The media has the ultimate power to dramatically shape and influence public opinion. In its portrayal of eating disorders, pop culture has undoubtedly failed to deliver an accurate, full-pictured representation to its audience.

Since singer Karen Carpenter’s death from anorexia nervosa in the early 1980s, as well as actress Tracy Gold’s and Princess Diana’s public struggle with anorexia and bulimia in the late 80s and early 90s, film and television writers have clung to the same story when depicting characters who are suffering from an eating disorder. These narratives invariably feature a young, (often teenaged) white, attractive, gaunt woman, starving herself for perfection. This consistency of this depiction perpetuates a false narrative that glamorizes and contributes to the myths and misconceptions about a serious, life-threatening disease.

Anorexia is often characterized by an obsession with complete control and willpower. And as someone who has battled anorexia nearly all my life, I can tell you that this is true. However, the problem lies in people idealizing, even envying these traits as a means to achieve the “ideal body”. In 2014, Singer Meghan Trainer was quoted saying, “I wasn’t strong enough to have an eating disorder. I tried to go anorexic for a good three hours. I ate ice and celery, but that’s not even anorexic. And I quit. I was like, ‘Ma, can you make me a sandwich? Like, immediately.’” I can’t tell you how many times I stood in my kitchen and sobbed because all I wanted to do was eat. Not to mention, how many times I did in fact eat sandwiches. People, such as Meghan, fail to recognize the immense hardships and complexities involved in the disease.

On-screen, eating disorders hardly get their fair share of attention. But when they do, the characters have consistently been white women. This pattern has been seen time and time again in films and TV such as Girl Interrupted, Beverly Hills 90210, Full House, Glee, American Horror Story, Pretty Little Liars, Skins, and Feed. It wasn’t until Netflix’s, To the Bone, starring Lily Collins, that we actually saw other identities with eating disorders represented on screen. In the film, Collins plays Ellen, a twenty-year-old woman battling severe anorexia. As the movie progresses, we are introduced to a young man named Luke (Alex Sharp), a dancer trying to recover from anorexia. Likewise, we see brief glimpses of a plus-sized black woman suffering from binge eating disorder and one patient with bulimia.

While the film does address the fact that eating disorders can affect anyone, it doesn’t exactly do justice for men and black women living with these illnesses, as it made little to no effort to develop any of these characters. Likewise, these secondary characters were utilized in the film to create comedic relief from the dramatic tension. This is not an uncommon occurrence, as writer and director Ryan Murphy is known to use bulimia as the punchline to a joke throughout his many seasons of American Horror Story.

Surpassed only by opioid addiction, eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders. Eating disorders are classified as serious psychological conditions, characterized by underlying triggers most often associated with trauma, depression, anxiety, low self-worth, self-harm, and substance abuse. It is imperative for the general population to understand that any single individual can be affected by any type of eating disorder in their lifetime, no matter their gender, race, age, or body type. National surveys estimate that 20 million women and 10 million men in America will develop an eating disorder at some point in their lives. In trivializing and romanticizing eating disorders, the media has disguised the fact that living with such a complex mental illness is messy, burdensome, and at times, devastating.

The media has done us all a grave disservice. In its narrow-minded attempt in creating space for people with mental illness to discuss their struggles, it has subsequently promoted sexism, racism, and gender bias, as it continues to discriminate against and leave out others from the conversation. More inclusive portrayals of eating disorders on-screen will help create an environment where people off-screen feel comfortable enough to share their own experiences, making vital progress in conquering the stigma and shame that prevents too many from obtaining the help and treatment that they need.

The Media and Eating Disorders