Kelly Zentgraf, a junior majoring in psychology, recounts her battle with an eating disorder and dispels some of the myths surrounding them.

One of the most important facets of eating disorder awareness is an understanding of those who suffer. I’m a woman who is a) straight and b) white, and I enjoy all the privileges that come along with those traits – including studies that show a societal understanding that a “person like me” typically contracts this illness. But so many voices remain unheard. Eating disorders affect all races and all ethnicities – in fact, rates of eating disorders in minority cultures parallel those in white culture.