Gay Men and Mental Health
According to a recent report in Psychiatry Advisor, gay men are 3 times more likely to suffer from an eating disorder than their straight counterparts.
What’s more, nearly 15% of all gay men report dealing with anorexia or bulimia during their lifetime.
The concern is that most of the conversations around this topic focus on girls and women, leaving large gaps with mental health intervention strategies.
More: Major signs you have serious body image issues
A survey based report published in February by Attitude UK revealed that nearly 60% of gay men are unhappy with their bodies (see post).
Gay men an eating disorders
The reasons for the higher incidence of eating disorders among gay men is multi-factorial in nature. Most health experts agree, however, the major reason relates to unattainable portrayals of beauty.
“Even within public health, the ads geared toward gay men present images of muscled men with small waistlines, which is impossible for every gay man to live up to and is not the only representation of good health,” says Michael Everett, MHS, an HIV educator and chief executive officer of Intimacy and Color in Atlanta.
More from Psychiatry Advisor:
“These societal standards bleed over into a sexualized subculture that places a premium on muscularity and masculinity. It can be witnessed in the ads on popular gay men's hookup apps like Grindr, where many profiles specify, “No Asians or Fems,” creating a tangible hierarchy of physical desirability. Whiteness, low-body fat, physical height, muscles, and masculine features are prized, while darker skin, slight stature, and feminine affectation are ridiculed.”
One gay man explains his struggles:
“For so long, I starved and drugged my body, offered it to the highest bidder because I was running from this pain — this idea that I was not correct as I was,” Jamal Jones, a queer person of color (QPOC) activist and case manager at Friendship Place in Washington DC, said. “There's a lot of assimilation that happens in our communities. Folks want to be desired and accepted. Unfortunately, queer male communities have adopted…a very white and very superficial way of viewing the body.”
More: You never get over being a fat gay kid
There are other issues as well, including “Bigorexia”, a term used to describe someone who has muscle dysmorphia. Per the article, younger gay and bisexual men are six time more likely to use anabolic steroids than straight guys.
