use of online non-participant observation raises a unique set of ethical concerns.
We note that there is an ongoing debate regarding the obligations of researchers to obtain
informed consent and to protect the privacy of participants given the inherently public
nature of the internet (Barker, 2008: 25). However, there is no single set of guidelines for
internet-based research available to researchers (Convery and Cox, 2012). There are
broad principles which guide the use of publicly available online data, though these too
are contested. In order to guide our own practice we drew on previous online research
that has utilised online non-participant observation without the need to procure informed
consent. These studies confirm that ‘lurking’3 is a valid and accepted practice in sociology
(see Adler and Adler, 2008; Cheshire and Wickes, 2012; Fox et al., 2005; Giles and
Brotsky, 2007). Mendelson (2003) argues that online non-participatory observation has
negligible risk for the participants. Insisting on informed consent precludes the study of
natural group dynamics, which is the focus of this research (Barker, 2008: 25). As with
non-participant observation in a real-world setting, it is simply not appropriate or possible
to procure consent from every person who comes into the purview of the researcher
(Barker, 2008: 25). Given the intermittent and often infrequent nature of participation in
cybercommunities, being granted informed consent from all is not physically possible
and ignores the public aspects of online communities (Mendelson, 2003: 300).
Noting the ongoing debate around the ethics of internet-based research, our research
methodology was guided by several key questions. The first was whether or not there
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
6	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
was any risk of harm to the members of the cybercommunities as a result of our research.
The answer was no. Indeed, our research was specifically constructed to highlight the
importance of such communities to their members. Second, we considered whether or
not we could adequately ensure the anonymity of the members interacting on the various
forums. Here the answer is yes. As we focused on populations which may be using the
internet as a means of support, we minimised any situation which would be perceived as
‘harm’ in the undertaking of the research, such as ‘outing’ any users of the site
(Liamputtong and Ezzy, 2005: 241). To limit the risk of any possible public exposure of
the participants, all collected data was de-identified, not only of markers that could identify
them in the real world, but also of signifiers that may compromise their online identity.
In the results presented in this article, quotes from the participants are anonymous
and references to the names of the data collection sites are removed and as such are not
included in the reference list. The final question we asked was whether or not there was
another method that could produce similar results. Our answer was no. The goal of our
research was to examine identity negotiation and management through naturally occurring
data, thereby privileging the voices and experiences of members of FA and PA communities.
As documented in the literature (Giles and Brotsky, 2007), PA communities
have become increasingly hostile towards and suspicious of outsiders, including
researchers. Thus we argue that the visible presence of a researcher would have been
counter-productive in this instance.
The research sites
As stated previously, PA and FA sites were selected because they are intriguing sites for
the exploration of identity management and negotiation. Concepts of identity and social
marginalisation are linked through these sites to a distinct offline reality (the body) in a
way that is not as explicit in other communities. Unlike other subcultural identities, a
very thin or fat body cannot be easily hidden. Due to the cultural meaning attached to
these bodies (see Bordo, 2003), the ‘deviant’ status associated with them is an almost
inescapable part of lived experience.
The websites were sourced through Google searches. To locate FA sites an initial
search was conducted using the terms ‘fat acceptance’, ‘size acceptance’ and ‘fat activism’.
The same strategy was used for PA sites using terms ‘pro-anorexia’, ‘pro-ana’,
‘pro-ana websites’ and ‘pro-ana forums’. The sites generated from these searches were
then divided into public and private communities. The sites that required registration to
enter (i.e. they were private communities) were not examined. Our study was concerned
with understanding how identity formation and negotiation evolved naturally through
online exchanges. As identifying the researchers would have changed this dynamic,
especially among the pro-ana sites (see Giles and Brotsky, 2007), we focused only on
those sites open to anyone with access to the internet. The selection from remaining sites
was further refined using the following criteria.
•	 Sites are regularly updated (minimum of weekly posts)
•	 Sites have archived posts
•	 Readers have the ability to respond to posts in a comments section
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 7
•	 Sites must be explicitly FA or PA
•	 Sites must be available for public viewing. The viewer does not have to be a member
to see posts.
After applying these criteria, three PA sites and three FA sites were selected for non-participant
observation. Data for analysis was collected over a period of two to six months. The
time-frame for data collection was dependent on the number of posts in each community.
Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached; that is we continued to
source data from these sites until new data no longer contributed to additional insights
(Strauss and Corbin, 1994). For example, some FA sites posted weekly, which necessitated
extraction of posts over a longer period to gather sufficient data for analysis. In contrast, PA
sites often had hundreds of posts in a single day, each with replies from other members,
thus depth of data was achieved over a much shorter time period. Overall 425,612 words
were collected across six separate sites, each site averaging 70,935 words.
Broadly speaking, the FA sites examined had a few-to-many structure, where a few
key members of the community construct and communicate ideology to the majority.
However, these structures were not concrete and frequently fluctuated. Depending on
need or circumstance, conversations were also many-to-many or few-to-few. In contrast,
the PA communities had a many-to-many structure, often resulting in an overwhelming
number of posts as community members related personal narratives, opinions and experiences.
Due to the ‘raw’ nature of the data collected, postings by the participants frequently
contained spelling and grammar errors.The number of mistakes would necessitate
placing [sic] after most words and sentences. In order to preserve the flow of the material
and the voice of the participants, these mistakes have not been corrected nor are they
indicated with [sic] in the text.
Analytic approach
In order to analyse the data collected we used the inductive methodology of grounded
theory as it focuses on understanding social phenomena from the perspective of the participants.
In line with this approach, we began our examination of the data using open
coding. This process involved a general exploration of the data and the breaking down of
data into discrete categories that were then examined, compared and conceptualised
(Strauss and Corbin, 1994: 61). This was followed by axial coding, where categories
were grouped to reflect the emerging meaning of the data (Ezzy, 2002). As part of this
process, categories from open coding were regrouped into theoretically significant
themes (Strauss and Corbin, 1994). We then concluded our analysis with selective coding,
which involved selecting a core theoretical category and systematically relating it to
other categories, therefore clarifying, validating and refining the relationships that
became central to the present research (Strauss and Corbin, 1994).
Very early in the coding period, themes associated with social marginalisation and
deviance became prominent. Indeed, these themes were more prevalent in participants’
online talk than other markers of identity like gender, class, age or ethnicity.
While we acknowledge the importance of these identity markers, especially gender
and its relationship to anorexia (see Day and Keys, 2008), the accounts of the FA and
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
8	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
PA members we studied suggested they were secondary to an identity characterised
by marginalisation and isolation. For the purpose of this article, we therefore centre
our discussion on the management of a marginalised, rather than a gendered identity,
in FA and PA cybercommunities.
Results and discussion
Our research suggests that cybercommunities are important for understanding and negotiating
marginalised identities and that this occurs in several ways. First, FA and PA sites
provide a place where members can receive support and alternative interpretations of the
‘anorexic’ or ‘fat’ self. Second, FA and PA sites have delimited boundaries for belonging
and behaviour which protects members from individuals who might seek to challenge
this more positive image of the self. Third, FA and PA sites provide an environment that
allows for the development of key strategies which either combat normatively held views
about participants’ bodies or assist members to cope with their illness, as is the case with
members of PA cybercommunities. These strategies allow members to understand what
it means to be a fat or a thin person. We discuss these in turn below.
Cybercommunities: places for support and alternative definitions of
the ‘self’
While the negotiation of meaning can occur at an individual level, the online accounts
from members of FA and PA communities show that negotiation is also meaningful
within a community setting. Cohen (1972) argued that communities allow for ideological
dissemination, which in turn enables processes of self-definition. Accounts from participants
in this research suggest that this is also true for members of cybercommunities.
The FA and PA communities allow the self to be affirmed and witnessed by other members,
which may assist in stabilising an identity; something that may not be achieved
through self-definition alone. The expressed benefits of ‘belonging’ for members of FA
and PA communities are similar to those reported by the members of the tattooing communities
examined by Atkinson (2003). Specifically, membership provides an antidote
to their perceived cultural dislocation.
For the FA community members, the ‘self’ is managed and defined in a variety of different
ways. One management strategy is an attempt to expand the boundaries of what is
defined as ‘normal’. Within the sites examined in this research, individuals are encouraged
to cease thinking about themselves as marginalised, defective and imperfect, and to
fully embrace life.
I was so worried that people would think I was too fat/ugly/dull/irritating/etc. — mostly fat and
ugly — to deserve to take part in whatever fun activity was on the table.
