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    Constructing 'ana' : pro-ana/anorexia women's understandings of themselves and their internet communities : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) De Faria, Natasha
    This thesis is a study of pro-ana/anorexia communities on the Internet. In these communities women from around the world communicate through a range of message boards, bulletin boards, live journals and chat rooms. Here they 'talk' honestly about such 'taboo' topics as achieving weight loss goals, their ability to sustain their ana/anorexia and about the day to day issues of living with ana/anorexia. As a result these communities have been met with much opposition, and the women challenged on their position. My study of these communities was informed by the understanding that all meaning is constructed and that language plays a powerful part in this. As such I was not concerned with explicating the one 'true' meaning of pro-ana/anorexia. Rather my aim was to understand how pro-ana/anorexia women construct themselves and their communities. Through the method of passive analysis I obtained electronic archival records of the women's naturalistic discursive interaction ('talk'), from seven pro-ana/anorexia communities. These communities were selected on the basis of their compatibility with my ethical requirements, greater number of community members and variation in content. Through the analysis of this 'talk', it can be seen that the women's constructions of pro-ana/anorexia were inextricably linked with their understandings of what ana/anorexia is, what it is about and of themselves as ana/anorexic. I found that the women's constructions were based around three main issues. In the first, pro-ana/anorexia was constructed in relation to understandings of ana/anorexia as an 'illness/disorder'. In the second, constructions of what ana/anorexia is about were based on the 'objects' of 'the body' and 'the mind', and how these relate to 'self-discipline/self-control'. In the third, the women constructed the self in relation to the 'real' anorexic and ana/anorexia as a 'range' of'experience', and in doing this personified anorexia as 'ana'. These constructions were complex in that the women drew on and were positioned by existing understandings, and also constructed new meanings. In this way their 'talk' was both constitutive of meaning and constituted by meaning. The implications of these findings for the field of psychology are discussed.
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    Anorexia nervosa - its nature and treatment : a phenomenological investigation : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1982) Webb, Susan Bridget
    This study examined the psychosomatic syndrome of anorexia nervosa, its characteristics, etiology and effects. In addition the treatment of the disorder was considered from the perspective of the three psychotherapeutic approaches most commonly applied to it; psychodynamic, behavioural and family therapy. The historical emergence and identification of anorexia nervosa was briefly described and the emergence and development of the three treatment approaches were outlined. The diagnosis, characteristics, incidence and factors concerning outcome in the disorder were examined. Each treatment perspective was considered in turn by outlining its understandings of human functioning and approach to abnormal functioning in general. Its theoretical stance towards anorexia nervosa was elaborated and the treatment procedures based upon this described. Finally the outcome of treatment within each approach was considered. A case study method employing a phenomenological approach was used to explore the perceptions and experiences of seven subjects who were or who had been anorexic. In addition the perspective and experience of some of those closely associated with them at the time of their anorexia was also examined. Issues concerning the research method and the selection of the subjects were discussed and the nature of the contact with them and the manner in which the data was collected described. Data collected from the subjects, their associates, documentation provided by the subjects and observations were analysed into themes which emerged during the process of the data collection. These were grouped into four theme categories comprising: The Self-Physical, the Self-Psychological, the Self and Others and Intervention. The findings in each theme category are discussed in relation to existing literature. Major findings included an emphasis on issues concerning control and self concept in the disorder, a reluctance to develop sexual relationships and a continued concern about food, exercise and interpersonal relationships. Vocational choice indicated a preference for welfare-type work. Close family relationships were evident with some confusion apparent about female roles. Treatment experiences in the main tended to be perceived negatively in that they appeared largely controlling and insensitive. No one theoretical approach to the disorder could be identified as providing a completely comprehensive perspective with each having distinct advantages and disadvantages. Control and self-concept issues were identified as needing to be central to any consideration of anorexia nervosa treatment and it was reiterated that psychotherapeutic treatment needs as much as possible to recognize the unique nature of each case and not be too constrained by prescribed theoretical frameworks.
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    iAnorexic : a body politics of pro-anorexia and cyborgs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Connor, Geneva
    The pro-anorexia movement online is a topic of much contention in medical, psychological and public arenas. While psychology has located the source of Anorexia Nervosa within the individual, taking up a historically, socially and culturally contextual perspective enables an understanding of pro-anorexia through the genealogical examination of anorexia, women‟s embodiment, social movements and technologies. What emerges is the production of a pro-anorexic cyborg, lived both metaphorically and literally by modern Western women experiencing anorexia. Examining the textual content of online pro-anorexia communities allows for a discursive analysis of the complex pro-anorexic voice. What this voice constructs is female embodiment characterised by multiplicity, contradiction, information, connection, blurred boundaries, disrupted dualisms, non-innocence, simulated consciousness and political resistance lived through a troubled, biologically restricted female body. Through the use of cyborg metaphor, this thesis argues that pro-anorexia online is fervent resistance to patriarchal femininity in a way that produces tolerable female embodiment.