Juliana's Journal - Entry #18 now online! — Page 2

Scooter, let me try to distill what I am saying down to its essence, since my efforts at detailing it completely seem to have missed the mark with many readers:

I am not saying Juliana has an eating disorder. I do not know her.

I am saying that our culture does a number on young women who develop unrealistic body images that are reinforced over and over, as Juliana's journal does.

I am not saying Juliana started it. This phenomenon predates Juliana by decades. I am saying the journal contributes to it, that Juliana is a part of it.

I am not saying Juliana is consciously doing it, but I do think the people who publish her writing should ask themselves if they really want to be yet another source of the same kind of material that reinforces these messages?

According to the Harvard Eating Disorders Center, approximately 1% of adolescent girls develop anorexia and 2-3% of young women develop bulimia. Just to give you statistical perspective, when 1% of any population develops a disease or illness, that disease or illness is considered an epidemic.

I would feel the same sense of alarm if a role model for young people were constantly smoking in front of his or her fans. I am not the one who made Juliana a role model, but since she IS being heavily promoted (and prompting hundreds of emails, according to her webmaster), it is something to seriously think about.

Again, from the Harvard Eating Disorders Center: "Exposure to the media-portrayed 'thin-ideal' on a sample of 157 female undergraduates produced depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity, and body dissatisfaction." That's a fact worth chewing over for the folks who bring us the journal.

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Updated On: 8/18/03 at 12:40 PM

And you, FindingNamo, are making lots of assumptions about a) the people who read her journal and b) what they are taking away from it. I SEE the hundreds of e-mails, you don't.

While I certainly understand that eating disorders are a problem, I don't happen to think Juliana is promoting them either consciously or unconsciously, and I think you know that's true. There's no winning with people like you - you have your "thing" and you must have the last word, and you must find something to write about. You don't care about Juliana or what she eats or doesn't eat. Nobody misunderstood what your point was - everyone understands all too clearly about your point.

I'm done responding to you because you have your little agenda and you will have the last word, no matter how many times you are told you are incorrect. Your attempts to disguise what you're doing as a "caring" innocent bystander are hilarious and blatantly obvious to everyone.

As long as we're talking about things such as these:

I feel you have are obsessing about Juliana. I find it an unnatural and unhealthy obsession, frankly. Since you have frequently admitted how much you don't like her journal, one finds it odd that you keep reading it and commenting on it. I feel you are sending out the wrong message to the young readers of this board - a message that it is okay to be obsessive. Now, I don't KNOW you, I don't know that that's really the case, but I'll say it anyway.

You may now have the last word. Anonymously, of course.

The Very-Middle-Aged "Webmaster" Man, your digs at me are just so powerful.

Sueleen, my sweet, I thought you'd be off having your nails down and your eyebrows tweezed in preparation for our impending nuptials. Everything on Jule's eating list might work at our reception. Mais oui?

Miss J. most decidely has a food fixation. There are so many things that she could be writing about rather than road tour menu selections. BK, if you are a friend, why don't you give her that advice.

Oh Bruce, I'm so rubber and you're so glue. I don't worry about Juliana's health, I worry about how much her journal adds to the clatter that makes young women feel crappy about themselves. As her publisher, you obviously are implicated in this.

You trashed me before about a criticism I made of the journal, Juliana's consistent misspelling of her friend/castmate/roommate's first name. Then Juliana mentioned it had been pointed out to her, she was embarassed and wished somebody pointed it out to her sooner. Talk about being in a position where I can't win. You make fun of me for doing it, the subject in question wishes I had done it sooner.

I notice the one subject you won't touch is your own culpability in continuing messages that MAY be damaging to other young women. I wonder why? Your clever reversal of the script -- "you're the one obsessing over Juliana; that seems unhealthy" -- is kind of sophmoric and not worthy of such an erudite persona as yourself.

Also, criticizing people for posting anonymously on the internet is like criticizing the sky for being blue. That's what the internet is. If I had an agenda for self-promotion, I too would have a website and be posting under my own name, or initials. But, I'm not selling anything.

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Although I didn't read all of bk's rant (only because he's had to state the same thing over and over again), I agree with him.

