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tfwnoqtscenegf25 karma

As a male anorexic I'm glad you showed thin bodies. In eating disorder treatment in the US it is heavily focused on women (the materials in inpatient and residential would even say "she" when talking about someone with an eating disorder for example) and I only ever met a few other guys out of hundreds of other patients. However I was the only anorexic male in any of the treatment centers I went to (a lot). The other men were either bulimic or had binge eating disorder. I was the only one who was "scary skinny" or even underweight. While I agree with your other post that talks about focusing on the mental aspects of eating disorders and such rather than weight, being at a very low bmi from anorexia is a unique experience as a man from men with other eating disorders. The way we are seen by others and ourselves is different. I'm not saying other disorders aren't serious or unique, they are, but it feels like anorexia as a male is the most underrepresented/marginalized out of a category of mental illnesses that are similarly on the periphery (male eating disorders). It would have really pissed me off if you decided not to include it actually. I doubt many will see it and be triggered especially after the trigger warning. Also it would add to this feeling of being invisible/alone. I agree with your conceptualization of anorexia not being dependant on being underweight (although I would say it's indicative of disordered eating and not anorexia but both are serious and should be treated) I wouldn't relate to it at all if it were just men that are normal or high bmi. It would perpetuate feels of the exact opposite of your intentions in me. I would feel even more invisible, even less valid as "male" (not that I love traditional masculinity or societal expectations of men anyway but that's a different discussion). Long winded response but just wanted to say I agree wholeheartedly with your decision as an anorexic male, for what it's worth

tfwnoqtscenegf6 karma

This response is perfect. It really captures my experience/reaction to it too. I don't relate exactly to the triggers OP identified but the thing is for me atleast there wasn't one cogent idea that drove it. I could come up with reasons and analysis now about why I developed mental illnesses, but in the moment there wasn't triggers or it didn't feel like it/I wasn't able to identify them. I wasn't thinking "oh wow starving myself is great it will give me the ideal life I want this is awesome!" No one thinks avoiding their problems will actually solve them but yet everyone has probably procrastinated at one point or another. It's like that to an extreme degree maybe. Idk you worded it much better than me.