Waves: the Fall 2023 issue
From the Editor
Welcome to the Fall 2023 issue of Waves!
We’re honored to share two very special projects that offer complex, timely perspectives on women’s health and embodiment.
Molly O’Neill’s “A War of Words: The Role of Rhetoric in Reproductive Rights” scrutinizes language used on both sides of the abortion debate to expose the way inflammatory rhetoric precludes nuanced perspectives on the ethical and medical complexities of “unique individual circumstances.” As O’Neill explains in her writer’s memo, her purpose is not to advocate for a particular stance but rather to promote “a more informed and nuanced discussion of abortion, while encouraging empathy across all perspectives.”
“Empathy across all perspectives” is hard to come by in an era of unprecedented ideological polarization. Social media encourage the rapid consumption of content but not necessarily deep engagement with it, and it is becoming more and more challenging to evaluate the credibility of sources, to sniff out misinformation, to expose ourselves to alternative points of view—in short, to think critically. O’Neill’s essay is an inspiring model of critical thinking, full of scrupulous interrogations of typically uninterrogated messaging around reproductive health.
Social media have shaped perceptions of women’s health in other ways: “thinspiration” and “bonespiration” imaging has exacerbated the dangers of diet culture—particularly among teens. In a deeply introspective and moving memoir essay about her struggle with anorexia, Zoey Thomas recalls turning to Kate Moss’s now infamous mantra, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” as a source of motivation. Thomas’s title—“How Skinny Feels”—is a corrective issued from the other side of recovery. “Chewing on a cup of plain ice at the harvest festival didn’t feel good,” Thomas writes. “Hiding wrenches and hammers in my pockets before getting weighed at the nutritionist to create an illusion of progress didn’t feel good.” By sharing her story, Thomas offers us another model of empathetic critical thinking—in this case, through a mode of compassionate self-reflection—to “encourage others to choose recovery.”
We hope you enjoy the issue and take its spirit of compassionate critical thinking with you into the new year.
—Emily Bald, Editor-in-chief
The Abortion Debate in Post-Roe America
A War of Words: The Role of Rhetoric in Reproductive Rights, by Molly O’Neill
A Battle with Anorexia
How Skinny Feels: My Experience with an Eating Disorder, by Zoey Thomas
Molly O’Neill
“Rhetoric is often overlooked or used subliminally in abortion discussions. A better understanding of the repercussions of abortion rhetoric and the purposeful intent behind our words is necessary for medically and politically sound decisions. It is my hope that this paper will resonate with a diverse audience and contribute to a more informed and nuanced discussion of abortion, while encouraging empathy across all perspectives.”
Zoey Thomas
“When I was recovering, my dad found, printed and gave me a blog article written by a college-aged girl who had struggled with anorexia in high school. She wrote about the story of her anorexia: how it had arisen, how it had shaped her, and how she overcame it. The article ended with a current picture of her in college. I read that blog over and over. When my wonderful teacher Dr. Carolyn Kelley told me my essay could help other people experiencing the same battle and suggested I submit it for publishing, I immediately thought back to that blog post. I hope my story can encourage others to choose recovery in the same way that blog did for me.”