Why, as a recovering anorexic, I think banning 'beach body ready' ads is dangerous

A lot of things contributed to my ten-year battle with anorexia – but bikini-clad models were not one of them. As long as my daily intake hadn’t exceeded more than 500 calories, and I’d run my five miles, and above all hadn’t succumbed to food or laziness, I honestly couldn’t have cared less about ads for slimming products or models in bikinis. In anorexia, you’re not competing against other women, you’re competing against yourself.

This is why the London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to ban ‘body-shaming’ advertisements on the Underground strikes me as utterly futile. Not only futile, but potentially damaging. Damaging because it blurs the lines between the objectification of women’s bodies in the media – which is a valid and important issue – and eating disorders – which are complex mental illnesses with far deeper roots.

We should not conflate a mild envy of some model’s hot body with far more complex conditions. As shown recently in Joan Bakewell’s comments about anorexia being ‘narcissistic’, they are already widely misunderstood. My experience of ten years with anorexia included loneliness, extreme cold, sharp bones and hunger pains. Life revolved around avoiding food at all costs, preserving body warmth, and hiding my sadness from others. It’s hard to care about your beach body when you’re starving yourself to death.

Eating disorders do not stem from vanity or narcissism, or wanting to look hot on the beach. They are not triggered by adverts such as this. Of course we’re bombarded with images of idealised female perfection which can dent our confidence. Of course we need to be sensitive to the language and imagery used to target girls and young women. But anorexia and bulimia have nothing to do with wanting the perfect bikini body.

Eating disorders are relentless, controlling, sometimes fatal, forms of self-harm. When we accuse the media of triggering them, we miss the point. Sufferers need support, in the form of early diagnosis and treatment, access to cognitive behavioural therapy and specialist clinics, and better funding for research. But absolutely nothing is gained from this kind of knee-jerk reaction to what is essentially just another slightly sexist advert.

Khan’s announcement follows the controversy over last summer’s Protein World adverts, in which a slim blonde woman in a yellow bikini appeared alongside the caption: “Are you beach body ready?” The ad was denounced for promoting an unhealthy body image, and BEAT, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity said: “While continuing to promote a slender body image as the only one we should aspire to, the Protein World advert advertises diet products, only adding to the harmful effect it could have on those susceptible to an eating disorder.”

One blogger wrote: “I sacrificed the most potentially beautiful years of my life upon the altar of eating disorders… I believe the adverts are dangerous.” 70,000 signed an online petition against the ad.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Credit: Rick Findler/PA Wire

The Mayor said: “As the father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this kind of advertising which can demean people, particularly women, and make them ashamed of their bodies. It is high time it came to an end.”

Feminist and gender equality groups have welcomed Khan’s ban: Grace Barrett from Self-Esteem Team said: “Someone in power has acknowledged that these images have an impact on our body confidence.” (It should be noted that the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that neither the Protein World image nor the caption were irresponsible or likely to cause serious offence.)

Khan’s ban raises the question: shouldn’t bodies of all colours, shapes and sizes be represented in our public space, and who gets to decide? By all means let’s campaign for bigger, shorter, hairier female models, or disabled models, above all for different representations of women and men. Let’s ask why the advertising industry has made billions from targeting us, inventing endless physical ‘flaws’ - from cellulite to crow’s feet - and why we buy their products. But banning certain adverts in certain places (ie the tube) will be ineffective.

All of us, anorexic, bulimic or healthy, need to take a responsible, robust attitude to such ads. A friend in her sixties confides that the endless stream of young, wrinkle-free models makes her feel old and decrepit. A male friend who is bald and small of stature has his personal insecurities reinforced every time he sees a tall model with a full head of hair. I have plenty of hang-ups and I bet you do too: the point is, we deal with it.

The sloppy, casual use of the term ‘body-shaming’ is toxic and reductive. We are drifting into the perverse situation where attractive women are demonised for making other women feel bad. (The model in the Protein World ad felt her body has been ‘shamed’.)

Wilful offence-taking, whereby portraying a person of slim physique is automatically offensive to those of a larger physique, simply doesn’t make sense. True acceptance means welcoming all shapes and sizes.

Instead of random censorship, let’s take control. Boycott the company’s products, refuse to buy magazines or watch programmes which objectify women, sign petitions, fight for gender equality. Even better, campaign for increased funding for mental illness. Let’s focus on what we can control, rather than issuing bizarre bans on certain bodies in selective public spaces.

I believe in self-acceptance and healthy body-image; I don’t want anyone to feel demeaned by ads on their daily commute. But throwing eating disorders into the debate about women’s bodies only confuses the misunderstanding around the most serious mental illnesses.

We don’t win when we demonise certain body shapes. We win when we call out the sexism prevalent in advertising and in our wider society. We win when we reclaim the right to be individual, healthy and unique as we are. Why not ignore the ads and redefine what ‘beach body ready’ means to you?

Emma Woolf is an author and broadcaster, on Twitter @EJWoolf