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| InstaHunk Dan Tai |
I often (not always) feature photos from my favorite InstaHunks at the top of my News Round-Ups as a cute way to start out the post; and as it gets shared on social media, offer a bit of enticement for folks to hit the link and read the news items.
I really do want you to read the news items, folks :)
But a recent article from NBC Out delves into how social media, particularly Instagram, might be contributing to eating disorders as the popular accounts on the platform constantly offer ripped, hot guys.
From NBC Out:
Approximately 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. The organization found gay men struggle disproportionately with body image issues and eating disorders: Though they are thought to make up only 5 percent of the national male population, gay men account for 42 percent of men who report having an eating disorder.
Asher Pandjiris is a therapist in New York City who treats LGBTQ people with eating disorders and was also a program director at an eating disorder center. She said high rates of disordered eating in the LGBTQ community are often reactions to the homophobia internalized in youth.
“Queer people often try and prove heteronormativity by having a muscled or thin body,” Pandjiris said. “But it’s almost more insidious that the queer community polices or generates these unattainable standards.”
And research has indeed shown that high frequency of social media usage — particularly image-centric platforms like Instagram — corresponds to body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms in gay men.
The article contrasts a recent post by Grammy Award winner Sam Smith (which I featured here on The Randy Report) with posts by Instagram celeb Max Emerson, who usually appears in some state of nakedness like swim suits or underwear.
I know advertising images have been known to make people feel 'less than' so it makes sense that people open to negative body issues could be affected by comparing themselves to these IG accounts.
I've never been critical of myself in checking out the InstaHunks, but, I can see how some might.
I've always seen the photos as inspiration to get my butt to the gym so I can be a 'better' me.
Read the whole article from NBC Out here, and let me know what you think.
