Male Eating Disorders : The Silent Struggle

Mary Briody Mahowald recognizes that many feminists believe that eating disorders among women stems from a "rebellion against patriarchy through rejection of one's own sexuality" ( Mahowald, 299). However, she also points out theories that focus more on sexism and class discrimination.

Topic: What is causing young adults and teens to develop eating disorders and how can we help them?

My current view on food is that it creates a sense of comfort and fulfillment, yet this was not always the case. During my teenage years I struggled with an ongoing eating disorder. During that time I viewed food as a threat, or an enemy. As part of my recovery process, I was given a task to make friends with food. I first approached this task with a closed mind, finding a wrong with every meal I ate. My view changed completely when my friends took me out to a vegan diner for a burger and sweet potato fries meal.

A few years ago, when I played field hockey, most of my family members complimented on my weight and said I have changed a lot in years. After, one day when my family from Pakistan skyped us and said they wanted to meet me and my siblings, one of them commented on my weight and said I have gone “fat” than I was a few years ago. I felt really insecure about my body and quit field hockey as a result. I started to skip lunch in school and go down in the art room and not surround myself with people. I started to eat less and start to be more depressive. Victims of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia are ignored and disgusted by society because they do not fit the “perfect model image” of what society has grown among women especially. In my culture, I have seen many older women talk about how they must dress to “impress” their husband or how they compete against other women and compare each other. As a young woman, I have been constantly being told to lose weight so I can get married at an early age or go to the gym when you have free time. Media has imposed thinness through the female and male models advertising, though fast food restaurants who have included “healthier” choices, etc. Although our background and culture play a strong role in our eating habits, other factors like family, environment, low self-esteem, and difficult experiences can cause someone to become anorexic or bulimic. In today's society, many people are affected by eating disorders, are impacted by the images of slim women and muscular men appearing on front covers of fashion magazines. These eating disorders are most common among young teen as they starve or binge themselves trying to attain what the fashion industry considers being the “ideal” figure of a perfect woman or man. For example, in the Meghan Trainor’s song “All About That Bass”, where she sends a message which can be harmful to females

In America today, there are unrealistic beauty standards women must face daily. When women can not meet this idea of perfection pushed by society, some women will risk their health just to fit a cultural stigma. Women are held to an insanely high criterion when it comes to beauty which tends to lead to negative body image. Ten percent of women in The United States of America report symptoms consistent with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Which concludes that a total of 75 percent of all American women endorse some unhealthy thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to food or their body image-UNC Medical Department Although eating disorders are not subjective to women only, after reading “Beating Anorexia and Gaining Feminism” Marni Grossman and “Feminism and Anorexia: A Complex Alliance” Su Holmes, I will discuss how eating disorders coexist in the lives of women who struggle with body image, and what feminism can do to give these women a second chance.

The majority of the population suffering from eating disorders is female, so lets look at the general prototype of a patient. She is generally a teenager, from a middle to upper class background and white. She generally excels at schoolwork and extra-curricular activities, and is often times labeled a perfectionist. How does this differ from a male with eating disorders? Not all that much actually, he also does well in school although sports tend to be overemphasized.

Eating disorders are largely considered to be a "female disease". Statistics seem to validate this perception – of the estimated five million-plus adults in the United States who have an eating disorder, only ten percent are thought to be male ((1)). Many professionals, however, hold the opinion that these numbers are incorrect – it is impossible to base the statistics on anything other than the number of adults diagnosed with eating disorders, and men are much less likely than women to seek help for such a problem ((2)). This means that the male population probably suffers more from eating disorders than the numbers show.

In longing to reach the norm many people fall victim to these detrimental illnesses. Sadly, women are more subject to these eating disorders than men, the number of men suffering from eating disorders is on the rise. Our culture puts pressure on each of its inhabitants to attain this ideal body type that is unrealistic for most people. The images that pollute television and magazines make us all feel inadequate if we don't meet the credentials of slenderness; therefore, continuing the role of our society in the development of eating disorders.

