Dr. Evelyn Fox Keller argues that science is not masculine or feminine, but human.The New York Times Apr 12 2005

Two problems emerge when we think about food and nutrition: what am I allowed to eat and what am I not allowed to eat, what hurts me and what does not hurt me? This is where good and evil begins. This is where the distinction between good and evil begins to develop. I believe this begins with eating (Joseph Beuys).

Art for a Science that Makes Sense means independent research and problem solving. You can get paintings, photos, as well as information about gender myths, publications about sex stereotypes and eating disorders including findings from an anonymous questionnaire study in Russia. The evidence is that eating disorders are linked to stereotypes that associate anatomical sex with distinct personality traits and behaviors. According to these gender stereotypes, a typical woman is supposed to have less leadership ability than a typical man and to be more sensitive to the needs of others, and girls and women are supposed to eat less than boys and men do. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Gender Identity is Linked to Bulimia

Gender Identity Development and Bulimic Eating Behavior in Adolescence

Barbara Klingenspor and Daniela Rastetter

Abstract: Bulimic eating disorders are predominantly diagnosed in women. Social-psychological factors, in particular stereotypes that associate gender with specific personality traits, are thought to influence eating behavior and to cause eating disorders. Previous findings suggest that bulimic eating behavior is linked to the suppression of masculine traits. In order to test this hypothesis, discrepancies between the actual and the ideal self were examined as precursors of low self-esteem and bulimic eating behavior in adolescents between the ages of 13 and 20. Data were collected in an anonymous questionnaire study and analyzed with structural equation modeling. The discrepancy between how much they believed to possess masculine traits (actual self) and how much they would like to (ideal self) increased with age in girls in contrast to boys, while the discrepancy with regard to feminine traits decreased in both groups. For both sexes, bulimic eating behavior was related to masculine self-discrepancies indirectly, via self-esteem and dieting.

Keywords: Eating disorders, sex stereotypes, gender identity, identity development, self discrepancies.

Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 2004, 35, 2, 67-82. © 2004 Verlag Hans Huber

Masculinity and the Sex-Specific Function of Dieting

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