Inequality In Eating Disorders

Article in brief: Women and men have been suffering from inequality for years. In this article the writer talks about a new branch of inequality that discusses eating disorders.

The battle of the sexes has been around since the beginning of time. Be it in the workplace or random activities, both genders refuse to have the other gender overshadow theirs. The idea of the other gender getting more rights is simply maddening! In most cases, men are favored over women, but with this certain disease mentioned below, it’s the opposite.

For decades, women have been struggling with their weight. The softer gender tends to be more insecure about their figure to the extent where they’d risk their own health to have that Barbie doll image. It’s a known fact that women have always been self-conscious and as such, people thought that this obsession was limited to women only; and that’s where they were at fault.

It’s quite sexist to presume that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia can only affect women. It has been proven that 10% of people suffering from Anorexia are in fact men. It causes serious health concerns and it’s unfortunate that males think that they’re immune to it. Mankind in general has an issue with the way they look, and in response, a new term has been created to explain the male version of Anorexia: “Manorexia”.

The same way women are affected by the media and want to look like supermodels, men can feel the same way too. Manorexia is not an official medical term but it is often used by the media in medical reports in order to differentiate between the sexes. In this disorder, men would take drastic measures in order to bulk up and have a chiseled body. They would take steroids, injections and even sink into starvation mode.

Now, with women, it’s often easy to diagnose an anorexic case as it shows throughout her physical appearance. But with men, it can be a bit tricky as the measures men take can appear as normal manly behavior. Due to that, men can sometimes refuse interventions and others are sadly not taken seriously when they express their worries even though, according to the National Eating Disorders Association, at least one million men in the United States are battling manorexia.

As we all know, in order to recover, awareness has to be present. The cure starts with awareness. But how can manorexics recover if they’re not acknowledged? Several actions can be taken such as the formation of organizations, support groups, and shifting the focus to both genders rather than concentrating only on women.

The media is a major factor in starting this disorder as well as ending it. Outlets such as newspapers, magazines and television should start discussing the causes, effects and symptoms of anorexia on both genders.

Lastly, advocates have to speak up about the challenges they faced and the steps to recovery. Women have survivors to look up to such as Demi Lovato and Christina Ricci, so males who have been effected need to inform other men that it does get better.

Staying strong is a key to getting better as having emotional strength can enforce change. The first step to recovery is admitting that a problem does exist. So instead of shooting down men who believe they have a problem, they should be encouraged to express their concerns and actually seek professional help.