Eating disorders are one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the United States. Although this disease is typically viewed as a female disorder, males are greatly affected and may go undiagnosed and untreated due to the attached stigma. Thus, it is important to understand the risk factors associated with the development of eating disorders in males. These risk factors include: athletic involvement, sexual orientation, pre-morbid obesity, and adverse childhood experiences. Eating disorder type and symptom presentation also varies between males and females. Males typically do not meet the criteria to be categorized as Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa, causing their condition to be classified as Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Symptom presentation is likely to include binge eating and excessive exercise rather than restrictive eating, purging, or other compensatory methods commonly seen in the female population. Several eating disorder assessments are available for use in clinical practice, most of which have been geared toward the female gender. New assessments, such as the Eating Disorder Assessment for Males, have been developed recently to try to hone in on the typical male symptomatology and their psychological processes. Prompt treatment of eating disorders, regardless of gender, is necessary to prevent the development of medical and psychological comorbidities. This process cannot begin until the diagnosis has been made; therefore, additional

The amount of males that are unsatisfied with their bodies has tripled in the last twenty-five years. According to Helen Fawkner, doctor of philosophy, it has increased from fifteen percent of the male population to forty-five percent. It is an extremely severe problem that most people are not aware of. It can lead to suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and eating disorders, but the majority of people think that males do not have to worry about it as much as females. However, they have the same amount of pressure to have the perfect figure as females, it is just not delineated. Body image and eating disorders are not just female problems, men go through the same issues.

Brewerton, Timothy D. "Eating disorders, trauma, and comorbidity: Focus on PTSD." Eating disorders 15.4 (2007): 285-304.

More women worry about their weight than men. It is a fact that among the adults, 38% of the women and 24% of the men were trying to lose weight. When you hear about Anorexia and Bulimia most people think of females. What people do not know is tons of males suffer from the same problem. I believe males should be more looked upon when it comes to this subject. Gymnasts, runners, body builders, rowers, wrestlers, racers, dancers, and swimmers are especially helpless against dietary problems on the grounds that their games require weight limitation. Approximately 10% of eating disordered individuals coming to the attention of mental health professionals were male, and Eating disorders do not discriminate on the basis of gender. Men can and do develop eating disorders.

There have been many studies related to the differences between men and women in many different topics. Gender differences relating to eating behaviors is not well studied. The socially accepted idea is that women suffer the most from eating disorders because of the beauty standards set by society. In the article Gender differences in eating behavior and eating pathology, the researchers take on the perspective of rumination, “a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy” (Opwis, Schmidt, Martin, & Salewski, 2017). Their reasoning for taking on this perspective was because there have been many studies showing that rumination is the reasoning for gender differences in many different topics. An example would be the gender differences for anxiety

Botha (2014) conducted a research on diagnosing men with anorexia nervosa (AN) and how difficult it can be for men to accept that they have an eating disorder. The research consisted of going back to hegemonic masculinity (men’s dominance and social power over women) in order to understand men’s expectations in society. The information collected was utterly broad although others were surprisingly intriguing. The first major point was that men`s hegemonic masculinity derives from what people believe that “true” or “real” masculinity is creating pressure for men to abide these expectations. Secondly, it is discussed that some researchers believe AN cannot exist in men because it has been conceptualized as a female phenomenon and therefore men

“More people die from eating disorders than any other psychiatric condition,” states the website Everyday Health. What are eating disorders? They are very serious and life-threatening illnesses that affect a person’s eating behavior/behaviors. Everyday Health also says, “According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), 20 million women currently living in the United States will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives.” Most eating disorders are directly related to beauty because they are characterized by a distorted perception of the body and self-image. In today’s society beauty is often the basis by which women are judged. Yet beauty is dangerous and unhealthy; it distorts the way women see themselves, and causes emotional, physical and relational problems.