MONDAY: Part One of our Stand Together, Stick Together #MHAW16 campaign: “Anorexia does not have a gender”. Written by Mentality…
Why is anorexia used as a term to describe a skinny white women?
Anorexia is often thought of as affecting only women, as this is what it is often portrayed in the media. However, this is not the case.
In fact, around 10% of those with eating disorders are males and this number is continuing to rise. With this illness affecting both males and females it is important not to give anorexia a gender. By doing so, males who may be struggling with anorexia may find it harder to ask for the help they need in order to recover.
It has been found that clinics and counsellors see many more females than males and this may be due to the fact that males are a lot more reluctant to seek help. It is important to realise that anorexia is not the only type of eating disorder. Other types of eating disorders include binge eating disorders such as bulimia. This is also often stereotyped as an eating disorder only females suffer with. However, binge eating disorder occurs almost equally in both males and females.
It is important to understand that eating disorders are different to the glamorised and stereotyped images portrayed in the media. A stereotype of this illness that often does not reflect culture and the many different gender.
In fact, this is actually a much bigger and important subject that we need to start talking about more!
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