Wicked Bodies: LGBTQ+ People and Eating Disorders

By Phillip Joy

Eating disorders are deadly. For example, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness in Canada. The causes of eating disorders are complex and the recovery journey for people living with eating disorders can often be difficult and challenging. For LGBTQ+ people recovery can be even harder. Resources that bring attention to this and that support LGBTQ+ people in their recovery are much needed. This is because traditionally eating disorders have been viewed as something only middle-class, white, straight, cis-women struggle with and treatments have reflected this assumption. We know this is not true as eating disorders can affect anyone regardless of sex, gender, race, or social-economic status. And because of this faulty assumption, many people are let to struggle through interventions that at the best do not recognize them and at the worst are harmful to them.

Social norms about (binary) genders and sexualities create knowledge and discourses that tell people how bodies are supposed to look and act to fit into these categories. If bodies are not aligned with these perceptions, people often try to change themselves to conform and avoid negative consequences of being different. Let’s be real here – weight stigma and fatphobia is real and only getting worse. Social media, capitalism, and other cultural influences are driving body ideals and although the causes of eating disorders are much more complex, we cannot ignore how these things are driving people’s behaviors related to eating, exercise, and other body practices.

Research has shown that LGBTQ+ youth are at increased risk of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors. This is not because they are LGBTQ+ but because of the minority stress related to being LGBTQ+ and the social and cultural ideas of hegemonic ideals of femininity and masculinity.

Our research stems from my own experiences as an LGBTQ+ person and the pressures to look and act a certain way. Our team also includes other members of the LGBTQ+ communities and allies. We are all committed to furthering conversations about eating disorders within LGBTQ+ communities. Through our work, we are also trying to help make the recovery journeys more supportive and effective for LGBTQ+ people living with eating disorders.

We talked with many eating disorder service providers in Canada, and they all told us the same thing – there are very few resources for LGBTQ+ people living with eating disorders. In our previous research, we also talked with many LGBTQ+ people living with eating disorders, and they told us how much it would have meant to them during their recovery to have been truly seen and supported by their healthcare team.

To address this gap, our team designed and created a pilot community-informed resource called Wicked Bodies—a digital resource toolkit that includes a short film and a discussion guidebook. Our goal in designing Wicked Bodies was to help reduce stigma, generate hope, and invite more open and nuanced conversations about disordered eating, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia within LGBTQ+ communities and within eating disorder care teams. Films that include personal stories are powerful tools within health promotion efforts. We talked to and filmed nine people who opened up their hearts to us and told us their stories. We created our toolkit from these lived experiences.

As one person who watched the film said:

“The participants were so captivating in their open discussion of their experiences. I saw so many of my clients represented by the individuals in the film.”

And this is what we wanted to provide, a resource that can be used to create discussions about the complex nature of eating disorders and that allows LGBTQ+ folks to have their voices heard and to be known in their recovery process. Find out more about Wicked Bodies here.

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Article Details
Wicked Bodies: A Health and Well-Being Toolkit Addressing Eating Disorders Within LGBTQIA2S+ Communities
Phillip Joy, PhD, Olivier Ferlatte, PhD, Megan Aston, PhD, Hannah Minzloff, BAA, and John Hillis, MA
First published online November 22, 2022
DOI: 10.1177/15248399221133734
Health Promotion Practice

About the Author

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I am a registered dietitian with the Nova Scotia Dietetic Association (NSDA) with a focus on gender, sexuality within nutrition, dietetics, and health. My research is qualitative and is often framed within poststructural and social constructivism frameworks. I also use arts-based methodologies, such as photovoice, cell-philming, and comics. Such methodologies can disrupt the foundations of nutrition and health research by involving the emotions, the senses, and the creativity of participants. Art can challenge and subvert social norms and contribute to social transformation through the expression of new perspectives. My main areas of research include: 1) LGBTQ+ nutrition, body image, and health, 2) Community advocacy and social disruption and, 3) Pedagogy, curriculum, and training.

Wicked Bodies is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Other funding was provided by Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Communities, Culture and Heritage and Support 4 Culture, and the contributions of Mount Saint Vincent University.