“Pure and simple, the media focus too much on young female models and actresses with Eating Disorders. You rarely read about a man with an Eating Disorder in the papers and that’s why we’re so scared to admit that we have issues with food and eating.” Liam Grogan is 22 and for the past three years he has been recovering from anorexia and bulimia. While he feels that the media can not be blamed for his or any other eating disorders, he clearly feels that the media ignore the very real issue that is male eating disorders.
Although statistically Eating Disorders mostly effect the female population, Liam’s case is not rare. Between 15-25% of treated Eating Disorders are men or boys, and according to a recent article in the Evening Herald, approximately 4000 Irish boys aged 12-17 show signs of having an eating disorder. This shows that there are many who are not willing to receive medical or therapeutic care. Bodywhys communications officer, Ruth Ní Eidhin believes that there is a transparent reason as to why male sufferers are less likely to come forward with their Eating Disorder: “In general eating disorders are portrayed as something that happens to girls, 14, 15, 16 year old girls,” She points out, “…It’s portrayed as a phase teenage girls go through and snap out if it and get on with their lives.” Ms Ní Eidhin describes this notion as “utterly false” and highlights the idea that the media are partly responsible for this misconception: “The media perspective of an Eating Disorder is that it is something that happens to female models and no-one else, the more you see that Eating Disorder equals young female model, the more difficult it is for anyone else that doesn’t fit in to that category to deal with having that issue themselves.”
When Ms Ní Eidhin’s thoughts are considered it does not seem so strange that while 50% of reported Binge Eating Disorders in the UK were male cases in 2006, it is still seen as a recent and rare thing.
Dr. Marnie Healy, a specialist in eating disorders, describes how an eating disorder can be difficult to define: “There is no outline to define an eating disorder.” she begins “There are 3 main types, Anorexia, which is essentially restricting your diet so that you can be thinner or weigh less, Bulimia, which involves purging food either by intentionally getting sick or via laxatives, this can be to lose or maintain weight, and then there is binge eating which is where an individual will eat large amounts of food almost uncontrollably, usually to deal with pressure.” Dr. Healy also points out that many people do not realise that eating disorders do not always begin with issues with the body: “body dysmorphia is a mental illness which often will lead people into to developing an eating disorder, because they think they are too fat, no matter how thin the patient is. However some people resort to eating disorders as a coping mechanism to relieve some kind of emotional strain that has been placed on them.” Dr. Healy relates her point to the fact that eating disorders are the same for men as they are for women: “If these are the reason why people form eating disorders, it should not be that people have perceived E.Ds as only a female problem. Men have insecurities with their bodies, they get stressed by the pressures of life, so why do people not see that men can have eating disorders too? The only difference is that men are statistically less likely to come to a doctor like me and get help.”
Liam Grogan also bares these sentiments, he feels that as a man an eating disorder, it was harder to come forward because of the media discernment that it is exclusive a female issue, which added to his : “Having an eating disorder is hard no matter what…However as a man it was hard dealing with the fact that most people think that boys are not meant to have eating disorders.” In recent years it has finally been recognised in the media although not as much as Dr. Healy would like: “I get male patients telling me that they are ‘freaks’ or ‘wrong’ because they have never heard about a man having an eating disorder. Of course the media is blamed for this stigma, and it would be better to see more written about the fact that men can worry about weight and can take stress out on their bodies using food.” Ms. Ní Eidhin however feels that a small amount of the stigma was removed when John Prescott, former Deputy to Tony Blair, admitted he had suffered with Bulimia.: “[When] the former deputy Prime Minister
of England about two years ago came out and said ‘yeah I’ve had Bulimia for 20 years.’ Our equivalent organisation in England at the time [saw] their services sky rocket with men in their 30s, 40s and 50s saying ‘me too’.” In April 2008 Prescott admitted that he has battled with the Eating Disorder for nearly two decades. His confession resulted in a 67% increase in the amount of men seeking advice from Beat, a British Charity Organisation which focuses on Eating Disorders.
