A few weeks ago on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, the A4 Paper Challenge was born. It spread rapidly and women from around the globe are now comparing their waists to an A4 sheet of paper. If you hold the paper up to your stomach and your waist disappears behind it, you’ve won. But what does it mean to pass these tests? What are we accomplishing and does it really have an effect on a woman’s self esteem?
When you have an eating disorder, there is no final goal. There is no level that you can reach that will make you happy with your body, even if you tell yourself that. You will constantly be trying to alter your body in different ways. With all of these tests circulating on social media, it adds fuel to the fire. There are new standards that are arising for women’s bodies, and the 'mob mentality' intensifies. You’re racing towards starvation with your online “friends” cheering you on.
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Where else do we see these strange trends on social media and where are they coming from?
The thigh gap was also a body test that was universally spread. If your thighs did not touch when standing up straight, you passed. If your arms don’t swing back and forth when you hit them, you’ve passed. If you can see some of the ribs in your waist, you pass. But similar to school, passing is not always enough for the over-achieving body morpher.
Women still suffer from body shame and eating disorders after they have achieved these goals. The mind simply transfers its focus onto another body standard to starve for.
It is nearly impossible to trace these trends effectively. People are so quick to share ideas on Twitter, Facebook, and other online platforms that the source is oftentimes lost in the mix. Whether individuals or corporations are promoting these body concepts is unclear.
Let us also recognize that while I theorize about how these tests and relate to self-esteem, women are being hospitalized by trying to reach this goal. Our genetics dictate our healthy body weight ranges, so some women can’t force their bodies to reach these goals, regardless of their dieting patterns.
Women are not feeling satisfied by reaching these goals and others are dying in their attempts. We can’t control how many of these body tests are spreading or where they are coming from.
In order to combat this illogical challenge where no one is benefitting, women are posting #notpaperthin photos on the internet to show pride in their bodies. While this message may reach the woman who feels slightly insecure about this standard, can it really reach someone with a debilitating eating disorder? And if not, what can?
