Manorexia? What’s next…? Sexorexia?
After hearing about “drunkorexia”, I simply had to investigate “manorexia”, which was mentioned in the article (see my earlier post.)
I was surprised by the results…
Seems plenty of Hollywood (and non-celeb) guys battle anorexia and bulimia, including Billy Bob Thornton, Elton John and Dennis Quaid.
Fascinating. And scary.
Whether your dude is followed by the paparazzi or not, he could definitely be affected by the desire to achieve an unhealthy low body weight. In fact, most ED statistics estimate that the number of American “manorexic” sufferers could be more than 1 million.
EDs are serious. There’s no doubt about that. But is it okay to add “-orexia” to words just to create buzz? And does the wittiness of terms like “drunkorexia” and “manorexia” make these diseases sound almost fashionable?
Let’s discuss…
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POSTED IN: drunkorexia, manorexia
5 opinions for Manorexia? What’s next…? Sexorexia?
Sara Penrod
Mar 5, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I’ve heard “manorexia” floating around for a little while now. I think it bothers me the least of the “-orexia” stuff because, if you get technical about it, only women can be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. One of the necessary diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV is amenorrhea, so males cannot technically have AN. I can understand the need to validate that men, too, can have anorexia just as much as women.
That being said, I think using “-orexia” to create buzz phrases is irresponsible. It cheapens the seriousness of life with an eating disorder nearly as much as people saying “I just need to be anorexic for a month or two so I can lose some weight.” It’s a serious illness that destroys lives. I’d rather it didn’t become some sort of catch phrase splashed across magazine covers.
angelique
Mar 5, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Sara:
You bring up an excellent point about men being technically unable to have AN due to the fact that they don’t menstruate. I suppose they could be characterized as EDNOS instead.
I just can’t help thinking about all the different -orexias out there. It does seem to trivialize a serious condition.
Sara Penrod
Mar 5, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Angelique:
Yes, technically males with all the other symptoms of anorexia would have to be diagnosed with EDNOS. But EDNOS is problematic in and of itself, mainly because people (and insurance companies) simply assume that it’s not as serious as clinical AN.
My insurance company, for instance, refused to pay for any treatment when my diagnosis was EDNOS, despite the fact that my BMI was dangerously low, and I was having medical complications. The only thing keeping me from being diagnosed with AN (and therefore at least persuading my insurance company to consider funding my treatment) was the fact that I still menstruated occasionally. That’s just ridiculous.
SzélsőFa
Mar 7, 2008 at 7:50 am
If adding orexia to anything becomes a hype, it can lessen the importance of those serious issues.
Anorexia is not something you can do for a couple of weeks to fit into your bikini of you dreams.
It’s a serious condition.
Mark
May 17, 2008 at 4:28 pm
From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: ”The essential features of Anorexia Nervosa are that the individual refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight, is intensely afraid of gaining weight, and exhibits a significant disturbance in the perception of the shape or size of his or her body. In addition, postmenarcheal females with this disorder are amenorrheic.”
So, technically, males CAN be anorexic.
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