An Invitation From Rob McNamara

Posted on February 20, 2012 by admin

You’re invited…

To the incredible Strength to Awaken book launch in Boulder on February 28th. Rob McNamara is the author of a new book titled, “Strength to Awaken”. He is a skilled Psychotherapist, leading Performance Coach, Psychology Professor at Naropa University and an Integral Zen Practitioner. He runs his private practice in Boulder Colorado serving a broad range of executives and professionals, undergraduate and graduate students and athletes ranging from high school to Olympic and professional world champions.

Next Tuesday Diane will be co-teaching alongside Rob as part of his book launch and they both really want you to be there! Below is your invitation from Rob and all the reasons you absolutely should be there. 

Why do you need to be there?
There’re actually a TON of reasons to come, but I’ve distilled this down to the 5 reasons why this book launch party is for you:
#1. Cool People.
You’ll get to meet Really Cool People, and by cool I mean you will get to meet peops like you, and not like you, who are fantastic & awesome.
#2. Well-Being, Re-Formulated.
If you happen to have a body, or perhaps instead a body happens to have you, this evening is going to be an exploration that you do not want to miss.  If you’re interested in moving, strengthening, and expanding the sphere of your well-being, this is a must attend event.
#3. Old Assumptions, Broken.
Whatever your assumptions are about fitness and strength training, I’m putting money on the table that what I am going to share is going to change the way you think and move. And this “change” will be a qualitative increase in your elegance. This is going to be “eye opening” and “massively clarifying” -  at least that’s what people have already told me in response to the book.
I’m serious! If I fail to deliver tell me why I failed afterwards and I’ll hand you $10. Think of it as me taking you out to lunch :-)
#4. Novel Orientations.
I’m going to share how we develop and evolve in the practice of strength training (which secretly – don’t tell anyone – applies to virtually any form of movement discipline). If you’re like me a map tends to increase how efficiently I can get from A to B. This map is going to accelerate you and orient you in ways you’ve probably never considered.
#5. Engagement, Refined & Elevated.
By the end of the evening I am going to arm you with a pragmatic, intelligent way to qualitatively increase your capacity to engage. If you’re asking yourself, ‘and what does this do?’ all I am going to say now is that engagement has everything to do with performance, proficiency and results… or, in the case of the absence of certain types of engagement, the lack of results.
Bonus:
There’s a surprise at 9pm…
Join me! Bring your family, friends, co-workers and definitely your trainers and training partners to this evening of discovery as we take a new dive into the evolution of you.
Put it in your calendar – clear your calendar if necessary.
Tuesday, Feb. 28th
7-9pm
Looking forward to meeting you, spending an evening together and serving your journey next week!
Rob McNamara
Author: Strength To Awaken 

In case you missed it…here are the details:

Tuesday Feb. 28th
7-9pm
The Integral Center
2805 Broadway
Boulder Colorado 80304

If you’re still not convinced…go check out Rob’s website and learn more about his incredible work! 

Posted in Body Image, boulder, Speaking Events | Leave a comment

A Valentine Gift for YOU!

Posted on February 14, 2012 by admin

Hello Beauty Marks and Happy February! Today we have a special gift for all our readers and just in time for Valentine’s Day! A couple weeks ago Diane was invited to lead a TeleClass for Marc David’s class. Although the course is taught to students who are studying to become therapists, the same techniques and ideas that Diane offers for dealing with difficult clients can be used in situations at home! If you are dealing with family or friends who are struggling or even if you need help in dealing with your own PERSONAL struggles please listen to this teleclass that we are sharing with you this week!

What You’ll Learn:

1. How to “take your seat”. Grounding with family members or friends in distress or struggle.

2. Ways to foster an environment of positivity amongst the struggle that is taking place.

3. What your “Shenpa” is and how to get unhooked from it using “The Four R’s” developed by Pema Chodron.

4. 11 take away slogans that you can use in your everyday life. Take the one you need most in this moment and meditate on it!

5. And finally, how to investigate your own boundaries & limitations while always seeking more knowledge.

Enjoy the class by clicking this link:  http://db.tt/3qXHhIbl

Take Action Steps:

 

Good luck Beauty Marks! We believe in you! Please let us know what your experience was via email or on the Facebook page!

