Sexist Eating Disorders Awareness Campaign

A few weeks ago, signs went up in our college's dining center.

They read as following:

For information about or help with an eating disorder, please call CAPS [Counseling and Psychological Services] at [phone number redacted] to arrange for a consultation with a counselor.

Pretty good advice, right?

There's just one problem with this campaign.

These signs were only put in the women's restroom.

As if only women had eating disorders, all women were at increased risk of eating disorders, and only women could be concerned about someone with a possible eating disorder.

While it is true that the majority of people with diagnosed eating disorders are female, even conservative numbers estimate that 5 to 10 percent of patients diagnosed with anorexia and 10 to 15 percent of patients diagnosed with bulimia are male,¹ with one Harvard University study showing that up to 25 percent of patients with these disorders are male.² In addition, males account for 40 percent of individuals with binge eating disorder.³

In other words, even the most conservative numbers estimate that 1 in 20 people diagnosed with eating disorders are male. Not to mention that these numbers only reflect the number of people diagnosed with eating disorders, and the true rate of incidence is probably much higher. Men are less likely to seek help for eating disorders due to the stigma of them being perceived as "women's diseases," and are less likely to be diagnosed with them for similar reasons.⁴

In light of these numbers, why did Psych Services only see fit to put these signs in the women's restroom?

Because no matter what the numbers say, people think that eating disorders only affect women. Because people think that only women are affected by images in the media and only women care about their appearance. Because people think that men who struggle with these issues don't exist.

I'm sick and tired of this kind of thinking. This is going to sound heretical on a feminist blog, but we need to acknowledge that men have problems too. We need to acknowledge that the kyriarchy hurts everyone, women and men alike.

As an aside, one of my female friends hasn't used the women's bathroom in the dining center since these signs went up. I must condemn any action which makes people uncomfortable using the toilet facilities to which they are entitled.

This campaign excludes people who might be affected by eating disorders, reinforces harmful stereotypes, and makes people uncomfortable using the restroom.

Surely there's a better way to go about this.



1. Braun, Devra Lynn. "Eating Disorders in Males." Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health eJournal. 1997;2(2).

2. Hudson, James I. et al. "The Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication." Biol Psychiatry. 1 Feb. 2007; 61(3): 348–358.

3. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. "Binge Eating Disorder." June 2008. Accessed 19 Apr. 2010. http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/binge.htm

4. "Men Less Likely to Seek Help for Eating Disorders." Mental Health Weekly 9 Apr. 2001.