I asked myself, “What is my relationship to food?” I work with my gay male clients in therapy and coaching often about this, because food, weight management, and the esthetics of the male physique as symbols of our personal worth and social cache, are frequent presenting issues from my gay male clients, of all ages and ethnicities. And what marks the holiday season more than seasonal foods? Everyone, gay men included, tend to go off their diets and indulge in holiday treats like cookies, candies, baked goods, and winter comfort foods “like Mom used to make” (or still does), and while those goodies might vary by national culture, it’s a worldwide tradition to celebrate in special culinary ways that probably aren’t the most nutritious.Īnd this got me thinking, as I indulged in various things that under normal, non-holiday-season times I wouldn’t be eating (or at least not as much). Gay Men and Food: A Dynamic Relationship at Any AgeĪs of the time of this writing, it’s the holiday season of 2021.
