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Gender, Sexuality, And Eating Disorders, Haley Leishman

Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Student Scholarship

This literature review considers how navigating gender and sexuality can have detrimental effects on the development and maintenance of eating disorders. My research explores how societal expectations of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality impact an individual’s relationship with their body, food, and exercise. Unique life stressors faced by members of gender and sexual minorities are also examined. My paper examines and explains how much of the research surrounding eating disorders does not include gender and sexual minority participants, despite the fact that such individuals are overrepresented in diagnosed cases of eating disorders. This gap in the literature has implications for future …