D istorted P icture
The 'cult of the hunk' means gay and bisexual men
are at greater risk for eating disorders by Inga Sorensen
hin is (still) in.
From the gaunt of “heroin
chic” to the cut of a pumped gym
rat, advertising and entertain-
k» ment feed society a barrage of
body expectations.
Just scan a club dance floor or the street, and
it appears the gay community is buying into
body image more than anyone else. It’s not just
speculation—research backs it up. But this
quest for a perfect body sometimes has grave
health consequences^
“Survey studies of homosexual men have
shown that they are more dissatisfied with their
body weight and shape than heterosexual men
and that they consider their physical appear
ance to be more important to their sense of
self,” writes Dr. Daniel Carlat in a ground
breaking study published last summer in the
:
American Journal of Psychiatry.
He and a team of associates tagged homo
sexuality and bisexuality as risk factors for males
when it comes to the
development of eating
disorders.
“You have to be in a
culture that values slim
ness and also have an
individual vulnerability
to the disorder,” says Dr.
Arnold Andersen, head
of the eating disorders
program
at
the
University of Iowa. He
doesn’t dismiss a genetic
component, but con
cludes that social rein
forcement is the domi
nant element.
Articles and adver
tisements in magazines
targeted
to
young
women are 10 times
more likely to focus on
weight loss than those
targeted to young men,
he says. But “pockets of u
males where weight loss '
or shape change become &
high priorities, like high y
school wrestlers, models ®
or actors" may show 15 to 20 percent with eat
ing disorders.
Andersen says this is because society sends
the false message that “If you will only be thin,
or shaped in a classic way, you are going to be
liked.”
In reality, he adds, attaining a slim or buff
body is a “pseudo-solution to a lot of issues of
self-esteem, social acceptance and identity.”
Not to mention the fact that eating disor
ders can cause great harm to one’s body.
“In patients with anorexia, starvation can
damage viral organs such as the heart and
brain,” warns a National Institutes of Health
pamphlet. To protect itself, the body shifts into
“slow gear.” The NIH brochure then lists
dozens of ways body activity deteriorates.
One of the first things to go is a man’s sex
drive. Andersen speculates that in some extreme
instances this may be an example of internalized
homophobia. The patient is not happy with his
sexual orientation and is subconsciously fighting
it, punishing his body in the process.
Drew Cronyn, a Manhattan doctor, studied
150 gay men and presented his findings two
V
years ago at a meeting of the Gay and Lesbian
Medical Association.
“Men tend to manifest eating disorders in
much different ways than women,” he says,
adding that women often eat less, while men
tend to engage in “excessive working out.”
But the language and the concepts they use
are often the same as heterosexual women suf
fering from eating disorders.
“It was very much they were doing this
because they thought this was what men want
ed of them,” says Cronyn.
“One of the reasons why gays are over repre
sented in males with eating disorders is proba
bly because within the community of gay males
there is a higher value on slimness,” Andersen
adds.
Lesbians seem less vulnerable to eating dis
orders than either heterosexual women or gay
men. Andersen points to socialization traits
within that community as an explanation.
Cronyn adds, “Most studies show that women’s
criteria of attraction is
not so much based on
physical appearance as is
men’s.”
Battling eating disor
ders can be tough, but
Cronyn says an impor
tant first step is simply
talking about it.
Andersen adds that
people
can
assess
whether they are at risk
for developing an eating
disorder by asking them
selves a few simple ques
tions: Have they lost sig
nificant weight on a diet?
Do they engage in binge
eating? Do they obses
sively exercise? Are they
inducing vomiting or
purging by other means?
He says if they answer
yes to any of the last
H three questions, they
^should seek a clinical
evaluation.
i According
to
Andersen, counseling is
important to get to the underlying issues and
impart effective problem solving and coping
strategies. “Good treatment for eating disorders
treats people individually,” he says.
He also urges people to break the wall of
silence and speak about the issue with their
friends who may be suffering from eating disor
ders.
“If I see a person who is about to be run over
by a truck, I would either yell or pull them back
on the curb,” he says.
Eating disorders are not different. “We need
to do the right thing. It’s how you do it, not
whether you should do it.”
■ N ational E ating D isorders A wareness
WEEK is Feb. 23-28. Free screenings will be offered
at more than 1,000 sites nationwide. For more
information, call 1-800-969-6642.
The screening site in Portland is S t . VINCENT
M edical C enter , 21 6-2025; in Hillsboro it’s
T uality H ealth E ducation C enter , 681-
1700; in Klamath Falls it’s K lamath M ental
H ealth , (541) 882-7291. There is no designated
screening site in Southwestern Washington.
L .
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