Eating Disorder Programs and Men

[roubs]

So yeah, this is a popular article on men and eating disorders, but I think it's actually pretty good.

I was a bit surprised that half of all eating disorders residential programs refuse to admit men. To be clear, I wouldn't have been shocked at all if programs had some substantial gender separation in many aspects such as groups and, of course, housing. I'm not trying to be flippant about the history of abuse that many ED women have, but there is really no evidence that walling them off from male patients (who would also have eating disorders) provides a benefit. And certainly any perceived benefit would have to be weighed against the harm caused by a lack of programs and spaces for male patients. It's hard for me to understand how that calculus comes out in favor of refusing men for so many programs. I'm also a bit surprised that the one treatment center that got sued responded with teams of high paid lawyers. This leads me to think they would view it as a threat to their business if they were forced to treat men.

Other perspectives on this?

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[LivingOffLoans]

I do not know enough about the history and politics of the matter to form a solid position. But your last point was very interesting to read - that men's involvement in these programs may be perceived as a threat to business. That is probably not an invalid statement, especially when considering the economic idea of supply and demand, and consequently, deny and restrain.

 

[KillerDiller]

Interesting. I work in an eating disorder treatment center now, and I would never have guessed that there was a bias against men in other facilities. Granted, we are a partial hospitalization program and not a residential program, but the men who attend here are integrated into the exact same groups, meals, etc. as the women. I haven't been here that long, but it hasn't caused any issues that I know of; the staff have never treated it as a potential issue. We have male staff members too--not many, but a few.

The business angle is a bit tricky assuming there is a large enough contingent of women who would refuse to be treated alongside men (not sure if that is really the case, though). I also wonder whether the idea of excluding men is bound up in the outdated notion that sexual abuse is the root cause of many women's EDs. Sure, there is comorbidity there, just as trauma is a risk factor for other mental disorders, but it is neither a necessary nor sufficient factor.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I've not done any ED work myself, but I've heard that it's not terribly uncommon for male patients in groups to be shunned or even openly derided apparently based on the idea that men can't/don't really have an eating disorder. I wonder if perhaps the people running these centers have had similar experiences, and thus feel that including men would cause some type of perpetual distraction (for this and perhaps other reasons)?

 

[roubs]

The business angle is a bit tricky assuming there is a large enough contingent of women who would refuse to be treated alongside men (not sure if that is really the case, though). I also wonder whether the idea of excluding men is bound up in the outdated notion that sexual abuse is the root cause of many women's EDs. Sure, there is comorbidity there, just as trauma is a risk factor for other mental disorders, but it is neither a necessary nor sufficient factor.

My thought exactly, is this more of a perception of clinicians, or a preference of clients or some mix?

 

[cara susanna]

Dude, this is a great discussion question for my abnormal psych class when we get to EDs. Thanks for the link!

 

[wigflip]

I haven't had a chance to see this documentary on "gay men, body image, and eating disorders" yet--have any of you?

Do I Look Fat?

http://www.doilookfatthemovie.com/

 

[DynamicDidactic]

certainly twenty years of lean, muscular male physiques in advertising, movies, sports, and of course, magazines like GQ—from Marky Mark to Brad Pitt to David Beckham—have changed the way both men and women regard the male body. And thanks to the web, those images are easy to seek out and collect. For American men, the chiseled six-pack has become the fetishized equivalent of bigger breasts. Like all fetish objects, it stands for something deeply desired: social acceptance, the love of a parent or partner, happiness.

anyone else find it funny that this is a GQ article?

I do also find the changing views on masculinity concerning to say the least. A reminder of what was consider masculine in the 70s
http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/mrtea15/burt_reynolds_cosmo3.jpg

 

[KillerDiller]

anyone else find it funny that this is a GQ article?

I do also find the changing views on masculinity concerning to say the least.

In what way? Are you talking about ideal body shape, or something else?

 

[DynamicDidactic]

In what way? Are you talking about ideal body shape, or something else?

certainly twenty years of lean, muscular male physiques in advertising, movies, sports, and of course, magazines like GQ

.

a magazine that admits being part of the problem writing about the problem. kind of funny.

 

[KillerDiller]

.

a magazine that admits being part of the problem writing about the problem. kind of funny.

I accidentally quoted more of your first post than I intended. I was just curious whether, when you voiced that you were concerned about "the changing views on masculinity," you were speaking primarily about physical ideals, or whether you meant the masculine gender role.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

I was just curious whether, when you voiced that you were concerned about "the changing views on masculinity," you were speaking primarily about physical ideals, or whether you meant the masculine gender role.

physical ideals. personally, I have no issues with the changing of gender roles.

the reason I added Burt Reynolds to the conversation is to show that in the 70s, hairy mustache men were all the range (at least in the middle class, white demographic). Nowadays, this is a great example of the physical ideal
http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/layhay03/mario.jpg

I have never seen a real person that looks like that image of Mario Lopez. Burt Reynolds is a lot closer to the typical male body.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I have never seen a real person that looks like that image of Mario Lopez. Burt Reynolds is a lot closer to the typical male body.

Pope wrote a great book called, "The Adonis Complex" that talks about male body image and the pitfalls of (recent) changes in how men view themselves and how we believe we are viewed.

 

[therapist89]

m

 

[cmuhooligan]

This is a nice resource: http://namedinc.org