“I was in middle school when I developed an eating disorder. I would skip almost every meal. I would eat half a granola bar at lunch and then a little bit of dinner so my parents would think everything was fine. My friends called it ‘manorexia’ and joked about it. I laughed, but I was slowly dying on the inside. I just could not believe that I could look so hideous. This led to cutting and thoughts of suicide. After many years I finally made peace.”
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—Male undergraduate, Minnesota
“It’s important for guys to know that men are susceptible. They can reach out to a female who has had an eating disorder as well, because they are struggling with the same battle. Support and accountability are major for recovery.”
—Isaac S.*, second-year student, Wyoming (*Name changed)
“Men don’t think they have an eating disorder because those are typically attributed to women.”
—Other gender, fifth-year undergraduate, Towson University, Maryland
“People are so consumed with making sure women feel beautiful that we forget that our partners or male friends need to be told the same thing.”
—Female second-year undergraduate, Towson University, Maryland.
“[The message is] that in order to be the best, to get the best or to simply have the most fun, you must be masculine. Otherwise, you're not going to get all the happiness that others do.”
—Male undergraduate, Ohlone College, California
“A year ago, I was 190 lbs, worked out 1–2 hours a day, ran 4–10 miles a day, watched what I ate and drank. A year ago, I cared about all that stuff. Today, I’m somewhere around 240 lbs. I don’t even run to the car in the rain. I eat what I want. I drink what I want. And I have never been happier. I actually feel better now that I do not have to abide by the daily workout worship regime. I now have hobbies and a regular life. I would not go back to that for anything.”
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—Male online student, Park University
“This is a social issue that we grew up with: We were always told to be the strong and silent, don’t cry, rub some dirt in it. So we don’t tell anyone and it just festers.”
—Male first-year undergraduate, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
“There is a stereotype that men are supposed to be strong 100 percent of the time. This, of course, is not true. Men should be able to be open about their life with someone who cares about them.”
—Female second-year undergraduate, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
“Since a man is supposed to be ‘strong’ they think that problems show their weakness, when really [acknowledging the problem] confirms that they are stronger, because they have the wisdom to try and fix it.”
—Male second-year student, Wake Technical Community College, North Carolina
“I was overweight for most of my life. I’ve had severe confidence issues that still plague me. Physical fitness has become one of my greatest outlets. When I miss two or three workouts I develop anxiety, and fear regressing to a life of unhealthiness. I don’t want to go back to that. I have a healthy-borderline-obsessive relationship with physical fitness.”
—Male undergraduate, Massachusetts
“Look at all super-hero movies. Unless [the guy] is a comedian, he is fit and athletic-looking.”
—Male fifth-year undergraduate, Georgia Gwinnett College
“The ‘idealized’ male body [in the media] would be a six-foot-two tan man with an athletic, muscle-ridden body and a strong chin with a five-o-clock shadow.”
—Female fourth-year undergraduate, Kutztown University, Pennsylvania
“This is the same for men and women. There have been idealized bodies for men and women for centuries, even millennia. There are slight variations through time, but always some form of an idealized body for any person. The stereotype for men seems to be more consistent: fit and muscular.”
—Male fourth-year graduate student, University of Wyoming
“[My experience:] Only eating a certain amount of calories. Working out seven days a week. Always looking in the mirror. Using many supplements.”
—Male graduate student, California
“I used prohormones [supplements aimed at increasing muscle mass] back when they were legal. I have been fighting body insecurity since I was young. I am now an avid gym-goer and have forsaken relationships [in exchange] for bettering myself in the gym.”
—Male undergraduate, Pennsylvania
“I suffered from anorexia and only told one other person while going through the worst of it. It has mostly gotten better, and I have told more people about it, but it still comes around from time to time.”
—Male undergraduate, Michigan
“I couldn’t eat food for almost a month because I thought I was fat, and because of my athletics (wrestling) I was held to a different standard.”
—Male undergraduate, Wisconsin