FA members acknowledge that self-acceptance is an ongoing struggle. As one member
notes:
my ability to accept my own fat did not come about overnight. It came about over YEARS.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 9
On a personal level, the body is something that must be made peace with. FA communities
allow a space for individuals to relate personal narratives. These narratives construct
their physical deviation in a positive way, something they may not be able to achieve
offline due to a lack of support from others who do not accept their redefinition of their
bodies. Moreover, participation in the FA communities allows for the development of
offline exchanges that reinforce one’s identity, and one’s body as normal. This is clearly
evidenced in the following post, which describes the experience of being able to accept
a jacket from another FA community member.
It seems like such a simple and small thing … But, like so many things when you’re fat, being
able to do this simple and small thing is actually a really big freakin’ deal … She offered, I
accepted, and bam, I was wearing someone else’s jacket. I realize how ridiculous that sounds.
But when you’ve never had that moment of utter normalcy, it is kind of a big damn deal.
In PA communities, members also try to come to terms with their bodies. Contrary to
other research that focuses on the harmful elements of PA sites (Ferreday, 2003; Fox
et al., 2005; Gailey, 2009), the following comments demonstrate the support members
receive as they move towards recovery through the provision of a safe, non-judgemental
space.
reading all the hearfelt, completely non-judgmental, supportive and loving comments to my
post reminds me of how very much i love you guys. how integral this place is and will be to any
steps towards recovery i make.
PA communities also provide a space where members can be their ‘true self’ without
worrying about condemnation. Many feel that the PA community is the only place they
can be truly honest about their disease and how they understand themselves:
Right now I am purporting to be ‘recovered,’ and every day I strive to appear ‘normal and
healthy’ in public knowing full well that I come home and write my REAL story here to you
guys.
Additionally, members of PA communities provide emotional support for each other as
they attempt to understand their self and their disorder. Members post emotionally distraught
messages seeking emotional support, or make use of the PA space to ‘vent’ their
feelings.
i feel dead….i look dead….i am dead….who in the world is gunna wana a sick, fugly girl? am
i worth anything in this world?
Some members post messages where they indicate intent to self-harm. For example, one
member posted that they had ‘been one inch from suicide for about a month’. Within PA
sites, self-harm is recognised as a damaging behaviour and discouraged. Yet discouragement
comes in the form of supportive messages from the community that persuade the
poster not to self-harm. For example, in response to the above post, another member
replied with the following:
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
10	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
Don’t destroy your life… it’s the only one you got. Please PLEASE get help.
The emphasis on harm-minimisation found in the cybercommunities examined in this
study differs from previous PA research, which characterised PA sites as places of quasifeminist
protest against established beauty norms (Day, 2010) or positioned PA members
as adrenalin-seeking or risk-taking (Gailey, 2009). This may be because much of the
previous research focuses predominantly on static representations of PA on various websites
(Ferreday, 2003) and does not fully consider the interactive construction of discourse
and identity in the online environment.
By focusing on the dialogue and discussion between members, we make salient the
more nuanced discourses associated with support and harm-minimisation that play out in
cybercommunities. As FA and PA sites provide a space for members to communicate and
receive support, they allow the self to be affirmed and witnessed by others. This stabilises
identity in a way that cannot be achieved through self-definition alone. We argue
that the negotiation of meaning that occurs in these communities allows individuals to
connect with those who share and support their perception of self. Like the processes
noted in studies of marginalised groups in the offline world (see Atkinson, 2003), online
interactions among FA and PA members are important avenues for accepting one’s identity
and affirming one’s self.
Maintaining community boundaries
The above section demonstrates the important role of FA and PA cybercommunities in
providing a safe place where members can negotiate and understand their marginalised
identity. However, there are boundaries to community membership and group identification.
For both FA and PA sites, the community structure and the boundaries of acceptable
behaviour are closely policed. Boundary maintenance is viewed as necessary to ensure the
space remains safe and oriented towards benefiting members. The accounts of FA members
reveal that, for this community, boundaries are outwardly focused. That is, policing
is directed towards outsiders who may threaten or challenge the community’s identity.
However, for the PA sites, the boundaries are constructed to regulate members’ own
behaviours. How anorexia is defined and constructed, practices that relate to eating habits
and topics that centre on health, bodily changes and weight loss goals are all strictly monitored.
Thus for the PA cybercommunities, boundaries have a distinctly inward focus.
