How Do You Listen To That Song And Not Cry - Tumblr Posts
"I think I wanted to appear like a strong man. Now... I don't have to pretend. I can just be myself... I don't look like I'm about to weep anymore. (to his younger self) You were trying very hard. I could feel how hard you were trying. Your eyes looked eager to show something. I was moved by you, and I felt somewhat sorry for you too. Hurry and become me soon. (*laughs*) (*starts crying*) You will learn and realize so many things. Fighting!”
-- Jimin's words to his younger self, quoted in original post under the cut above.
Jimin and His Journey with Food & Body Image
CW: discussion of extreme dieting, body image issues, and eating disorders
I was actually going to just place this in my round-up for the week, but I think it deserves its own post. Please do mind the content warnings.
From anon: As much as I love your blog but I have to say that that jm have an eating disorder just a rumour It was “diagnosed” by armys, not by his doctor and he never said it was, the only thing he told us is that he was on a diet just like any other member, It is not our place to assume something like this about him.this is just one of the amount of rumours armys spread as facts and I know you are a newer armys so please don’t believe anything they said about the boys without checking if the members themselves have said it (there’s a lot of false narratives about the members in this fandom and armys seems to not question it be careful please)
Ah yes, you’re right, in my Scenery follow-up, I should’ve more carefully stuck to his and BTS’s own language, rather than use medical terminology neither I nor any person other than Jimin’s doctor at the time can back up. So, I’ve adjusted it to “[Jimin’s] body image issues and dangerous diet during this era” in the post.
I’ve also cited sources there, to show my new sentence is a factually accurate way to describe what he went through in that era: Jimin’s Wings interview, the variety show where he speaks about dieting (reddit commentary, useful for cultural context & translation checking), Tae’s concern.
[Also, from Tae’s 2015 bday letter to Jimin, it seems Jimin had gone through other periods of extreme dieting even prior to BST that also drew Tae’s concern]
That said. While I fully accept the the correction (that I have no expertise to call it an “eating disorder”), the intention behind it (to be factually accurate), and the advice you gave (to always check original sources - that’s something I often advocate myself, and I’d add my lesson from this ask here, to make sure you’re careful of words/not over-speculate beyond what was said) (so sincerely, thanks for sending this feedback in anon!), I do want to discuss this further. Because I also want to emphasize: it is also not accurate to call it “a diet just like any other member.”
From all the cited sources, there was cause for concern with BST Jimin’s diet, and Jimin and BTS have explicitly discussed that over the years. So let’s not downplay that.
In fact, if we were to do so, we do Jimin a disservice, because his journey with food and body image—the way that he has over the years developed a healthier relationship with both in an industry absolutely not conducive to that—is part of his story. An inspiring part that he’s willingly shared, so that we may reflect and learn from it.
So, actually, my stance is that we should talk about it more, discuss it more, learn from it more (so long as we are doing it respectfully and sensitively, of course). To me, it’s the best way to treasure Jimin’s honesty and vulnerability, and to imbue it with meaning. Hence this post laying out and reflecting on that journey.
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