pro-ana

English

Etymology

From pro- +‎ ana (“anorexia nervosa”). Compare pro-mia.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɹoʊˈæ.nə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌpɹəʊˈæ.nə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænə
• Hyphenation: pro-a‧na

Noun

pro-ana (plural pro-anas)

1. A movement for the promotion of behaviors related to anorexia nervosa.
   • 2006 December 5, David E. Kelley, Sanford Golden, The Nutcrackers (Boston Legal), season 3, episode 10, spoken by Shelley Ford (Christine Dunford):

     Pro-ana is not a disease, Mr. Crane, it's a lifestyle choice.

   • 2013 February 17, Robert King, Michelle King, Red Team/Blue Team (The Good Wife), season 4, episode 14, spoken by Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies):

     Alicia: It's a pro-ana website, isn't it?
     Diane: Objection. Relevance?
     Howard: Yeah, I- I don't get it. What is that?
     Alicia: Pro-ana? It's a site intended to promote anorexia.

2. A member of this movement.
   • 2004 October 27, Eda R. Uca, Ana's Girls: The Essential Guide to the Underground Eating Disorder Community Online, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 69:

     Beyond celebrating the aesthetic value of thinness, pro-anas claim that thinness is a reflection of excellence in other areas of one's life.

   • 2009, Avis Rumney, Dying to Please: Anorexia, Treatment and Recovery, 2nd edition, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, →OL, pages 25–26:

     But juxtaposed to a caveat about the life-threatening nature of anorexia is often an avowal of the pro-ana's goal: to help anorexics in their quest for the "ideal" (emaciated) body.

See also

• pro-mia
• thinspiration, thinspo
• wannarexic

Anagrams

• on a par