Common Stereotypes
Bulimia Nervosa is oftentimes a common eating disorder that people discuss in the public realm. Most of the stereotypes surrounding Bulimia Nervosa are also focused on Caucasian middle-class women. Unfortunately, there are many people who are left out of this group of people. When reading about different ethnic backgrounds, there was a wide variety of issues surrounding Bulimia Nervosa. When researching about ethnic minorities who are also economically disadvantaged, the authors mentioned that, " Bulimia was by far the most diagnosed eating disorder in our sample for both men and women" (Gates, et al. 420). When referring to Bulimia Nervosa, the disorder is also used as a coping mechanism amongst certain minorities. Men appear to engage in bulimic behaviors to reduce anger states (self-medication), whereas women appear to use such behaviors to reduce the likelihood of anger states before they occur (self-regulation)" (Gates, et al. 410). Therapy With Inclusiveness Therapists must be very aware of how much ethnicity can play a role in eating disorders. Through this awareness, they must create a very articulate way of working with the patient so that the patient does not feel the bitter resentment society casts upon them when engaging in the session; "it was very significant for a therapist to understand the generational psychological impact of the World War II Japanese internment when providing treatment for Anorexia Nervosa and bulimia in a 25-year-old Japanese American woman" (Harris & Kuba 346, 1997). When compared in society, it seems as though Caucasians are not as prone to having extended families with which they spend a lot of time with as much as people of color. Furthermore, more importance is placed on family expectations, rules, and obedience. "In the Mexican American sample, Family Rigidity (Rigidity) was the most significant predictor of both bulimic symptoms and an over-concern with weight and size" (Harris & Kuba 292, 2001). |
LGBT Community and BN
When speaking of minorities with eating disorders, we must not forget the LGBT community. It has also been an assumption that gay men are more susceptible to being anorexic because they are trying to be flamboyant and feminine and thus, in our society to be feminine is to be very thin. This is not the case when psychologists did research on gay men and eating disorders. They found that all men (including heterosexual men) had concern for their body image but, the article was focused primarily on gay males. "The gay and bisexual men were diagnosed with either bulimia or Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified" (Kane 312). Unfortunately, another minority group left out is mothers or mid-life aged women. It is very likely that women exhibit disordered eating into their mid-life age and beyond. A lot of this has to do with stress of being a mother, overall triggers, and the like. "Research suggests that body dissatisfaction remains relatively stable across late adolescence, young adulthood, and midlife, with little difference in the mean level of body dissatisfaction" (McLean, Paxon, Wertheim 751). |
|