See Me Champion, Tommy Kelly, talks about eating disorder stigma in the media. Please be aware this piece will touch on emotive topics.
As a man who has suffered an eating disorder of 20 years, I believe the media doesn’t help the stigma that surrounds eating disorders. They highlight women mostly, and very rarely men, and often when they do feature men it’s focusing on exercise addiction, with no context that it’s part of the illness. They often use shock tactics like focusing on low bodyweight of females and on the food intake instead of the issues going on in people’s heads and the trauma that caused the eating disorder.
The idea is portrayed that men have eating disorders as almost a choice and life decision gone wrong, when that’s completely wrong. For many, we have a genetic predisposition and something in life triggers this, and you use food as a coping mechanism to feel in control as your life is out of control.
The media needs more education around men in general in regards to how eating disorders don’t really have any dissimilarities between men and women. They are mental illnesses with physical symptoms and the split between male and female sufferers is far more 50/50 than statistics of 1 in 4 male sufferers would have you believe. This is simply because men don’t come forward due to this stigma.
I think going forward the media needs to highlight all body shapes who experience eating disorders and not perpetuate this thin and frail look, as people can look healthy, yet be suffering the most in their heads. There should be both female and male representation to highlight how it doesn’t discriminate against anyone regardless of sex, social economic status, religion or colour.
