To think it's about time Joan Bakewell retires from public life if she is going to make such stupid comments

[ReallyTired]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35797158

The idea that anorexia is a sign of narcissism is ridiculous and damaging to anorexia victims. It's like saying that cancer patients deserve to die because they sun bathed or ate too many bacon sardies. No one chooses to be anorexic any more than they choose to have lung cancer.

The reason that anorexia is less common in places where there is less food is that there no social pressure to be thin or to diet. There are different pressures.

I know very little about anorexia. Anorexia suffers I have met are no more narisstic than anyone else. The few anorexia victims I have met have had OCD traits and are ultra perfectionists. However a sample of two is not enough to draw any conclusions especially as I am not a pychiaratist.

Anorexia is a desperate condition and one of the victims I knew died at 25 years old. The victim had everything to live for and her death was a terrible tradgy.

Maybe Joan Bakewell should stick to assessing hot housed kids and leave anorexia to the doctors.

"respect " obv! 😳

I would agree that the OP is depressingly ageist.
YABU for that alone.

Intrigued by the remark that she "looks good for her age", because of course it's terrible to look 82 at 82, but we are not at all a narcissistic society.

I pity I was just expressing my surprise that Joan was that age in reply to a previous poster's comment stating Joan's age. I have no issues with presenters and broadcasters working into old age if they do their job well. I personally would feel flattered if somebody thought I looked good for my age but if you think that the comment is ageist then I am happy to retract my comment.

I don't find the thread ageist. I took it to mean that the broadcaster has made in some people's view a massive gaff which could hurt the progress of tolerance and perception of mental health issues which are currently under- resourced and that if she is going to make ill informed & poorly judged comments then maybe she should refrain from doing so. I took "retire" to be a figure of speech.

I don't think we were discussing whether society is narcissistic, I thought we were discussing whether it was appropriate to use this word in the context of anorexia or whether it encourages a somewhat intolerant view of the condition.

YABU. Totally disagree with what she said. Also totally disagree with the idea that people should have to retire from public life just because they say something stupid.

It was a very silly comment which I bet she's regretting.

We certanily have a much much bigger issue with the 60% in the UK who are overweight in terms of numbers - anorexics are hardly anyone compared with that sheer weight of numbers so in terms of deciding where resources go they need to go on the obesity epidemic.

I agree we should all ourselves and in regards to our children though emphasise vanity is a sin. I seem to be the only person who ever says that these days - what a massive change in British attitudes. If you have time to fuss looking in mirrors you should be ashamed of yourself and get out there and wash the feet of an elderly neighbour. There is little intrinsic happines to be gained in being vain and caring too much about looks.

Having talked to her and been to a rather self promoting talk of hers, I actually think she's also a rather silly, vain woman. I went in really liking her until I met her, i was most put off! And so not surprised as sh'd come out with similarly ignorant, poorly judged comments when we met. I'd say she's got far in life on her own good looks and seems to see it as a failing if others can't do the same- this talk of her granddaughters "breezing through" childhood with the clear, rather smug implication that those who don't similarly breeze are inadequate. Reminds me of a rather toxic acquaintance of mine who would answer sweepingly "it's all in the genes" whenever I made the slightest grumble about my dc. So my fault, yeah?

I think anyone of JB's age would be struck by how much things have changed since she was growing up.

As DG says, vanity used to be a sin, and primping and preening in front of the mirror was firmly discouraged. Now with camera phones and social media, make-over parties for primary school girls and Proms at 11, there is so much more emphasis on looking good and feeling a failure if you don't match some air-brushed ideal.

No one knows what causes anorexia. It's all hypothetical. Different causes in different contexts perhaps. The current theory is that it's about control, but that's only a theory. I can understand why JB should think that there's a connection for some patients between their condition and the society we live in. I don't know if she's right or wrong but Big Brother Nikki Graham wrote in her autobiography that her anorexia started after a comment made in gym class about her tummy. On the other hand, her father left home at about the same time, so who knows?

I think it's important that anorexia is seen as an illness, much like alcoholism is. Joan's comments make it look like a choice.
fwiw I also agree the thread title is ageist