Posted in Addiction, Body Image, Transpersonal Psychology | Leave a comment

3 Meals & 3 Snacks a day – June Alexander

Posted on December 31, 2011 by admin


I am making no New Year’s resolutions for 2012. Being vulnerable to eating disorders and anxiety, I especially avoid resolutions related to body image.
I live in the moment these days. Take care of the moment, focus on it, and the rest of the day or year looks after itself. When eating disorders ruled my life, each day was black or white. There was little or no grey. Each day would be good or bad, and I would be good or bad, depending on whether the calorie target was met or blown. The target – and I set thousands of them, again and again and again – would be broken within hours or days. Always. And with each failure, my spirit would crash afresh.
Freedom came eventually, not from making resolutions, counting calories or checking weight on bathroom scales, but from allowing myself to ‘be’.
The key to freedom was remarkably simple: three meals and three snacks a day. If pressed to make a 2012 resolution, ‘three meals and three snacks a day’ is as good as it gets. Throw away the scales, refuse to count calories, eat three meals and three snacks a day, and amazing things will happen.
The problem with resolutions, especially related to body image, is that calories and weights set us up for failure. People who suffer eating disorders have rigid mindsets. Therefore, no matter how tempting, it is best to avoid setting boundaries, or limits, on the types of food we can eat, and how much we can eat. We are too hard on ourselves. We need to learn to be kind to ourselves.  We must not let figures on a page or in our mind boss us around, determine if we worthy beings.
Today I don’t think in terms of black and white, or grey. I prefer red and green, with amber between. I like a lot of amber. Definition: a yellow light used as a cautionary signal between green for “go” and red for “stop”. Amber is sunny, soft, warm and friendly. Amber is loving and forgiving. Amber provides a safe place to recognize we are going in the wrong direction, to pause and head back to the security of the green.

But life was not always this way:

Diary excerpts:
Age 27, December 1st, 1978: I have decided that this muddled year will give me at least one achievement. I will weigh xxx by the end of December. From today, until I weigh xxx, I’ll eat no more than zzzz calories a day. And thereafter I’ll always weigh xxx. I will record everything, containing calories, eaten by me, until I reach my goal. … I’ll have the consolation of knowing that every day I’m getting a little slimmer. And I’ll start the New Year as a new person, rid forever of the nasty effects of anorexia nervosa which have plagued me since I was 11 years’ old. I’ll be a new me!
December 8th, 1978: Down to xxx. Only xxx more lbs and I’ll have won my battle. I am very determined. I will not let myself down this time.
December 22nd, 1978: As is obvious, I went off my diet for a few days – despite ‘gorging’ myself, I gained only xx lbs. I will not ‘gorge’ myself again. I’m allowing myself zzzz calories per day. I find I have to count calories – but I don’t mind, not if it means I’m slim and carefree, and can still eat special foods in my intake.
Age 28, January 8, 1979: I feel like a bird that has lost its wings … I’m sick of feeling sorry for myself and hope something happens soon to brighten my outlook.
January 10, 1979: My depression has led to me ‘gorging’ myself this past week. Today I must start lifting myself out of the doldrums, and live in hope … I’ll allow myself zzzz calories a day, with no increase until I reach xxxx.