For participation in FA communities, there are clear rules relating to acceptable practice.
Indeed all FA sites have specific policies that outline what constitutes tolerable
behaviour in community forums, sending a strong message to people who might disagree
with the FA community’s ideology. This is evidenced in the following warning from an
FA community:
You’re gonna want to check out the comments policy before you try to join the conversation…I
don’t publish comments … promoting weight loss, insulting me, or insulting fat people in general.
Members reinforce the boundaries further by making examples of those who violate the
spirit of the site. When a violation occurs, members are invited to mock and otherwise
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 11
deride those who post particularly offensive comments, as demonstrated by the following
comment from a member of the FA community:
We haven’t had a good douchehounding in a while, because trolls get real boring real fast —
they’re rarely worth the effort…But the three of us are having a grand time kicking this one
around, and we thought we’d let you join in the fun.
This response not only reinforces the shared values of the community but also serves to
empower members by allowing them to actively construct their own ‘acceptable’identity
which is unambiguous. This unification allows members to be quickly called into action
when it comes to protesting size discrimination. For example, United Airlines introduced
a discriminatory policy against overweight people, ruling that they pay for an extra seat
if they were deemed ‘too large’when checking in. If this was not possible on a full flight,
they would not be allowed to fly. FA sites responded to this by encouraging members to
complain to United Airlines en masse about this new policy.
I bet we can get 700 complaints to United in a week. Go get ’em.
This type of action is indicative of the visibility and recognition that FA strives for as a
community. Through visibility FA can more strongly combat size discrimination.
Unlike FA, PA as a community is less unified and policing boundaries takes a different
form. While FA is focused on protecting the community from outsiders, for PA communities,
attention is focused on defining a ‘true ana’.
theres nothing i hate more than when people flaunt their eating disorders on myspace or
facebook, …its embarassing for all of us with eating disorders who hope that people will take
us SERIOUSLY
This emphasis on what constitutes a ‘true ana’ is echoed across all the PA cybercommunities
sampled in this study. In all sites, pretenders were not welcome as members
believed ‘wannabe’ anas damaged the community’s intent and purpose. By calling out
the ‘wannabes’, the boundaries of the ‘true ana’ community are reinforced. However,
within the PA community, there are constant efforts to define what anorexia is.
someone with legitimate anorexia doesn’t actually get cravings for food. We get cravings for
exercise, for hurting ourselves, for perfection… Food is SCARY -it is the evil that harms us by
making us fat, no matter how small or healthy the portion.
Universally intolerable in PA communities are those who come to the communities looking
for weight loss tips or crash diets tricks. Such requests are met with scorn and derision,
as well as announcements that anorexia is a serious condition, not to be taken
lightly. Unlike claims from other research in PA communities (Ferreday, 2003; Fox et al.,
2005; Gailey, 2009; Giles, 2006; Giles and Brotsky, 2007), our study finds that members
understand the severity of their condition and do not encourage people to develop eating
disorders. Instead, as the following quote demonstrates, members view anorexia as
something people should aspire to avoid, not emulate:
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
12	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
Anonymous has tried every diet and nothing seems to work and is now considering turning to
ana … would I ever advise … to do the same? No, I would never ADVISE someone to ‘try
anorexia.’ Who in their right mind would? Anorexia kills
Because there remains a lack of agreement concerning what constitutes a ‘true ana’, the
PA community finds it harder to achieve consensus and cohesion when definitional
issues arise. The ways in which identity is created, negotiated and managed are less uniform
in PA cybercommunities than in FA communities and responses to behaviours that
transgress community boundaries vary across PA sites. However, like FA groups, PAs
reaffirm their boundaries when encountering the ‘Other’ (Denegri-Knott and Taylor,
2005), as evidenced in the following post:
somebody SERIOUSLY needs to write up rules on this community. You know, cause people
just don’t get it, post shit, and we attack them like vultures…
Responding to dominant ideologies
Both FA and PA cybercommunities exist as sites that allow individuals to manage their
ascribed marginalised identity, however, each employs different identity management
strategies. Members of the FAcommunity use these cybercommunities as a place to challenge
their marginalised status.
For the FA community, deviance management can perhaps be best described as
‘preaching’. Part of this preaching strategy is to provide members with ways to manage
ascribed deviance and by extension their daily life. For FA members this often means
challenging the medical discourses concerning their ‘deviant’ bodies.