While Dr. Healy agrees that the Prescott case helped remove some amount of stigma, but that it has not done enough to remove it completely: “We still need to see more stories about men in the media. Nearly all of my male patients, and there have not been that many, have battled not only with the eating disorder, but also with the stigma. They all feel that they shouldn’t have this problem because it is a girl thing, they feel emasculated.” Liam Grogan agrees with this idea, saying that he was deeply embarrassed by his Eating Disorder: “Unacceptable would be the word I’d use to say how I felt, as a boy having an Eating Disorder, I didn’t feel normal. So I thought everyone else would think that too. It’s because I’d only ever read or heard about girls with Bulimia.” According to Marino Therapy Centre, the amount of men coming to them for help with an eating disorder would increase by 40% if the media fought more to remove the stigma affiliated with men and eating disorders.
Bodywhys have worked hard to focus in on how eating disorders can affect both genders, while still honing in on the fact that no eating disorder suffer is different from anyone else. Feburary is national eating disorder awareness month, and the organisation focused a lot on raising about the stigma associated with men and Eating Disorders. While Dr. Healy thinks that it was a positive thing, she feels it is not enough to make men feel more comfortable with their eating disorders.: “Bodywhys do a great amount to remove this stigma, they had an awareness campaign which focused on the fact that men can have eating disorders too. However, it’s not trendy to talk about these things. The likes of Heat magazine and your daily newspaper are only interested in what celebrity is looking awfully thin or awfully fat this week. The media need to make it trendy to remove these stigmas and make it trendy to seek help.”
As a sufferer of Bulimia and Anorexia, Liam feels that he is a rare success story in men overcoming an eating disorder: “It makes me angry that so many men out there are suffering because the media aren’t telling everyone it’s normal for anyone to have an eating disorder, and they can be helped. They don’t have to live in shame. When will people start to realise that we can suffer too?”
Spotting the signs:
We often feel that we could have done something to help a friend or family member who has suffered with an eating disorder before it went too far, here are some signs to watch out for:
- Obsession with an size and weight.
- Only eating certain types of food. Causing a fuss over having to eat certain things.
- Picking at food.
- Making excuses not to eat.
- Fluctuating weight.
- Mood swings.
- Excessive exercising
Support:
Bodywhys, the eating disorder association of Ireland:
Helpline: 1890 200 444
Email Support:alex@bodywhys.ie
B-eat (uk), beating eating disorders.
Online Support forum: http://www.b-eat.co.uk/HelpandSupport/MessageBoards
Samaritans Ireland.
Helpline: 1850 60 90 90
Text support: 0872609090
picking which character they could most relate to, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), the trendy one, Samantha (Kim Cattrall), the sexually confident one and the one who knows what she wants, Charlotte (Kristin Davis), the true romantic or Miranda( Cynthia Nixon), the cynical workaholic. Not for one second do I denounce the fact that women are becoming more sexually open, and are in fact more honest and free giving in their anecdotes from beneath the sheets than men, also designer labels do hold a special place in all girls hearts, be it Chanel Perfume, Manolo shoes, or for one aspiring journalist in particular, Mary Quant Dresses. That having been said, sex and the city took the stereotype one step too far and created a breed of designer hungry mini Carrie and Samanthas, who for some reason think it is ok to have multiple and short lived no-strings partners.
nner, and she is shown to be the most respected member of the tight circle of friends. The others appear to look up to her frivolous ways, but in reality they would most likely be making not-so-harsh remarks while her back was turned. Phrases such as “mutton dressed as lamb” and “sad old cow” spring sprightly to mind as a woman of her age behaving in such a way is far from admirable. I am not a believe in following all strict guidelines on how to behave according what is “socially acceptable”, however everybody who has set foot in the savage social world knows that a woman of her decorum would simply be described as a “slapper”. There is no kinder label which can be attached to the character. Had she been on an oldies’ version of The Hills, she would be judged as the unreliable, loose cannon who has a habit of leaving her self-respect on the bedroom floor. She is the stereotypical low self-esteemed individual who fools herself into thinking that being able to bed several men means that she is somehow valid. Something which has been passed on to many young woman, who think that if they behave like her, they can get whoever and whatever they crave.