Oh, painful to read, isn’t it?! Does she ever get off the eating disorder treadmill? YES, she does!
For decades, December was the worst month of the year. It should have been the happiest month, for it was full of events to celebrate – Christmas Day, my birthday and New Year’s Eve. But December was a reminder that I was about to be another year older, another calendar year was about to end and, despite many self-made promises to the contrary, I remained bogged in my eating disorder.
I would try to engage in light-hearted fun and socialize with friends and family, while inwardly feeling dreadful. Small chat on the outside served as a camouflage while my busy mind plotted and planned strategies to ensure that the next New Year would mark the moment in time when I would ‘take control’ of my life and ‘be normal’, ‘eat normal’.
For the truth was that ‘ED’ was sabotaging every area of my life – at work, with friends, with family. I knew what I wanted but didn’t know how to get it. I wanted peace in my mind, and contentment in my soul.
Surely writing things down, creating New Year’s resolutions, would help. I mean, it would be there in black and white, and all I had to do was stay true to the resolutions, right? Right. Surely this was possible. The idea was good but the method was wrong. It was helping my eating disorder, not me.
The dictionary definition for ‘resolution’ is: a firm decision to do or not to do something.
The years rolled by. Countless ‘firm decisions’ were written on page after page of new diaries. Thousands of ‘new starts’. Matched by thousands of ‘failures’. I was aware at some level that I had tried this before, and failed. So why try again? Because this time, I would succeed. I had to. I had to keep trying to escape, or ‘ED’ would nab me completely. Fear was acute….
When we have an eating disorder, it is scary to eat three meals and three snacks a day. Patient recovery guides eventually convinced me that this was the only way to freedom. They formed a safety net of support while I summoned the courage to break free of entrenched eating disorder behaviors. I learnt that if I binged after breakfast, not to miss lunch. Even if I felt full, I would make a sandwich with a favorite filling and eat it, and plan another favorite dish for the evening meal. If I binged in the evening while watching TV, I learnt to get up in the morning and sit down to a full breakfast. I learnt to never skip a meal. Ever. Gradually, by ignoring the eating disorder, it shrank in significance and began to loosen its hold; I began to relax and the urge to binge subsided. Instead of focusing on food, I began to focus on my feelings and gained the courage to embrace and nurture them. The poor things had been ignored and numbed for years. I began to get in tune with my body and appetite – I began to actually feel what I would like to eat for my next meal. I began to be the true me.
Five years ago, I experienced my first Christmas in more than 40 years, without feeling depressed, anxious or terrified that I would be an unacceptable human being if not a certain weight; I looked forward to eating whatever was served on my plate, including the gravy on the meat and potatoes, and the brandy sauce on the plum pudding. What treats! I was also able to look forward to my birthday and the New Year. No more counting of calories, no more weighing, no more dieting, no more isolation, no more depression, anxiety or ED. No more tormenting voices screaming in my head. No more PLANS. Hello to peace, contentment and opportunity to engage fully in the joy of eating, sharing and connecting with others.

One meal three times a day, with a snack between, put me on the path to freedom. That’s all it takes.

June Alexander is the author of My Kid is Back, A Girl Called Tim, and A Collaborative Approach to Eating Disorders. She is also a speaker and a blogger at junealexander.com! Currently June is Co-editing an international textbook on Binge Eating Disorder. Learn more about her work at: www.junealexander.com

Posted in Body Image, Guest Post | 1 Comment

Beauty Mark is Great for the Whole Family…

Posted on November 30, 2011 by admin

but don’t just take our word for it! Below is a letter Diane received after showing the film in Boone, NC. We thought it was so powerful that not only the mother, but also her 8 year old son, walked away from the film with a sense of  bravery and self acceptance. Even 8 year olds face challenges related to body image and we’re so proud that Beauty Mark could make a difference in this little guy’s life! Read their words here…

Hi Diane,

I met you at the movie showing in Boone last night–I gave you my card about my work and training had my two boys (8 and 10) with me and my husband is a prof in the school of ed and teaches on issues of gender and sexuality.

We all loved it.  Anyway, I wanted to tell you something my 8 year son Tyler said–before the movie they handed out mirrors and the you are beautiful stickers and he is constantly comparing himself to others and he looked at me and said, “I think I’m ugly, Mommy.  I hate my freckles.”  I told him he was beautiful and that even someone who was born disfigured or in a fire was beautiful, too.  I had told him this before but after the movie, walking to the car he said, “Before the movie I thought I was ugly but now I know I am beautiful.  Everyone is.”   How priceless is that?

Please know your work would benefit 8 year olds, it starts that early!

I love your courage.  What affected me the most was the part you said afterward about how there is freedom in putting yourself out there, being judged, and realizing you are ok.  I have had to do that more recently and it IS powerful to say thank you to the critics. You are inspiring and my whole family benefited.

Thank you!!!!!

joanna

Posted in Body Image, The Beauty Mark Movie | Leave a comment

You Are Enough!

Posted on November 1, 2011 by admin

We recently had a screening at Aims College and here are some of the comments left about what they learned from the film.  I wanted to share a few of their comments after viewing the film:

  • Many people have many problems with their beauty
  • How to approach children about how media portrays beauty
  • Would love to know more.
  • My genius
  • Food is free
  • Be yourself and no one else.
  • Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder /yourself.
  • It is not all about body image!!!
  • Be happy for the way you look.  Everyone is beautiful in some way inside/outside
  • Not to take crap!
  • Who Diane Israel is and why her message is critical to all
  • What beauty truly is!
  • Inside beauty is the most important!
  • When women think about beauty they don’t like to talk about themselves with positive words
  • Please bring the speaker to Aims more often!  VERY good program!!  Really enjoyed it!
  • How to focus on inner beauty instead of appearance
  • Not to conform to the world’s image of beauty
  • Beauty- they way that you see beauty is what is inside
  • Everyone’s beautiful just the way they are!
  • To love yourself/for who you are
  • Being a beautiful person is easy as long as you ?