Is that not a pretty horrifying reminder, in fact, that the exact number of casualties from WLS
[weight loss surgery] is totally fucking unknown? And is it not likewise horrifying to realize
that doctors nationwide are proffering WLS willy-nilly as a cure-all solution for their fat
patients who suffer from basically any health condition, weight-related or not?
FA acknowledges that the connection between aesthetics, health and moral character is
deeply ingrained in western cultural discourse (Jutel, 2005: 119), however, they do not
accept this connection uncritically:
Many of us, of many different sizes, have been flat-out told we’re fat … by everyone from
complete strangers to our own families… even when you’re relatively free of fat harassment in
your daily life, you can never be free of it culturally. Even when the real people in your life tell
you ‘But you’re not fat,’ a host of forces are out there to tell you ‘Yeah, you are.’
Through the posts it is clear that members are vigilant in their attempt to dismantle the
negative discourse that surrounds their bodies. When confronted with the perceived
‘deviant’ image of the fat body, members of FA actively counter this maligned status and
encourage others to dress well and challenge the concept of ‘moral’ food. In this way FA
cybercommunities provide information to others that assists in creating new ways to
view food and their body.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 13
The point is, I think people may be terrified of unrestricted eating …But you don’t have to eat
everything that pops into your head…The point is that refusing yourself nothing is not the same
as giving yourself everything. …Restriction makes you do that, not liberation.And once you’ve
let go of the feast-or-famine mindset, it turns out that food is just like other pleasures and other
necessities…
Another key strategy that FA uses to manage their deviance is to call on members to
‘come out’ as fat people and be visible. In the FA lexicon ‘coming out’ means being
forthright and unashamed about one’s body. As part of this process members discourage
body talk that includes discussion of dieting or body shaming. This openness is viewed
by FAs as the primary way of combating fat phobia, and seeks to disrupt the normative
discourses concerning fat bodies. Thus for FA members, being visible is part of rejecting
not only the stereotypes about fat people, but the mandate that obese people should work
on minimising their bodies and their physical presence.
Being out as a fat person means letting folks around you know that you’re not likely to
participate in idle diet talk or body shaming, and are, in fact, likely to question or challenge it
when you hear it.
This contrasts with previous research that centres on how NAAFA (National Association
to Advance Fat Acceptance) members negotiate their bodies. For NAAFA, weight is
conceptualised as being beyond the individual’s control and therefore is thought to have
no implications for identity (Gimlin, 2001: 124). The body and self are perceived as
unrelated, which disassociates the self from the negative moral implications of the fat
body (Gimlin, 2001: 112). From this perspective, to be in possession of a stigmatised
body poses a danger to the integrity of the self (Jutel, 2005: 115). Contrastingly, we find
that participants of the FA sites studied in the current research do not seek to create distance
between the body and the self, but rather to minimise that distance, to become reembodied,
and re-connect body and self in a positive way.
The strategies used for managing normative interpretations of people with anorexia
are quite distinct from the FA cybercommunity. In the accounts of members on the sites
we examined, PAs are not seeking to combat stereotypes or perceptions surrounding
their behaviour. While the FA community attempts to create a public discourse that
rejects their marginalised status, PAs are more concerned with the practicalities of their
daily lives. PAs make no attempt to renegotiate their identities in the way FAs do. Instead,
members of PA cybercommunities manage their identities through ‘confession’. They
focus on the intimate details of their daily life (such as bodily changes) and use these
forums to confess their failures and report their successes. This approach allows fellow
members to suggest harm-minimisation techniques, both physical and emotional, to control
the extent of physical and emotional damage that comes with anorexia.
I remember a post I saw here, when I first joined. Someone saw a show about how a woman
who took over a hour to purge. Everyone commented on how long it took them to purge.I was
new, and it honestly broke my heart, to read the comments. Why!? Because some people said it
took them 45 minutes or more to purge. All I could think about is how I wish I could ask how
they Were doing it and help (if needed) in harm reduction.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
14	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
PA cybercommunities therefore serve an important function by providing a place where
members can relate and receive sympathy for their successes and failures without running
the risk of exposing their behaviour to unsympathetic parties. PA communities provide
a place for individuals to hide out, while still receiving emotional support. As part
of this, PAs describe their attempts to hide their eating disorder and remain invisible.
