They’re often (mis)represented as glamorous and sometimes even humorous.
Furthermore, they are represented by primarily white, heterosexual, cis-gender
women of high socioeconomic standing.
Eating Disorder Awareness Week is right around the corner, making it a prime
opportunity to call attention to this problem. Eating disorder campaigns that
highlight just one race, gender, class, age, ability and sexual orientation are a
disservice to the organization and to those it’s trying to reach.
The preconceptions they reinforce are what kept Benji (above) from seeking help
early on. They’re what keep people from recognizing symptoms in their friends and
family, or seeking help for themselves.
But one-sided ads aren’t made this way for no reason. They stem from- and
contribute to- a vicious cycle that limits our understanding of eating disorders and
who can get them.
“Due to our historically biased view that eating disorders only affect white women,
relatively little research has been conducted utilizing participants from racial and
ethnic minority groups.” –National Eating Disorder Association
While there is not much information on eating disorders amongst any groups
besides benchmark, there’s enough to tell us that the “status quo” is anything but.
In April of 2015, the Journal of Adolescent Health released a study assessing
eating disorders amongst US college students of various gender identities. This
study was monumental for being the first of it’s kind and for breaking down notions
that hetero, cis women are at highest risk of eating disorders. In fact, transgender
students reported higher rates of eating disorder diagnosis than any other
subgroup.