"I'm a Boy Anorexic"

This Sunday, July 6, BBC America will air the latest installment of its body image documentary series. The latest episode, titled "I'm a Boy Anorexic" will follow three young boys through their battle with anorexia. Anorexia is often thought to be a phenomenon that is particular to teenage girls, but the truth is that about 10% of anorexics are male. Despite the way the media ravages girls' self image and self esteem, there is at least a substantial degree of awareness about the need for vigilance when girls take dieting to extremes. For males, however, their symptoms often go unrecognized and untreated, and there can be stigma for men or boys suffering from a "girl issue." Additionally, about 20% of male anorexics are gay; there appears to be some fear by straight males of being percieved as homosexual if they admit to struggling with an ED.

Eating disorders are terrible for everyone, male or female, and I'm glad that the BBC chose to bring light to a segment of ED sufferers that do not usually get much recognition, hopefully it will result in some parents/friends/etc--or undiagnosed anorexics themselves--having a light bulb moment and realizing that there is a problem they have been overlooking.

For a long time (from when he was three until about age seven) we had a problem with my younger brother making himself throw up after almost every single meal. He was in therapy for a while and is now almost 13, with no symptoms, but it was really an issue of concern for a while. I am not sure if it fell into the pre-ED category or if it was just an anxiety issue, but after dealing with my bullshit my parents were understandably very worried about the behavior. I have a history of EDs on both sides of my family, but my brother is the first male (that I know of) that has had hints of eating/body issues. (Although I was deep into ED mode during that time as well,
I have never purged, so that behavior is not something he could have picked up from me).

The show airs on Sunday night, July 6, at 10 PM eastern. I'm leaving for my fieldwork on Saturday, and by Sunday night I will be sans electricity, much less BBC, but I will hopefully be able to track down clips or commentary when I get back.