They confess their transgressions (overeating, lying and manipulation most commonly)
to other members of their community, which eases the stress associated with these
actions. Within the safety of the PA cybercommunity, members are also able to acknowledge
that these behaviours are not purely about weight and body dissatisfaction, but are
rooted in more complex personal issues.
I know it seems so trivial thinking about in terms of weight, and i makes me think am i just vain,
but then i know deep down that that its way more complicated than just looks.
In our research it was apparent that PA communities offer a place for people with anorexia
to share their ‘real’ life without the pressure to maintain the appearance of normality.
This is contrary to other research by Gailey (2009) that suggests the behaviours
engaged in by PAs are a type of ‘edgework’, in which individuals seek to push themselves
beyond their limits as a way to test their skills and control. He contends that hospitalised
anorexics are no different from men involved in motorcycle accidents due to
dangerous speeding. Gailey (2009) perceives anorexia as a voluntary risk-taking behaviour,
similar to skydiving or rescue work. By framing PA as a subculture and analysing it
through a criminological framework, Gailey (2009) further sensationalises and marginalises
a community that is already viewed with suspicion by many parties. As we demonstrate
here, such analysis ignores the contested meanings within the PA community
itself, its struggle to define and delimit its boundaries, as well as the plurality of experience
within the PA community.
Conclusion
Cybercommunities offer a window into the constructed narratives that stand outside
of dominant discourses. Examining such narratives in an online setting provides
insight into how aspects of society and culture are reflected and negotiated online.
Further, it allows for a fuller understanding of how ‘identity work’ plays out among
members of socially marginalised groups as they negotiate, and sometimes redefine,
their sense of self.
In this article we considered the ways in which members of PA and FA cybercommunities
use these online environments to enact their sense of self, to make sense of their
offline identity and at times challenge their ascribed marginalised status. This is especially
true for the members of the FA cybercommunities examined. Using naturally
occurring data, we examined these communities as dynamic and complex structures and
demonstrated how socially marginalised individuals use these spaces to understand their
status, their bodies and themselves. From the accounts of the members of the PA and FA
communities in our study, we found that anonymous communication and active community
engagement are of critical importance for positive identity work.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 15
The findings of our research lead us to conclude that these sites are social spaces
for individuals who feel deviant or socially isolated. For example, FA communities
provide members with a counterbalance to mainstream discourses. Such alternative
discourses privilege them as individuals, regardless of their weight. Similarly, PA
sites encourage members to share experiences, to offer and receive support in a way
that is often not possible in face-to-face interactions. In current scholarship and policy
discussions, the processes of identity management, harm-minimisation and emotional
support that occur in these sites is frequently overlooked. Certainly, we acknowledge
that at first glance FA and PA communities may appear disturbing, harmful or foreign.
However, as we demonstrate, a closer examination of the dynamic exchanges among
members illustrates the important functions these communities serve for their
participants.
Presently, cybercommunities exist largely untouched by government intervention.
This means that groups considered ‘deviant’ (as opposed to criminal) have access to safe
spaces for identity management, both individually and collectively, with regular access
to like-minded others. However, current internet censorship measures proposed by the
Australian Government (AAP, 2010; Foo, 2010; Kamenev, 2010) may make participation
in such cybercommunities difficult, if not impossible. Sociologically, we know that
back places are important sites for identity management, a practice that cybercommunities
now make partially visible. Though the practices or attitudes expressed in such sites
may stand outside the ‘norm’, attempting to restrict access to these communities because
they exist in a socially grey area will only further marginalise individuals and reduce
opportunities to understand and manage the self.
Declaration of conflicting interest
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or
not-for-profit sectors.
Notes
1.	 Dobson defines cam girl websites as ‘a type of person, amateur Web site focused on a Web
cam that allows viewers to see live, moving images of the site owner’(2008: 123). The majority
of these sites are run by teenage girls and young women, and the content varies widely (see
Dobson, 2008, for further discussion).
2.	 When considering the strong initiative to reduce obesity in Australia (Australian
Government Preventative Health Task Force, 2009) and the well-documented association
between excess weight and numerous other chronic health problems and increased mortality,
FA can be seen as promoting ‘unhealthy’ and ‘harmful’ behaviours (Monaghan et al.,
2010). With the exception of Dickins et al. (2011), little research is conducted outside of
the NAAFA into how obese individuals negotiate embodied identities in a community setting
online (Gimlin, 2001).