The question at the end is what all of us need to find for ourselves.

Healing, true healing comes from within knowing yourself, and have fun in the discovery!  Not everyone heals the same and the most importantly the journey towards healing is individual.    We can help each other by sharing our stories.

That is way I am so passionate and devoted to sharing my own personal story.  Whether I am speaking to a large or small group I hope to reach as many people as possible.  Inspiring and engaging the world towards reflection and healing are my main goals.

It is so hard in our society that teaches you to buy things to fix yourself as if you are never enough.  My message is clear, you are enough and you are worth love!

I am about to go on another speaking tour stayed tuned to our screening page for more information please click here.

Posted in Body Image, The Beauty Mark Movie | Leave a comment

Moments of RAW……

Posted on August 21, 2011 by admin

Sleepless night brings insights.  I was up all night last night.  My mind constant with running thoughts.  Truth be told, raw moments are much tougher for me than raw foods.  Quieting my soul I looked deep inside myself.  It is terrifying!  My past so laden with obstacles, most are only faint ghosts that rarely surface, but tonight they are out in full force.

Many of us, including myself are so busy with our daily lives that we seldom take the time to slow down, and digest all that is happening.  Not just what is happening around us and in our own lives, but what is happening to others in our world.  I know I am not alone so I practice Tonglen during the night.  Connecting myself with suffering, not just my own struggles, but with suffering all around the world.

In the early hours of the morning, Lindsey and I were talking.  My biggest fear is loosing my mind, and when I don’t sleep I feel like this is happening.   I realize that not taking my thoughts so seriously and recognizing that we are really not just our thoughts.  I wonder why we believe and take our thoughts so seriously?  How do we even know our thoughts are our own?  Wow the power of our minds when we believe we are our thoughts.  When we take our thoughts so seriously, we feel separate from everything because we are so lost in our own minds.

Coming from a family with mental illness and suicide, I am terrified on a primal level of loosing my mind.  May all sentient beings be free from suffering and free from the terror of loosing their minds.  Lindsey’s biggest fear is waking up with a soar throat and not being able to speak her mind.  Stuck living a life of holding back and never being able to speak up.  We both realized this morning that we employ one another to support in the things each of us are NOT afraid of.  I’m cool speaking up, even sometimes and getting my ass kicked.  She has NO FEAR of loosing her mind.

I’m learning every day now that I scared myself so much watching my mind, and now I try not to take my thoughts and beliefs so seriously.  I find this so helpful. When I fully believe my thoughts this affects me so deeply, and wow, how our thoughts affect our emotions.  When it hits me, it is all consuming.  Unwavering I stand in these moments of raw.

Thank you to Joel for kicking my ass with questions that have brought up a lot of my past and present.  What an honor this is to have this happen in my lifetime.

Posted in Messenger of the Unspeakable, Spirit | 1 Comment

Life of a Mesomorph Trying to Be Skinny

Posted on July 13, 2011 by admin

What happens at age 51 when I take skinny out of my life equation?

What are the consequences of challenging my ancient belief system that skinny is better, more lovable, and healthier?

Well I will give you one example of a life living in Boulder Colorado (one the thinnest cities in America).  Some would say I’m a very lucky person to have a privileged life.  Yet, it was one filled with silent suffering, years of self-criticism, and never looking or being exactly what I wanted.

Today while out jogging on the mountain trails, I ran into a wise, hard working, and very intelligent woman.  She said, “I’m lost,” “Awesome,” I responded, and she started to cry.   “Lost to be found,” I said.

What a hard thing “being lost” is for all of us.  Reminiscent of a pain so intense, like a break up after a long relationship, or watching everything that defines you as a person fall apart and drift away.  Lost.

One thing though, she was WAY skinny. Folks are constantly asking her, “what are you doing, you look so good.”  These words aren’t meant to insult but when you are struggling with your body image (trying to reach the unattainable perfection) these words can cut you like a knife.

Last summer my partner Lindsey was dying inside, years of holding in old shameful traumas and patterns. Folks stopped me in Boulder and Lindsey while she was out strolling, and said what are you doing Lindsey you look so good.  Dying we both answered in our own, What THE FUCK WAY.

