Starving Off Our Curves: Eating Disorders in Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Individuals

Abstract

Transgender and gender-nonconforming people are more likely than cisgender people to have dealt with an eating disorder or disordered eating at some point in their lives. Considering the fact that eating disorders have the highest morbidity rate of any psychiatric disorder, this is highly significant. Despite these statistics, current frameworks for the development of eating disorders prioritize cisgender experiences, leaving transgender and gender-nonconforming people with insufficient resources and treatment options. This study aims to demedicalize the narratives of transgender and gender-nonconforming people with eating disorders and provide an analysis of the social factors that contribute to their development. In centering transgender and gender-nonconforming narratives, this paper builds on a foundation of transgender theory and provides crucial insight into the unique lived experiences of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals with eating disorders.