Storied identities and bodies : eating disorder experiences of gender-diverse Asian Canadians

Background: Eating disorder discourse and representation have historically centered skinny, White, affluent girls. This dominant narrative obscures the experiences of racialized and gender-diverse populations, revealing a need to broaden current understandings of eating disorders. Objective: This study sought to elicit and story the eating disorder experiences of gender-diverse Asian Canadians living in Greater Vancouver through an intersectional lens. Methods: Four gender-diverse Asian Canadians who self-reported concerns regarding eating patterns and/or body image each participated in a narrative-based interview and a body mapping session. Verbal and artistic stories of eating disorders were co-generated. Using narrative analysis, participants’ relationships with food, eating, and body image were examined with respect to their intersecting identities and social contexts. Findings: Three narrative threads were constructed and illustrated through examples from each participant. Becoming in the eyes of others delineated the development and performance of identity under surveillance and the ways eating disorders became implicated in these processes. With/in liminality illuminated the tensions between personal values and social norms that privilege categorical conformity. Toward freedom from explored the complexities of recovery through efforts to confront both social expectations and eating disorders themselves. Conclusion: The eating disorder experiences of gender-diverse Asian Canadians were suffused with racialized, gendered, and cultural meanings. By contributing a sample of the population’s voices to public health literature, this study underscores the importance of intersectional and subversive considerations in eating disorder research, education, and formal and community-based care.