For decades, filmmakers, screenwriters, novelists, and other creators have attempted to showcase eating disorders as part of character storylines. And for these same decades, there have been gaps in the accuracy of these depictions.

While these creators do deserve some credit for surfacing these issues for viewers, the way they portray them often lacks the nuances that exist in such complex and complicated mental disorders.

Below, I’ll:

• uncover some of what’s missing from the media’s portrayal of eating disorders,

• share my view on how creators across all media can do a better job at telling these stories, and

• reiterate the responsibility of creators (myself included!) to approach sensitive subjects with care and dignity.

Sticking to stereotypes

No matter how hard modern storytellers try, they tend to fall into tired tropes either out of laziness or inadvertent ignorance. One such trope involves a young, thin, white, affluent woman riddled with an eating disorder (usually anorexia or bulimia). Examples: Black Swan, Gossip Girl, To The Bone.

When my eating disorder first started blooming in my early 20s, I was struck with a slice of this denial. I had only been shown young women, teenagers, as victims of eating disorders. As an adult, I figured my problem couldn’t possibly be the same as theirs.

Of course, I was wrong.

I’ve since learned that eating disorders do not discriminate. I only hope other writers catch onto this, as well.

Only two eating disorders exist

The limitations placed on eating disorders in the media extend to the actual disorders represented, usually anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Arguably the most understood by the general public, creators likely feel more comfortable exhibiting symptoms and behaviors of these two disorders because, simply, they’re more well-known. Therefore, the storyline requires little heavy lifting from the writers.

Stereotypes apply here, as well. When anorexia and bulimia are shown on screen, they’re usually explained through scenes a viewer might expect: a character refuses to eat lunch; another binges on a pumpkin pie and then makes herself throw up. While these are common symptoms for their respective disorders, they’re hardly the only symptoms. Which leads me to my next point.

The complexities of eating disorders get overshadowed

Eating disorders are messy, complicated, and nuanced. One might claim it’s a futile endeavor to even try to tell a cohesive story around just one of the many manifestations of eating disorders. Because of time and knowledge constraints, the result might be surface-level stories that often overlook the intricacies of ED development—shallow narratives that shield viewers from the complexities that go beyond physical appearance.

In my case, my eating disorders were fueled by deeper life-altering afflictions—loss, grief, anxiety, depression, and more. Despite initially receiving a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, I ended up cycling through the behaviors of multiple eating disorders, which is not uncommon in recovery.

The point here is that eating disorders can’t be painted with one color, or even with one brush. There are countless factors at play that can cause someone to stumble into disordered eating, and, similar to my experience, they might not even be aware it’s happening. A person who engages in behaviors might be transferring some other underlying discomfort to their body, a truth that the media doesn’t always fully explore.

Eating disorders as minor plot points

I wanted to know more about her past, what she was doing to address these behaviors (a stint in a treatment facility is casually mentioned), and how she was able to recover.

The show aired during the height of my eating disorder, and Blair made recovery look so easy. I knew it was a fictional show about high schoolers and I was in my early 20s, but I wondered how younger viewers processed this lackluster storyline. I wondered if they thought that because Blair magically stopped her behaviors, the behaviors would never come back (because in the show, they never did).

In reality, relapses from eating disorders are extremely common. It’s also not always clear when a relapse is taking place. In short, eating disorders, recovery, and relapses are hardly black-and-white events that have a hard start and stop date. To give a character an eating disorder requires much more depth and deserves to be major plots rather than secondary storylines that fade into the black.

The media’s responsibility in depicting eating disorders

As a writer, I know it’s my responsibility to make sure I tell an accurate story while also remaining mindful that not all readers will absorb information the same way. Some may be at vulnerable stages in their recovery and find certain themes or story elements triggering, while others may be coming to the topic for the first time, with no prior knowledge of or experience with eating disorders. This can be a very delicate dance for creators.

At the same time, zooming in on the specific behaviors of certain eating disorders might be triggering for those who are in vulnerable states. A recent study from the Journal of Eating Disorders examined whether written media, like memoirs, are ethical to publish. While the results showed the contents of the particular memoir in question were not potentially harmful to a group of subjects who had eating disorders, it’s impossible to apply these findings to all memoirs about the topic.

A dichotomous decision

In the end, creators are left at a crossroads: If they decide to include eating disorders as a plot or a subplot, careful consideration must be applied to ensure they’re delivering on the complexities of the disorder while also protecting the audience’s sensitivities.

This is a daunting task, and not all creators will be able to achieve it. We’ve seen many examples over the years of movies or books or TV shows that push the boundaries, which is why we’ve started adding “Trigger Warnings” to such content. Writers who pen novels or nonfiction works about such topics can hire “sensitivity readers.” These readers review manuscripts and point out any areas where the writer could alter their story to more accurately represent a topic with which the author might not be as well-versed.

We’re not always going to get it right, but we can try. And we have more resources and mechanisms than ever to protect consumers from content that may be harmful to them. Just as creators need to be cautious when conveying sensitive subjects, we need to be conscious consumers. If a creator gets it wrong, let them know! From a writer’s perspective, I’m always looking for ways to improve. And readers are the best source for objective feedback.

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