So I ask myself what would my life look like if I took skinny out of the equation? It is an experiment I have been working on for the past two years:

  • Bikram and Core power yoga:  Out, no need to be in the unnatural heat
  • Hatha and Anusara yoga: In
  • Wild and crazy fitness clubs:  Out
  • Natural surroundings: In

What workouts to do?  Allow my body and spirit and inner child to lead the way as I continue to learn how to LISTEN.  The key for me is listening beyond the reprimands of my demanding conditioned “you must do” mind.  This I have learned, it has not gone away, and I am not counting on it to go away.  More bird watching, more walking to work, and using walking and alternative transportation—instead of being so tired from my workouts and feeling overwhelmed from the fitness club mania.

My hope is that more of us will join this “un” doing way, where movement is a joy and a time to relax and fill up our being-ness beyond the rat race of doing and becoming more of a hard body. Wow when I say that, “hard body,” I feel a bit of grief, yet such relief in giving up the unattainable fight and now I feel free…

Posted in Addiction, Body Image, boulder, Messenger of the Unspeakable | 5 Comments

Hello Boulder

Posted on June 13, 2011 by admin

Hello Boulder,

Fifty four thousand folks ran and walked the Bolder Boulder 10k Monday– what a sight. No longer running roads I chose to watch. It was a profound human experience watching a sea of unique beings each with their own stories, reasons, purpose, grief, happiness, hopes, wishes, body image etc. I found myself crying in big tears Why? Humanity’s potential and abilities. Then I thought, wow, taking to the streets. What would happen if we all got together and did this and other taking to the street events for great causes to support, heal and love our planet? But what would these causes be? How can we work together? How can we agree on what is really best for our planet? How do we know what really helps and doesn’t help? I have no answers but I do know that taking to the streets is so powerful and useful and we all stopped doing it when Kennedy and Martin Luther King got shot– too scary for most. At least around important causes. Then as I biked home I watched 54 thousand folks disperse in the Boulder streets that are usually filled with cars and traffic still filled yet it was amazing to see everyone walking and being outside on an incredible day together. Then I had an image of us all across America really getting out of our cars and using our feet to take over the streets together so it is safer for all. What a concept, what a project. For me to give up my comfort of driving it feels like it needs to be a law. I fool myself as I continually make plans to ride my bike more and walk more. I get so caught up using my car. All this incredible amazing energy and incredible training that folks did for this wonderful event. How do we use this energy and make it useful? Am I asking us for too much?

Another thought totally off the subject is about mail solicitations for contributions. What if somehow organizations that give were combined? Every day like all of you, I see the needs around the world and it is so overwhelming. I do my bit, I try to Tithe a lot of what I make but how cool would it be if we could contribute to a global fund that was able to do what was needed? As I write this I see how challenging this is. To all of you love to you all. Take to your streets and let’s see what we can create to support our world especially for future generations.

With Thought and Questions

Diane

Posted in Messenger of the Unspeakable | Leave a comment

America’s Most Obsessed City?

Posted on March 9, 2011 by admin

I read that Time Magazine has named Boulder, ‘America’s Most Active City’. This may sound like a great honor yet I have found that there is an aggressive and obsessive quality in all this.

In last week’s editorial section of the Daily Camera an old training buddy of mine wrote a very sad editorial about ‘an uncaring nature in Boulder.’ Richard Craft was injured on the trail and so many of these very ‘active Boulderites’ ran right by him moving fast and trying to get in their workout. Somehow Richard was left to crawl out of the woods on a bloody stump of a leg since his prosthesis had failed. It is a busy time in our lives and we can get caught up in our own worlds. In my experience it is often difficult to face things we are uncomfortable with particularly when we are preoccupied with ourselves. But why didn’t anyone stop to help him?

Truly, there are so many wonderful benefits of being active in our incredible city where Chief Niwot lost his life protecting this profound and sacred land. Yet today with our frenetically busy lives many of us bring neurotic energy patterns to the trails and this is potentially harmful and hurtful to others and ourselves. Let’s use our full expression of breath that many of us learn in yoga class to slow down and to experience the gifts of nature. And most importantly, let’s use these gifts to help others that need it along the way.

Please take it from a former maniac in Boulder. I have learned that if I train or exercise less there is more energy freed up to help others and work. Truthfully, genuine happiness can shine through in the precious, still moments. Let’s team up and help one another with this activity of kindness. Thank you Boulder for an incredible landscape in which we all get to live and play.

Next time let Boulder be voted the most ‘active’ in service and compassion.

Diane Israel

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Eating Disorders and Body Image: What do Gender and Sexuality Have To Do With It?