I am a teenage girl. I'm a huge fan of Juliana's Journal. I think shes amazing, very sweet, having the time of her life, something that I aspire to be. And not once have I EVER had even the slightest thought of an eating disorder, or of her being unhealthy. This is not her food log. She isn't required to write every piece of food she eats during a day down in the journal. If she did that, I doubt she'd have many fans. You can't eat a cheeseburger and fries every day when you're on tour, because if you're working that hard, bad food can make you sick. On the contrary, you can't survive 8 shows a week eating nothing. Last time I checked, she was perfectly healthy. If she were sick, the tour people would know, and it would be taken care of. Let her be, and listen to bk, he knows her better than anyone here.

Dear FindingNamo -

I have had the opportunity not only to work with but to eat with Juliana, just prior to her casting in TMM. She is no different than any other twentysomething I have known, past or present. She may watch her weight via watching her diet, but she does far more positive things for herself (such as her daily workouts) than negative. There is nothing unhealthy about her as far as I can see, and I've known with enough people with severe problems, including my younger sister.

Her Journal should not be viewed as "this is how to do it" - it should be enjoyed as an inside look at how Juliana is doing it. And she is doing quite well!

But (I can't believe I'm joining the fray) no one is actually saying she has an eating disorder. What they are saying is that they are concerned with the seemingly obsessive attention she is giving to her food and how that attention may reinforce negative ideas about weight in young people (boys are affected by this as well...especially gay boys who see the nearly impossible body ideals worshipped in the gay community).

I've read her journals and I've posted my feelings on them. I do not in any way believe she is being malicious or intentionally harmful. I believe she is being a 20 year old woman, with all the neuroses that go along with it. I do think, however, that someone might say to her 'Hey, J, maybe you should be just a little more general about the food stuff and strees how important it is to eat healthily and concentrate more on what it's like to work with the performers'. There's not a nutritionist in the world who will tell you to survive on 2 meals a day.

As for the exercising thing, have you ever watched someone deal with what is termed 'workout bulimia'? It is a horrible thing with terrible physical repracussions.

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I have not had the pleasure of eating or hanging out with Juliana, but I do have common sense and read things. She is exactly like every girl her age, except the girls who do not care about their weight. So I really hope only possitive comments are posted when craig puts up a thread about Journal #19!

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MamaMiaSammy: Was the picture in your post an unwritten comment on eating disorders?

Speaking of food issues and eating disorders: I'm a former fat person who lost 40 pounds on Weight Watchers in the last 12 months. It was a lot of work - and quite frankly, turned me into a food-obsessive person not all that dissimilar from what people have noted in Julianas postings. One of the 'tools' we use in WW is 'journaling' : writing down everything we eat. Sure, It's a pain in the ass. But it works to see exactly how much portion control we have (there's more to it than just journaling anyway (I wonder if Juliana is a former WW gal)!
And once you've slimmed down you are CONSTATLY aware of how everyone looks - and you pretty much obsess about your own looks. I remember in that 2001 profile of a newly slim Nathan Lane in the Times magazine where Nathan was looking at a fan's collage of many pictures of him, and pointing out to Mathew Broderick "Look at this - you can see how my weight fluctuates!"

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I recently lost 35 lbs and it took me close to a year to do.

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The whole premise of the arguement in this thread is garbage. And I do think there is some alterior motive to the whole "Juliana's unhealthy habits" issue. On that issue I ask: "Who cares?"

I have been reading Juliana's entries off and on, out of curiousity, and there is nothing wrong with her, her eating habits, or what she posts. She IS 20 something, a young adult, and therefore, she is going to write and record her experiences as one.

Also, there is nothing wrong with being conscious about what she eats.

I am happy for her, and that she is getting to do what she loves. I wish her all the best. All the negativity about her journal is nauseating. I do not see the logic in people complaining about her journal, yet they continue to go and read it, just to criticize. You would think that if something really upsets a person or persons that much, they would steer clear from it, and leave it alone. I guess not a lot of people have any sense when it comes to that.

For those who are still bashing this poor girl's journal...get a life. You don't have to read it if you don't like it. And don't try to ruin other people's experiences and fun that they get from reading it. Just because you don't neccessarily find it entertaining, doesn't mean it won't have the opposite affect on others.

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Oh Lordy, I just had this image of sweet little Julianna coming home from the show some night with a bag of Oreos, dropping her tired butt on the bed, turning on her lap-top to see if anyone has read and responded to her journal and absolutely CHOKING on a cookie. I am really curious to see if she has a response to this board. I am sure she will be mortified to find people debating her eating habits when all she wanted to do was share a bit of her adventure with the world.

Julianna, if you read this, please respond. Some people are really worried about you. I for one, think you are a totally normal and dedicated YOUNG person.

Yours truly,

Auntie Sueleen.

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