A bill in France has been approved by the lower house of Parliament, but still has to face a Senate vote. The law's purpose is to control web sites that promote eating disorders, such as those that promote "ana" and mia" nicknames for anorexia and bulimia. The bill is aimed at mass communication including magazines and websites. The punishment for promoting "thinspiration" ideas would be up to three years in prison and more than $70,000 in fines. The link to the article explains who is behind this bill and why it will and will not be successful.
I think this bill should pass and would be very helpful in leading to new ideas of annorexia education and prevention. The "ana" sights as we have seen in the documentary we watched in class are very influential to young girls. France is known for their extra-thin supermodels, and monitoring these websites' content could help change the "thin" trend.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/world/europe/16france.html?ref=health
I think this is finally a step in the right direction.
Hopefully this will trickle down to other media outlets (magazines, Hollywood, etc) and have an impact on changing the way young women see themselves in the media.
How sad that some countries have to make it illegal NOT to eat when there are third world countries that are starving.