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This article explores the experience of anorexia based on the theoretical thinking of Françoise Héritier and more particularly on the concept of the differential valence of the sexes, originally developed in L’exercice de la parenté (1981) and then in Masculin/Féminin I. La pensée de la différence (1996). The empirical frame of reference in this study is based on a group of eight young Mexican females (aged thirteen to twenty-four) from Mexico City, and the study is divided into two main spheres of analysis—the body and family relations—in order to observe how the differential valence of the sexes can shed new light on anorexia. The article also discusses why we should focus on the concept of the differential valence of the sexes rather than the concept of gender, which has seen a surge of interest from social science and humanities researchers over the last few decades in Mexico.