Sometime we read statistics or data about disease prevalence or risk, but it doesn’t always connect to us personally. Other times, it does. Something I’m very passionate about is eating disorders in queer populations. As a gay man, my “sun culture” is emerged in disordered norms and contradictory expectations. This video is my first talking about gay culture, specifically when scary statistics are right in front of your eyes.
When it comes to eating disorders, anyone who identifies along the LGBTQ Ia two s plus spectrum is at increased risk. Have you ever identified with a statistic?
Hi, Cadre. Sometimes statistics are just numbers, but other times they're really impactful. And I'm curious if anybody else has ever identified with a statistic like I have. When it comes to eating disorders, anyone who identifies along the LGBTQ Ia two s plus spectrum is at increased risk. And if we look at specific behaviors, it's different between subgroups. Or if we superimpose sexual orientation and gender on top of one another, the rest becomes even more significant. And in my lived experience as a gay man, I have witnessed this.
This is a particular niche or topic that I'm very passionate about and that I've been trying to apply in my practice, but also have been teaching others about for a number of years. And it wasn't until in the last few years that it actually happened in my personal life. So it was for my birthday about two years ago? Actually, no, it was almost one year ago. We went out for brunch. I was with two friends who also identify as cisgender gay men. And at the end, when they surprised me with a birthday cake and they asked me how big a slice I wanted, I was delighted and kind of excited, but my friend next to me took a piece of cake, started to eat, and then said that he needed to go throw up.
The friend that was sitting across from me then validated the urge to purge by saying, better get out your two finger, friend. And I was really speechless. I mean, I've read the numbers and I've read the research, and in practice, I've seen other folks struggle through this. And it wasn't until this moment that I was faced with how to respond to it in my own personal life. And that was directly related to me. I ate the cake. I wanted to take the rest of the cake home. And it has just become such a normalized behavior amongst gay men to restrict and then even to purge, whether it's through vomiting, use of medications, or even through over exercising.
So I bring back my question. Have you ever identified with a statistic, whether because you also identify as a historically marginalized group or just from your own health status or behaviors that you do participate in?
