Beyond the Body: A Disruption of Mainstream Conceptions of Eating Disorders

Abstract

Mainstream conceptions of eating disorders tend to be centered around images of the emaciated body, highlighting and bringing attention to the physical manifestations of a single narrative and experience of the mental illness. The reproduction of an understanding of eating disorders as solely pertaining to the physical implications of this mental illness can have on the body erases the complex nature of eating disorders, namely the ways they encompass the interconnectivity of the mind and body. Through bringing personal journal entries and poems I wrote during my time in treatment for my eating disorder into conversation with narratives and experiences shared in a public online forum for folks with eating disorders, this thesis works to shed light on the ways they are mechanized and function to cope with, distract from, and make sense of lived experiences.