Eating Disorder Awareness week has been running this week, with people going public with their eating disorders and the problems that they have faced in order to raise awareness for the problem and instigate constructive conversations regarding the issues. One of the most interesting aspects of the campaign has been the number of men that are coming forward to talk about their battles with eating disorders and body image, of which Instagram star Mina Gerges has led the way.
Gerges, a 23-year-old Egyptian-Canadian blogger, has now addressed his three-year battle with eating disorders to his 145,000 followers.
In his series of honest posts, Gerges revealed that he has spent years struggling with his body image and comparing himself to photoshopped men on billboards;
"This is the scariest yet most empowering post I've ever made. I’ve struggled with my weight and body image my whole life. I grew up surrounded by unrealistic pictures of men and women that convinced me that I have to look like that to be considered attractive and desirable," he said.
Gerges says that this pressure resulted in him starving himself, constantly weighing himself and spending a copious amount of hours exercising. Despite this, he still hated himself:
"Especially as gay men, where unfortunately so many of us struggle with achieving that unrealistic standard to feel beautiful.
"Trying to achieve this made me develop an eating disorder when I was 20 - I would starve myself, weight myself every morning, spend 3 hours at the gym and ran 10km every day, and hated myself if I ate something “unhealthy”, and still, never found happiness or satisfaction."
Speaking of Teen Vogue, Gerges said that "normative representations of men set up impossible standards, and imply that men who are entitled to being considered attractive and being seen by the public are white and thin.
“We don’t see men of different shapes and sizes, men who have stretch marks, rolls, or love handles on billboards or in fashion ads,” he continued.
However, despite his initial struggles, Gerges claims to have finally overcome his insecurities and has learned to love himself.
"Now at 23, I’m finally confident and comfortable in my skin, and she’s glowing. The stretch marks and love handles I was bullied for are the very thing I feel empowered by now.
"I know I’ll never look like the dudes we see in billboards and fashion ads, and that’s okay because I’m still cute AF with my cute little belly and squishyness.
"Learning self love and being confident is such a beautiful thing, and I’m so lucky to be able to have this platform to share it with you guys. "
Fair play to Gerges for raising an issue regarding body-image that isn't discussed that regularly. The pressures on men to have chiselled abs and prominent jawlines are extreme and, unlike women, there aren't many people who promote self-love to a male audience. The more role models there are for young men like Gerges, the better.
