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Jaclyn Siegel, PhDis a social psychologist who studies the intersection of gender and eating disorders.
Katelyn Miskevics, LMFT, is a therapist with LifeStance Health.
Brandy Smith, PhDis a licensed psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, gender, and women’s and men’s issues withThriveworksin Birmingham, Alabama.
Lena Suarez-Angelino, LCSWis a therapist at Choosing Therapy.
Scout Silverstein is senior program development lead atEquip Healthand member ofFEDUP Collective.
Silvi Saxena, MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C is a therapist at Choosing Therapy.
Thats how diet companies make money.
This messaging shows up in the gym, too.
Lets dive deeper into what that looks like for men and women individually.
Men arent supposed to care about their weight in our culture, Sole-Smith adds.
They hold the cards, after all.
And yet, weve all seen adad on a diet.
Brandy Smith, PhDis a licensed psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, gender, and women’s and men’s issues withThriveworksin Birmingham, Alabama.
Additionally, diets arent solely about appearance-related factors, but personality traits, too.
Coakley referred to the need to pass as the gender the person identifies as.Otherwise, they could be killed.
Here are some expert-backed ideas to get you started.
and unfollowing the ones that dont.
She says this can ground in what a body actually needs, separate from any stereotyped and/or gendered messaging.
The more we talk about this on a large scale, the better off we all are.
and Who benefits from rigid ideas of physical traits associated with femininity/masculinity/androgyny?
Another aspect to face: In reality, seeing gender as a binary isnt helpful.
In that case, Silverstein suggests validating those feelings and working on actionable ways to cope and feel safe.
One idea: walking into the bathroom with a trusted friend.
When it comes to diet culture, though, there are additional, more specific steps you might take.
or Toughen up, bro.
Silverstein notes the importance of normalizing gender diversity, too, especially in our current political climate.
This holds especially true for queer people who have multiple marginalized identities, such as a Black nonbinary person.
Remember general disordered eating-related care
A couple tips here.
One Silverstein mentions is considering the risks and benefits.
For example, making a list of the costs of pursuing appearance ideals (e.g.
time, money, relationships, joy), they say.
(Of course, this tip is more complicated for transgender individuals who may worry for their safety.)
In other words, you arent the problem, and closed-minded, bigoted people dont deserve your attention.
(For more affordable therapists, check outOpen Path Collectives database.)
Developing defenses against these pressures requires practice, Silverstein says.
However, they believe theres hope and power in leaning on others.
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