My name is Amy -- I'm an educator and support group facilitator for women who struggle with eating disorders and other self-harming behaviours. The research I conduct is both socioculturally and biophysically-based, as it focuses on non-traditional, body-centered and often electronic (online) interventions for eating disorders, the female athlete triad and issues relating to body image and sport.

Who I am cannot be answered in a one-line definition; I am a "work in progress", so to speak. For those who visit the FED-UP! site looking for information on eating disorders and their related issues, I hope the research and links to academic resources fills a much-needed gap in this, my area of expertise. For those who are already enslaved by cultural expectations of our Western milieu, which claims thinness to be the ideal body type, and stigmatizes all those who do not conform, I offer you the benefit of my research and personal experience. My aunt Linda passed in 1998 from her "complications" resulting from the combination of adult-onset diabetes and her eating and body practices. Her death did not have to happen and the fact that it did and was attributed solely to the diabetes is indicative of a culture that does not recognize the seriousness and pervasiveness of eating disorders. There are very FEW non-profit organizations such as Sheena's Place that offer free, drop-in programming to people who are affected both directly and indirectly by eating disorders, which makes for a lack of affordable, accessible services available to people who struggle. I believe that one of the most powerful avenues of healing this sort of problem is knowing that there are others out there who really do understand the experience. It is perhaps, from this empathetic understanding, that I propose to be the motivating intent behind this site.

Conferences, Research Papers and Personal Writings