3.	 In this case lurking refers to the practice of reading or ‘watching’ community spaces online
without posting.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
16	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
References
AAP (2010) ‘Gillard Won’t Budge on Internet Filter’, news.com.au, 12 October. URL (consulted
accessed 12 October 2010): http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/gillard-wont-budge-on-
Internetfilter/story-e6frfku0-1225937802608#ixzz12D6xJp8kcodifiable
Adler, P.A. and P. Adler (2005) ‘Self-injurers as Loners: The Social Organization of Solitary
Deviance’, Deviant Behavior 26(4): 345–78.
Adler, P.A. and P. Adler (2008) ‘The Cyber Worlds of Self-injurers: Deviant Communities,
Relationships, and Selves’, Symbolic Interaction 31(1): 33–56.
Atkinson, M. (2003) Tattooed: The Sociogenesis of a Body Art. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press.
Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing; National Preventative Health Taskforce;
Obesity Working Group (2009) Technical Paper 1: Obesity in Australia: A Need for Urgent
Action. URL (consulted 18 November 2010): http://www.health.gov.au/internet/preventative-
health/publishing.nsf/Content/tech-obesity
Bakardjieva, M. (2005) Internet Society: Everyday Life on the Internet. London: Sage.
Bakardjieva, M. (2007) ‘Virtual Togetherness: An Everyday-life Perspective’, in D. Bell and B.M.
Kennedy (eds) The Cybercultures Reader, 2nd edn. London: Routledge
Barker, K.K. (2008) ‘Electronic Support Groups, Patient-consumers, and Medicalization: The
Case of Contested Illness’, Journal of Health and Social Behavior 49(March): 20–36.
Baym, N. (2010) Personal Connections in the Digital Age. Cambridge: Polity.
Bordo, S. (2003) Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Boero, N. and C.J. Pascoe (2012) ‘Pro-anorexia Communities and Online Interaction: Bringing the
Pro-ana Body Online’, Body & Society 18(2): 27–57.
boyd, d. and N. Ellison (2007) ‘Social Network Sites: History, Definition and Scholarship’,
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13(1): 210–30.
Castells, M. (1997) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol. 2: The Power of
Identity. Oxford: Blackwell.
Cheshire, L. and R.L. Wickes (2012) ‘Crime Talk in the Suburbs: Symbolic Representations of
Status and Security on a Master Planned Estate’, Housing Studies 27(8): 1162–81.
Cohen, S. (1972) Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers. London:
MacGibbon and Kee Ltd.
Convenry, I. and D. Cox (2012) ‘A Review of Research Ethics in Internet-based Research’,
Practitioner Research in Higher Education 6(1): 50–7.
Day, K. (2010) ‘Pro-anorexia and “Binge Drinking”: Conformity to Damaging Ideals or “New”,
Resistant Femininites?’, Feminism & Psychology 20: 242–8.
Day, K. and T. Keys (2008) ‘Starving in Cyberspace: A Discourse Analysis of Pro-eating-disorder
Websites’, Journal of Gender Studies 17(1): 1–15.
Denegri-Knott, J. and J. Taylor (2005) ‘The Labelling Game: A Conceptual Exploration of
Deviance on the Internet’, Social Science Computer Review 23(1): 93–107.
Dias, K. (2003) ‘The Ana Sanctuary: Women’s Pro-anorexia Narratives in Cyberspace’, Journal
of International Women’s Studies 4(2): 31–45
Dickins, M., S.L. Thomas, B. King, S. Lewis and K. Holland (2011) ‘The Role of the Fatosphere
in Fat Adults’ Responses to Obesity Stigma: A Model of Empowerment without a Focus on
Weight Loss’, Qualitative Health Research 21(12):1679–91.
Dobson, A. (2008) ‘Femininities as Commodities: Cam Girl Culture’, in A. Harris (ed.) Next Wave
Cultures: Feminism, Subcultures, Activism. New York: Routledge.
Ellison, N.B., C. Lampe, C. Steinfield and J. Vitak (2011) ‘With a Little Help from My Friends: How
Social Network Sites Affect Social Capital Processes’, in Z. Papacharissi (ed.) A Networked
Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites. New York: Routledge.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Smith et al.	 17
Ezzy, D. (2002) Qualitative Analysis: Practice and Innovation. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin.