Posted on February 23, 2011 by admin

By Diane Israel, Filmmaker, Beauty Mark

When I think about the challenges around being an LGBTQ-identified (Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender, Queer) person, the word that best describes my experience is confusion. Life is confusing anyway, and being Queer – the term that I personally use – in our culture can add to that confusion, as well as create a great deal of stress, anxiety, and overwhelming emotions. The myriad of unique struggles related to sexuality and gender expression, such as coming out and harassment in schools or the workplace, can impact experiences of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma and developing unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance abuse – all of which are common co-occurring conditions or contributing factors in the development of an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are often associated with straight, young, white females, but in reality, they affect people from all demographics and they are not caused by any single factor.  They arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. Research suggests that eating disorders disproportionately impact some segments of LGBTQ populations, though there is much research still to be done on the relationship between sexuality, gender expression, body image and eating disorders. There is a strong genetic predisposition to the development of an eating disorder, but it interacts with the many contributing factors that can trigger onset. LGBTQ people my experience unique contributing factors such as trauma in the form of gay-bashing or harassment, losing social support, family, and potentially their home as a result of coming out (up to 42 % of homeless youth are LGBTQ), and extreme anxiety or depression associated with their sexuality or gender expression. In one study, gay and bisexual boys reported being significantly more likely to have fasted, vomited or taken laxatives or diet pills to control their weight in the last 30 days. While research indicates that lesbian women experience less body dissatisfaction overall, recent research found that beginning as early as 12, gay, lesbian and bisexual teens may be at higher risk of binge-eating and purging than heterosexual peers, with those identified as lesbian, bisexual or mostly heterosexual being about twice as likely to report binge-eating at least once per month in the last year.

LGBTQ people, in addition to experiencing unique contributing factors, they may also face challenges for accessing treatment and support. In my own personal development, growing up I always felt confused because like so many of us, I did not fit into the stereotypes of what it is to be a girl. I was a tomboy and lived this out through my dress, play, actions and behaviors. Eventually I became a champion athlete, and I believed that if I was to be a great athlete, I had to be a boy. In my day as a professional runner, women only got trophies if men did not show up for their awards. I tried to be a boy by trying really hard not to grow up as a girl. In other words I tried not to develop a female body and was terrified to get my menstrual cycle. For years I struggled with anorexia and exercise bulimia, which kept me frail, underdeveloped, confused and very androgynous. I thought that these behaviors would somehow keep me from being a woman, but who I was born to be was always fighting to come through. In order for me to get the treatment I needed, addressing these complex issues of sexuality and gender would be crucial. LGBTQ people who struggle with body image issues and eating disorders need culturally competent care.

It took me a long time to learn to be myself in a culture that devalues those who challenge narrow beauty standards and transgress gender norms. Now at 50, I don’t think of myself around the confines of being a woman or a man, being male or female. I feel my authentic self beyond the limiting ideals our culture has created and imposes upon us. I have learned that the incredible variety that exists among people is what is truly beautiful. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or body image issues, I encourage you to seek treatment and support. For treatment referrals and more information about eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) online at www.NationalEatingDisorders.org or call NEDA’s toll-free Helpline: 800 931-2237.

It’s Time to Talk About It. NEDAwareness Week 2011 is February 20-26! Visit the NEDAwareness Week homepage under Programs & Events at www.NationalEatingDisorders.org to register today and learn more about how you can do just one thing to help raise awareness about eating disorders and become part of the solution.

References

Austin, S. Bryn, Sc.D.. 2004. Sexual Orientation, Weight Concerns, and Eating-    Disordered Behaviors in Adolescent Girls and Boys. Journal of the American            Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, V43.

Center for Disease Control and Massachusetts Department of Education. 1999.     Massachusetts State Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Matthews, Travis. 2005. NEDA Handout: Gay Men and Eating Disorders.

Ray, Nicholas. 2007. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: An Epidemic of        Homelessness. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Coalition for       the Homeless.

Norton, Amy. 2009. Gay, Bisexual Teens at Risk for Eating Disorders. Reuters Health,      Sept 17, 2009. www.queeryouthmentalhealth.wordpress.com.

Waldron, Jennifer J., Semerjian, Tamar Z., Kauer, Kerrie. 2009. Doing ‘Drag’:       Applying Queer-Feminist Theory to the Body Image and Eating Disorders across         Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. In The Hidden Faces of Eating Disorders, Edited by Justine J. Reel & Katherine A. Beals, (63-81).

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