Despite the long history of feminist research in the field and the clear relevance of questions of gender to this sphere, many continue to question the relevance of feminism for understanding and treating eating disorders in 2022. In this set of two papers, we explore some of the tensions, omissions and misconceptions which surround feminist approaches to eating disorders. At the core of these two papers is our assertion that such approaches can make significant contributions in the eating disorders field along six key lines: enriching the science of eating disorders, unpacking diagnostics, contextualizing treatment and prevention, attending to lived experiences, diversifying methodologies, and situating recoveries. In this first paper, we outline what feminist approaches are and dig into some key tensions that arise when feminist approaches come to the table. These include critiques of sociocultural approaches to understanding eating disorders, the relationship between feminist approaches and biological and genetic attributions for eating disorders, and the role of men. We then offer a key contribution that feminist approaches have made to eating disorders scholarship: an invitation to unpack diagnostic approaches and situate eating disorders within the landscape of food, weight, and shape concerns in the twenty-first century.
Feminist research has been contributing to the eating disorders field for decades; yet, there continue to be questions about its relevance in 2022. In this set of two papers, we explore some of the questions around and disagreements about feminist approaches to eating disorders. We argue that feminist approaches to eating disorders continue to matter because they enrich the science of eating disorders, help us to better understand and situate diagnoses, consider treatment and prevention in context, attend to lived experiences, broaden our approaches to doing research, and consider recovery in context. In this first paper, we outline what feminist approaches are and dig into some key tensions around them. These include how sociocultural approaches to understanding eating disorders have been critiqued, relationships between “biological” and “feminist” understandings of eating disorders, and the role of men. We then consider one of the key contributions feminist approaches has made in the field: an invitation to think about eating disorder diagnoses in relation to contemporary concerns about food, weight, and shape.
© 2022. The Author(s).