Dobell & Harrison: An Unspoken Stigma
By Kathleen Dobell And Graylin Harrison, Guest Columnist
Published on Friday, February 3, 2012
A few months ago, Dartmouth’s Eating Disorder Peer Advisors celebrated “Love Your Body Day.” Dedicated to the celebration of our bodies and the promotion of a positive body image, the event attracted a large number of visitors eager to implement these basic EDPA philosophies. Not surprisingly, most of those who stopped by were female. Of the very few men who did, many were “lurkers.” They walked in, hovered by the door in an attempt to remain unnoticed and then scanned the room and left before we could tell them about the raffle for an iPod shuffle. The remaining men, an even smaller group, were much more receptive to our endeavors; they decorated T-shirts and thoughtfully completed self-promoting Mad-Libs — kudos to these guys. But why are there so few of them? And why is it not surprising? It seems that most guys here at Dartmouth, bookworms and bros alike, are content to overlook the issue of eating disorders. Perhaps they are ashamed to admit vulnerability; perhaps they don’t think eating disorders could ever affect them. This mindset is not confined to our sliver of reality here in the Upper Valley. The American Psychological Association notes a similar, broader phenomenon: Most men consider eating disorders “woman diseases” and are subsequently less likely to seek help. The unfortunate truth is that eating disorders could, and do, affect anyone — even guys.
One in every 10 individuals diagnosed with eating disorders are male, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. This same organization asserts that men are less likely to be diagnosed with eating disorders, but in cases where the disorders are acknowledged, it is usually at a later and more severe stage. These findings suggest that, if these undiagnosed cases were properly accounted for, the prevalence of males with clinical eating disorders would be substantially higher.
A widespread notion among students and adults alike is that eating disorders affect men and women in the same way, but this is not the case. Although in smaller proportions than among females, disorders like anorexia and bulimia are clearly evident within the male population. In contrast, steroid use, excessive exercise and obsessive single-nutrient food consumption predominantly affect males. But these tendencies often come off as unproblematic; our campus and the pop culture we ooze over seems to condone this behavior.
Men too can fixate on food and perpetuate compulsive behaviors. Muscle Milk, for example, is a protein heavy, low-carb, low-fat miracle juice that is incredibly popular on our campus. Although the widespread consumption of this substance is clearly different from anorexia, both are rooted in the same maladaptive thoughts that drive disordered eating habits. Many guys want to “bulk up.” Maybe they are anxious about their bodies, perhaps obsessive to the point of disordered. But we can easily overlook this behavior as common or even good. Guys should want to be bigger, right? Not necessarily — guys should want to be healthy. Too often our society disregards maladaptive eating habits unless they fall in the realm of females starving or purging. With this oversimplification, we stigmatize the equally legitimate problem of males with eating disorders. Our campus and our society should acknowledge this and eradicate the stigma of eating disorders in general, especially among men.
The desire among both men and women to slim down or bulk up often compels disordered eating habits. You may wonder what this so-called “disordered eating” really is. The answer lies in the imperfection of diagnostic processes. No two eating disorders are identical. There are millions of ways an individual could behaviorally express his or her suffering, and it is impossible to clinically define each instance. Therefore, some of these cases do not fit neatly within the predetermined diagnostic labels, and these individuals are said to exhibit “disordered eating” tendencies.
An alternative definition refers to anything outside the norm in terms of eating and exercise habits. So then the next question arises, what is the norm? And this is where we can all help. Men and women who believe that they may be suffering with an eating disorder should seek support on how best to work toward developing healthy eating and exercise behaviors. People who are suffering should not feel constrained by gender stereotypes. It is okay to ask for help.
Kathleen Dobell ’14 and Graylin Harrison ’14 are EDPAs.
The disorder is in your heads. Men don’t think of themselves as being afflicted or diseased because of their eating. Men enjoy eating like they enjoy all of the good things in life, eating can be a sport, a competition, a thing of interest and study of food, but food to men is not a problem, food is how we live and as such we give it the high priority that it deserves. Men take responsibility for how they look. Men realize that genetics play their role and after that it is UP TO THEM to do whatever amount of exercise they feel good about doing. Women who want to recruit men to decorate T-Shirts for some dopey idea about eating that they have developed for themselves as another excuse for their being screwed up, are going to be sorely disappointed in perpetuity. Fat guys know why they’re fat, skinny guys know why their skinny and they don’t need to get together with anyone, let alone women, to cry about it in a hand-holding group of babies.
By Kim on Feb 3 | 12:16 pm
I think a good question would be, why are women 90% of those diagnosed with eating disorders? What percentage of Dartmouth men were involved in interscholastic athletics in high school? The smallest minority of a minority of any boys or men who had an eating disorder are involved in athletics. The same general principle holds for women as well. It’s people who sit around obsessing about themselves and doing nothing on their couches who are the eating disorder problems. I would guess you could count the number of men at Dartmouth with a true eating disorder on one hand at most. Decorating T-shirts? Recruiting men for eating disorders and being disappointed that you’re not getting your 10% or whatever, is like recruiting people to sign up for a disease and not getting as many as you want. Can you say, “NUTS.”
By Bobo on Feb 3 | 12:37 pm
Men pick women based on looks. Being fat hurts. Women pick men based on other factors. Being a little fat is OK.
By Dick 08 on Feb 3 | 8:15 pm
I am a male who participated in athletics and suffered from disordered eating. I got help and I am much better for it. I am not sure why people deride such a possibility. Fostering a more supportive environment might help others to have the courage to get assistance rather than continue to suffer.
Many people have body image issues (too skinny, too fat, too whatever). This is likely normal behavior given the state of society. However, this concern can become an obsession that negatively impacts your life. That was my experience.
By Dartmouth Male on Feb 6 | 2:15 am
There are 60 all women’s colleges in the United States. There are 3 men’s colleges in the United States. Dartmouth should return to an all men’s college in order to help restore the balance. Men are hugely under represented in higher education largely because all education is attempting to social engineer the male out of boys and men. Education is a hostile environment for men as can be seen from the constant attacks on all things male and the promotion of all things female at Dartmouth College. This is a serious problem and it isn’t just bad for the men and boys, it’s bad for everyone.
By Anonymous on Feb 6 | 10:29 pm
Anonymous 10:29pm, Painting disordered eating as a purely female phenomenon does a disservice to men who suffer from it. As Dobell and Harrison point out, many guys want to bulk up. I believe “getting hyooooge” is characterized as a masculine pursuit in today’s culture. Guys even want to “get lean/ripped/cut.” My point is that men are concerned with body image (God forbid!). The problem is when such a pursuit becomes an obsession detrimental to one’s mental health. Your characterization of eating disorders as purely female is tantamount to calling all mental illness “women’s hysteria.” I hope that you recognize that mental illness affects both genders, as does disordered eating (especially since it’s a type of mental illness).
The ultimate goal is to help those who are suffering from an illness. I would say constructive criticism on the best methods to achieve that goal is helpful. Questioning the validity or existence of the illness is not.
By Dartmouth Male on Feb 8 | 9:34 am