Ferreday, D. (2003) ‘Unspeakable Bodies: Erasure, Embodiment and the Pro-Ana Community’,
International Journal of Cultural Studies 6(3): 277–95.
Foo, F. (2010) ‘ISP Mandatory Filter Plan Could Start in 2013’, theaustralian.com.au, 16 November.
URL (consulted 20 November 2010): http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australianit/govern-
ment/isp-mandatory-filter-plan-could-start-in-2013/story-fn4htb9o1225954572335
Fox, N., K. Ward and A. O’Rourke (2005) ‘Pro-anorexia, Weight-loss Drugs and the Internet:
An “Anti-recovery” Explanatory Model of Anorexia’, Sociology of Health & Illness 27(7):
944–71.
Gailey, J.A. (2009) ‘“Starving Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have”: The Pro-ana Subculture as
Edgework’, Critical Criminology 17: 93–108.
Giles, D. (2006) ‘Constructing Identity in Cyberspace: The Case of Eating Disorders’, British
Journal of Social Psychology 45(1): 463–77.
Giles, D. and S.R. Brotsky (2007) ‘Inside the “Pro-ana” Community: A Covert Online Participant
Observation’, Eating Disorders 15(2): 93–109.
Gimlin, D. (2001) Body Work: Beauty and Self-image in American Culture. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Goffman, E. (1963) Stigma: Notes of the Management of Spoiled Identity, New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Hargittai, E. and Y.P. Hsieh (2011) ‘From Dabblers to Omnivores: A Typology of Social Network
Site Usage’, in Z. Papacharissi (ed.) A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on
Social Network Sites, New York: Routledge.
Jutel, A. (2005) ‘Weighing Health: The Moral Burden of Obesity’, Social Semiotics 15(2):
113–25.
Kamenev, M. (2010). ‘First, China. Next: the Great Firewall of … Australia?’, Time 16 June. URL
(consulted 20 November 2010): http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1995615,00.
html
Lemert, E.M. (1951) Social Pathology: A Systematic Approach to the Study of Sociopathic
Behaviour. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.
Lemert, E.M. (1967) Human Deviance, Social Problems and Social Control. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Liamputtong, P. and D. Ezzy (2005) Qualitative Research Methods, 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Mendelson, C. (2003) ‘Gentle Hugs: Internet Listserves as Sources of Support for Women with
Lupus’, Advances in Nursing Science 26(4): 229–306.
Monaghan, L. (2005) ‘Big Handsome Men, Bears and Others: Virtual Constructions of “Fat Male
Embodiment”’, Body & Society 11(2): 81–111.
Monaghan, L.F., R. Hollands and G. Pritchard (2010) ‘Obesity Epidemic Entrepreneurs: Types,
Practices and Interests’, Body & Society 16(2): 37–71.
Reaves, J. (2001) ‘Anorexia Goes High Tech’, Time 31 July. URL (consulted 17 October 2011):
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,169660,00.html
Robins, K. (2007) ‘Against Virtual Community: For a Politics of Distance’, in D. Bell and B.M.
Kennedy (eds) The Cybercultures Reader, 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Strauss, A. and J.Corbin (1994) ‘Grounded Theory Methodology: An Overview’, in N.K. Denzin
and Y.S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Turkle, S. (1996) ‘Parallel Lives: Working on Identity in Virtual Space’, in D. Grodin and T.R.
Lindlof (eds) Constructing the Self in a Mediated World. London: Sage.
Wilson, B. and M. Atkinson (2005) ‘Rave and Straightedge, the Virtual and the Real: Exploring
Online and Offline Experiences in Canadian Youth Subcultures’, Youth and Society 36(3):
276–311.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from
18	 Journal of Sociology 0(0)
Author biographies
Naomi Smith is a PhD student in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Queensland, in
Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests include the sociology of new technology, identity, subcultures
and the body.
Rebecca Wickes is a Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Science at the University of
Queensland. She is also a Research Fellow with the Institute for Social Science Research. Her
academic interests include criminological theory, the ecology of crime, community engagement
and social inclusion/exclusion.
Mair Underwood is a Lecturer in Anthropology and Sociology in the School of Social Science at
the University of Queensland. Her main research interest is the experience and symbolism of the
body. She has also conducted research into ageing and attitudes to life extension.
at Universitet I Oslo on March 25, 2015jos.sagepub.comDownloaded from