Don t blame them, tell them what to do, or how they should feel. It seems as though men have less coping resources out there than their female counterparts. When they do encounter professional help, it's usually not by voluntarily checking themselves into a clinic when they realize their dieting or exercising tactics have gone off the deep end. In most cases, they wind up at the doctor s office for symptoms to a related condition caused by their eating disorder, such as arthritic joints, cardiac, or respiratory problems. Guys are supposed to be strong and sturdy and eating disorders connote effeminate qualities, because it has to do with looking good and maintaining a figure.
Masculinity is broadcasted in the airwaves and in magazines as lean, mean muscled machine.
Some of this is because of the economy and the betrayal of working men and 'their' companies, but more of it is because men have started to listen to women. At its core, feminism makes sense to men. Although we know the number of men with eating disorders is much larger than what we thought, it s not clear if the rates are increasing. This is due, in part, by the lack of earlier studies to compare with current data. But, there have been small-scale indicators that the number of men seeking treatment is increasing every year.