Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 31
quantities of rotten food (Giese, 2001: 3). Typically, Behera cooked up large Indian meals
on the weekends for everyone, but if the followers did not finish the food, he apparently left
it un-refrigerated until the following weekend (Giese, 2001: 3). According to some
accounts, Behera subsequently heated the rotten food and forced members to consume it.
Often mass diarrhea episodes followed the weekend meals, most likely due to the fact that
the food had spoiled during the week (Giese, 2001: 3).
Former member Eugene Baugh writes that he shed critical amounts of weight while a
member in the Disciples of Jesus Christ group:
I was gradually literally starving. In a year I shed 60 pounds. At 6‘5‖ tall I
weighed 150 pounds. I had a 32‖ waist. My arms and legs were no more than
skin stretched tight over bone. I could count my ribs. Beyond this precipitous
loss of weight I also experienced the other physical effects of starvation. I
was disorientated, clinically depressed and overcame lethargy only by
expending large measures of psychic energy (Baugh, 2000: 39).
According to the Body Mass Index, a male who is 6‘5‖ and weighs 150 lbs has a BMI of
17.8, which is in the second percentile for body weight.9 Consequently, ninety-eight percent
of 6‘5‖ American males weigh more than Eugene Baugh did at the time.
Much like other ideological leaders who impose diet restrictions, Behera apparently did not
practice what he preached. In fact, Behera reputedly often ate extremely expensive
gourmet foods, which group members paid for. Behera demanded the best quality food at
all times, cooked to meet his particular specifications (Elliott Lane, 2001: 5). Behera
enforced dietary restrictions for his followers, but did not adhere to those nutritional
limitations himself. When he was fasting, however, he expected followers to also fast,
regardless of whether they needed to eat, or whether it was on weekends, when he usually
allowed them to eat (Baugh, 2000: 62).
Mediated Anorexia
Mediated anorexia is a situation in which a subordinate, acting on behalf of the leader,
restricts members‘ food intake. For example, Anne Hamilton-Byrne is an ideological group
leader who by-and-large used intermediaries to enforce food restrictions on group children,
since she spent extended periods away from her immediate followers. Anne Hamilton-
Byrne was the leader of a group in Australia called The Family or the Great White
Brotherhood. Anne adopted several children and attempted to groom them as future
‗inheritors of the earth‘ who would continue with her prophetic visions after the earth was
consumed by a holocaust (Hamilton-Byrne, 1995: 1). Anne was almost entirely physically
absent from raising her adopted children. She, however, directed adult members of the
group (aunties) to care for them. Anne spent about half of the year in Australia and even
then only saw ‗her‘ children on weekends. For all intents and purposes the aunties were
surrogate mothers to the children, because ―[t]he aunties taught us, fed us, supervised our
lives and enforced Anne‘s rules and the punishments she outlined‖ (Hamilton-Byrne, 1995:
14).
For the most part, Anne did not directly impose anorexia, but rather directed others to
implement her restrictive orders. In her book, Anne Hamilton-Byrne‘s adopted daughter,
Sarah Hamilton-Byrne,10 recounts her childhood growing up in a very controlled
environment. Sarah lived with other children from the group, who all believed that they
were Anne‘s flesh and blood children. They lived in a highly regulated and monitored home,
especially concerning food issues. According to Sarah, Anne Hamilton-Byrne was obsessed
with body image and weight. Once a week, sometimes more frequently, the aunties who
looked after the children would weigh them and pass on the information to Anne (Hamilton-
Byrne, 1995: 22). Sarah Hamilton-Byrne said of this experience:
quantities of rotten food (Giese, 2001: 3). Typically, Behera cooked up large Indian meals
on the weekends for everyone, but if the followers did not finish the food, he apparently left
it un-refrigerated until the following weekend (Giese, 2001: 3). According to some
accounts, Behera subsequently heated the rotten food and forced members to consume it.
Often mass diarrhea episodes followed the weekend meals, most likely due to the fact that
the food had spoiled during the week (Giese, 2001: 3).
Former member Eugene Baugh writes that he shed critical amounts of weight while a
member in the Disciples of Jesus Christ group:
I was gradually literally starving. In a year I shed 60 pounds. At 6‘5‖ tall I
weighed 150 pounds. I had a 32‖ waist. My arms and legs were no more than
skin stretched tight over bone. I could count my ribs. Beyond this precipitous
loss of weight I also experienced the other physical effects of starvation. I
was disorientated, clinically depressed and overcame lethargy only by
expending large measures of psychic energy (Baugh, 2000: 39).
According to the Body Mass Index, a male who is 6‘5‖ and weighs 150 lbs has a BMI of
17.8, which is in the second percentile for body weight.9 Consequently, ninety-eight percent
of 6‘5‖ American males weigh more than Eugene Baugh did at the time.
Much like other ideological leaders who impose diet restrictions, Behera apparently did not
practice what he preached. In fact, Behera reputedly often ate extremely expensive
gourmet foods, which group members paid for. Behera demanded the best quality food at
all times, cooked to meet his particular specifications (Elliott Lane, 2001: 5). Behera
enforced dietary restrictions for his followers, but did not adhere to those nutritional
limitations himself. When he was fasting, however, he expected followers to also fast,
regardless of whether they needed to eat, or whether it was on weekends, when he usually
allowed them to eat (Baugh, 2000: 62).
Mediated Anorexia
Mediated anorexia is a situation in which a subordinate, acting on behalf of the leader,
restricts members‘ food intake. For example, Anne Hamilton-Byrne is an ideological group
leader who by-and-large used intermediaries to enforce food restrictions on group children,
since she spent extended periods away from her immediate followers. Anne Hamilton-
Byrne was the leader of a group in Australia called The Family or the Great White
Brotherhood. Anne adopted several children and attempted to groom them as future
‗inheritors of the earth‘ who would continue with her prophetic visions after the earth was
consumed by a holocaust (Hamilton-Byrne, 1995: 1). Anne was almost entirely physically
absent from raising her adopted children. She, however, directed adult members of the
group (aunties) to care for them. Anne spent about half of the year in Australia and even
then only saw ‗her‘ children on weekends. For all intents and purposes the aunties were
surrogate mothers to the children, because ―[t]he aunties taught us, fed us, supervised our
lives and enforced Anne‘s rules and the punishments she outlined‖ (Hamilton-Byrne, 1995:
14).
For the most part, Anne did not directly impose anorexia, but rather directed others to
implement her restrictive orders. In her book, Anne Hamilton-Byrne‘s adopted daughter,
Sarah Hamilton-Byrne,10 recounts her childhood growing up in a very controlled
environment. Sarah lived with other children from the group, who all believed that they
were Anne‘s flesh and blood children. They lived in a highly regulated and monitored home,
especially concerning food issues. According to Sarah, Anne Hamilton-Byrne was obsessed
with body image and weight. Once a week, sometimes more frequently, the aunties who
looked after the children would weigh them and pass on the information to Anne (Hamilton-
Byrne, 1995: 22). Sarah Hamilton-Byrne said of this experience:
