The Hidden Story: LGBTQ+ Men and Eating Disorders
By Heeya Shah, Project ANA
Despite making up only about 5% of the male population, gay men account for up to 42% of men with eating disorders. However, their struggle remains invisible.
Introduction
Eating disorders are severe mental conditions where a person changes eating habits and has an unhealthy fixation on their weight/appearance or food. They come in many types, including anorexia nervosa (eating too little because of intense fear of gaining weight), bulimia nervosa (eating too much and then purging), and binge eating disorder (eating a large amount of food but feeling shame afterwards).
Eating disorders are a huge problem because they deprive people of the nutrition that they need. Additionally, according to a study by Paola Miotto and Antonio Preti published in ScienceDirect (2007), eating disorders can lead to an increased risk of suicide, even in males.
However, there is a popular misconception that only females get eating disorders, which is not true. Men make up about 1/3 of all eating disorders, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). Sadly, this only represents the diagnosed cases. Many cases of male eating disorders go undiagnosed due to stigma.
Additionally, LGBTQ+ males face an even bigger problem in the world of eating disorders. While the public treats eating disorders as a cis/heterosexual female problem, the unique problems of both toxic masculinity and queer culture creates a new conflict for LGBTQ+ men.
Context
Despite the prevalence of eating disorders among LGBTQ+ men, they are often overlooked in conversations about mental health and body image.
Pressures (like muscularity and leanness) on LGBTQ+ men with eating disorders contribute to increased vulnerability. They face even more pressure than non-LGBTQ+ men because they’re a minority (about 5% of men) and are discriminated often. Studies from Equip Health show that gay men are 7 times more likely to report binge-eating than straight men. This is because a lot of exposure to stigma, rejection, and discrimination increases the chances of an eating disorder.
Additionally, this isn’t just about food or appearance. It’s a coping mechanism for men who are struggling with their identities. Controlling the body becomes a way to deal with feelings of invisibility or trauma.
Sociocultural Aspect
LGBTQ+ men are in a complicated situation. They must follow traditional male ideas (stoicism, bulk, strength, etc.) while also conforming to the expectations of the LGBTQ+ society (youth, leanness, perfection). This creates an environment where self-worth is tied to looks.
This makes queer cultural expectations clash with traditional male ones. Since both expectations are complete opposites, it’s hard for LGBTQ+ males to conform to both. You can’t do everything at once, right?
This fuels harmful behaviors like severe calorie restriction, bingeing, purging, over-exercising, and using steroids.
Additionally, the stigma of being LGBTQ+ can cause people to turn to disordered eating as a coping mechanism. When pressure from society makes people feel unworthy, being in control of their body makes them feel better.
To intensify this already crushing pressure, LGBTQ+ dating apps like Grindr categorize body types (twinks, bears, jocks, etc.) and have strict rules for each. It turns a person’s identity into their body type. For example, if a young LGBTQ+ man feels like he needs
to be a twink to be beautiful, he may engage in severe calorie restriction to become more lean. On the other hand, if he feels like he has to become a jock, he might engage in overexercising and steroid abuse, leading to muscle dysmorphia.
Dating apps are built like video games. They base a person’s entire identity off of visuals. This leads to a sense of thinking that it’s only your body that matters, which leads to eating disorders. All of this is based upon likes or views. This “categorizing” and basing everything on likes/views/clicks is called the gamification of attraction.
The Numbers
The psychological and cultural pressures that LGBTQ+ males have to go through materialize as alarming realities in data. Below, you’ll find some of the shocking data that was found.
According to statistics, gay men are seven times more likely to report binge-eating and twelve times more likely to report purging than heterosexual men. While this makes it sound like LGBTQ+ men report eating disorders more than heterosexual men, these numbers prove that behaviors like forced vomiting or laxative abuse are actually desperate mechanisms used by LGBTQ+ men to conform to society’s standards. Furthermore, research shared by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) reveals that gay and bisexual men comprise up to 42% of all males seeking eating disorder treatment. While they may seem a minority, they make up almost half of all male eating disorder cases. This overrepresentation proves that eating disorders are not only a female or heterosexual male issue, they affect the male LGBTQ+ community too.
Why is Nobody Talking About This?
Despite these alarming statistics, this remains completely hidden because a wall of shame silences LGBTQ+ men from asking for help. On one hand, eating disorders are attributed to females, and the tests screen for female symptoms, leaving males undiagnosed. It also makes men feel weak.
On the other hand, within the LGBTQ+ community itself, the hyper-visual pressure to have a perfect body gives LGBTQ+ men a lot of stress. Admitting that you have an eating disorder means that you fail to fit into the LGBTQ+ standards.
This double pressure creates a dangerous force on LGBTQ+ men, who have to suffer even more than heterosexual men.
Making these issues known requires moving past stereotypes and taking actual action. Healthcare centers should implement better screening tests designed specifically for LGBTQ+ males, and have routine checkups. At the same time, dating sites like Grindr should destroy these toxic labels and all this gamification by diversifying the body types they show. True healing can only begin when these stereotypes are destroyed and we recognize that LGBTQ+ men need support too.
Resources
Miotto, P., & Preti, A. (2007). Eating disorders and suicide ideation: the mediating role of depression and aggressiveness. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 48(3), 218–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.01.006
Schomaker, M. (2019). National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. https://anad.org/
Schlapp-Gilgoff, M. (2024, October 25). Eating Disorders In LGBTQIA+ Populations – NEDA. National Eating Disorders Association.
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/eating-disorders-in-lgbtqia-populations/
