Cultural consonance, body image, and disordered eating among young South Korean men

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, but little research explores non-Western men's cultural experiences of body image and what affects their risks of disordered eating. Drawing on data collected over 17 months (August 2019 to January 2021) of fieldwork in Seoul, South Korea, the lens...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 2022-12, Vol.314, p.115486-115486, Article 115486
Main Authors: Monocello, Lawrence T., Dressler, William W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asian People
Body Image
Cultural consonance
Eating disorders
Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology
Humans
Intersectionality
Kkonminam (flower boy)
Male
Male body image
Republic of Korea - epidemiology
South Korea
Universities
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Summary:Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses, but little research explores non-Western men's cultural experiences of body image and what affects their risks of disordered eating. Drawing on data collected over 17 months (August 2019 to January 2021) of fieldwork in Seoul, South Korea, the lens of intersectionality is employed alongside multiple regression and moderation analysis to understand how two axes of identity which emerged as important from the ethnography—sexual identity and university prestige—shape the ways in which young Korean men's cultural consonance with their local model of the ideal male body, influenced heavily by the kkonminam (flower boy), relates to risk for developing an eating disorder. Among young Korean men, intersections of university prestige and sexual identity frame embodiment of cultural models of male body image as a strategy for the making and maintenance of social relations and the advancement of social status in a precarious neoliberal economy. •Body image and eating disorders are poorly understood among men across cultures. (80).•Existing theories and methods assume cross-culturally uniform risks and experiences. (84).•In Korea, cultural consonance with local male body ideals predicts disordered eating. (85).•Risks/experiences vary at intersections of sexual identity and university prestige. (83).
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115486