The Rise of Bulimia and the Parallel with Modern Gender Dysphoria
In 1972, British psychologist Gerald Russell encountered a woman with a perplexing eating disorder characterized by episodes of binge eating followed by purging. Over the next seven years, Russell observed 30 more women exhibiting similar behaviours. These women shared a distressing condition that, at the time, had no name and no clear treatment path. In 1979, Russell published a paper in Psychological Medicine, where he introduced the term “bulimia nervosa” to describe this condition. The disorder was officially recognized in the DSM-III in 1980. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary: bulimia nervosa spread across the globe at an alarming rate, affecting an estimated 30 million people by the mid-1990s, predominantly teenage girls and young women.
Semantic Contagion: The Spread of Bulimia
The rapid proliferation of bulimia nervosa can be explained by a phenomenon known as “semantic contagion”, a concept introduced by philosopher Ian Hacking. Semantic contagion describes how the naming and describing of a condition can facilitate its spread. The epidemic of multiple-personality disorder in the 1990s, for instance, was similarly fuelled by this process.
Bulimia entered public consciousness largely through women’s magazines such as Mademoiselle and Better Homes and Gardens, which published stories about this emerging and alarming disorder. The media played a crucial role in the dissemination of bulimia, turning a relatively obscure condition into a widespread phenomenon. Multiple studies have since demonstrated the media’s significant influence in spreading social contagions, particularly those related to mental health and identity disorders.
A New Contagion: Gender Dysphoria in the 21st Century
As we entered the first decade of the 21st century, the groundwork was laid for another global contagion. A movement that began with the noble aim of improving the lives of transgender individuals inadvertently gave rise to a new type of gender dysphoria, one that bears all the hallmarks of a social contagion.
Prior to 2010, gender dysphoria was virtually unheard of among teenage girls. Then, seemingly overnight, there was a dramatic surge in the number of adolescent girls in industrialized countries identifying as transgender. This phenomenon was no accident; it was the result of a perfect storm of social, political, and technological factors.
The Perfect Storm: Media, Politics, and Social Media
The 2010s saw a growing media fascination with transgenderism, beginning with high-profile stories like those of Caitlyn Jenner and Jazz Jennings. Simultaneously, the political left embraced trans rights with fervour, and schools began incorporating gender ideology into curricula for children as young as kindergarten. These developments created a fertile environment for the rapid spread of gender dysphoria.
Social media platforms, particularly TikTok and YouTube, provided the ideal environment for this contagion to flourish. Teenage girls, who are particularly susceptible to social influence, found themselves just one click away from thousands of videos showcasing young women proudly displaying their mastectomy scars and extolling the virtues of taking testosterone. These platforms became echo chambers where the message that transitioning was the solution to their struggles was amplified and normalized.
The Abandonment of Caution: The Shift to Affirmative Care
As this new, atypical form of gender dysphoria emerged, gender clinics, often influenced by activist groups, began to abandon the traditional psychotherapeutic approach known as “watchful waiting“. Instead, they adopted the affirmative model, which fast-tracks teenagers to irreversible medical procedures such as hormone treatments and surgeries.
This shift represents a significant departure from the cautious and measured approach that once guided the treatment of gender dysphoria. Instead of exploring the underlying causes of a young person’s distress, the affirmative model assumes that transitioning is the only solution, often leading to life-altering medical interventions with irreversible consequences.
The Coming Reckoning
We are currently in the eye of the storm, and the full extent of the damage is not yet visible. However, the consequences of this social contagion will soon become apparent. As the young people who were swept up in this movement begin to emerge, sterile and missing body parts, society will be forced to confront the reality of what has occurred. The horrors of supporting such an ideology will be undeniable, and the world will look back with regret and disbelief at the harm that was done in the name of progress.
The parallels between the spread of bulimia in the late 20th century and the rise of gender dysphoria in the early 21st century are striking. Both phenomena illustrate the power of semantic contagion and the profound influence of media and social discourse on the human psyche. As we move forward, it is crucial to recognize these patterns and to approach new social movements with caution, particularly when the lives and well-being of young people are at stake.
This article is adapted from a Twitter / X thread originally published by Mia Hughes
