BAN EATING DISORDER PROMOTING HASHTAGS FROM TUMBLR

The Issue

My name is Emma Langmaid and I am 15 years old. I am a regular Tumblr user, and have noticed a potentially poignant loophole, or rather unresolved issue on the site, and I felt it necessary to start a petition. This issue, which I am sure you are already aware, is anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorder promoting tags, particularly, (but not exclusively), #meanspo and #thinspo. I know and fully recognise that the purpose of Tumblr, in your words, is “to reflect who you are, and what you love, think, and stand for.” I do however, also strongly believe that the #meanspo, or #thinspo tags can not be positive in any way, shape, or form. They blatantly violate multiple community guidelines. I strongly believe that they should be permanently removed from the site, and the existence of similar tags and hatred should be closely monitored, censored, and removed. I have several reasons for campaigning this, as I have mentioned, because the tags are only negative. They encourage people, mentally and physically vulnerable people at serious risk of harm, and death, on a huge scale, persuading them to fast for days, even weeks, drive themselves to fatigue with unhealthy exercise routines, and promote hate, and cruelty, and get thousands of notes in result. I have suffered from anorexia and bulimia in the not distant past, and these type posts literally drove me into a state of starvation, fatigue, helplessness, and mental and physical  illness. I am still in recovery, but many are not so lucky. Many, literally thousands of teenagers and adolescents are susceptible to serious damage to their wellbeing, with the click of a button, they fall into a world of bullying, unhealthy ideals of stick figures mass-posting about their success in not eating for days on end. Today, 52% of women in high school fast or skip meals. Today, 10 million women are suffering from anorexia, 90% of which are between 15 and 20. Today, all of these women can simply type #meanspo or #thinspo into (not exclusively) Tumblr, and be surrounded with people that promote these terrifying disorders, in the thousands. This issue is unresolved, and uncensored, but right now, we can change these statistics, we can save people on the brink of depression and suicide, and I truly believe that removing the promotion of these tags is a huge step in not only the right, but the necessary direction. Thank you for your time, and please spread the word.

This petition had 170 supporters

The Issue

My name is Emma Langmaid and I am 15 years old. I am a regular Tumblr user, and have noticed a potentially poignant loophole, or rather unresolved issue on the site, and I felt it necessary to start a petition. This issue, which I am sure you are already aware, is anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorder promoting tags, particularly, (but not exclusively), #meanspo and #thinspo. I know and fully recognise that the purpose of Tumblr, in your words, is “to reflect who you are, and what you love, think, and stand for.” I do however, also strongly believe that the #meanspo, or #thinspo tags can not be positive in any way, shape, or form. They blatantly violate multiple community guidelines. I strongly believe that they should be permanently removed from the site, and the existence of similar tags and hatred should be closely monitored, censored, and removed. I have several reasons for campaigning this, as I have mentioned, because the tags are only negative. They encourage people, mentally and physically vulnerable people at serious risk of harm, and death, on a huge scale, persuading them to fast for days, even weeks, drive themselves to fatigue with unhealthy exercise routines, and promote hate, and cruelty, and get thousands of notes in result. I have suffered from anorexia and bulimia in the not distant past, and these type posts literally drove me into a state of starvation, fatigue, helplessness, and mental and physical  illness. I am still in recovery, but many are not so lucky. Many, literally thousands of teenagers and adolescents are susceptible to serious damage to their wellbeing, with the click of a button, they fall into a world of bullying, unhealthy ideals of stick figures mass-posting about their success in not eating for days on end. Today, 52% of women in high school fast or skip meals. Today, 10 million women are suffering from anorexia, 90% of which are between 15 and 20. Today, all of these women can simply type #meanspo or #thinspo into (not exclusively) Tumblr, and be surrounded with people that promote these terrifying disorders, in the thousands. This issue is unresolved, and uncensored, but right now, we can change these statistics, we can save people on the brink of depression and suicide, and I truly believe that removing the promotion of these tags is a huge step in not only the right, but the necessary direction. Thank you for your time, and please spread the word.

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Petition created on 27 November 2016