There’s the idea, for one, that gay men know themselves to be somehow “different” from a young age, and are “continuously judged by a broader, generally homophobic global society,” as he put it. Ken Howard, an LA-based therapist who focuses on helping gay clients, attributes a variety of causes to the proliferation of body dysmorphia in the community. Whether suffering from a diagnosable disorder like BDD, or just inundated with negative attitudes about one’s looks, it’s clear that when it comes to body image issues, gay men are hurting-and the root causes are likely endemic to the way the gay community functions itself.
Studies show that gay men disproportionately suffer from eating disorders and negative body image, and BDD may affect gay men at a higher rate than straight men as well. Countless gay men have struggled to see themselves within it as a result. It’s no secret that certain segments of the gay community hold high, near-oppressive standards of what counts as sexually attractive. Jamal is also gay, making him one of many queer men who suffer from BDD and distorted body image.
It’s classified as an obsessive-compulsive disorder in the DSM-V sufferers become obsessed with particular aspects of their appearance they deem unworthy, no matter how unrealistic those thoughts may be. Jamal suffers from body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD.