Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.

Abstract

This study investigated the hypothesis that gay men and heterosexual women are dissatisfied with their bodies and vulnerable to eating disorders because of a shared emphasis on physical attractiveness and thinness that is based on a desire to attract and please men. Although men place priority on physical attractiveness in evaluating potential partners, women place greater emphasis on other factors, such as personality, status, power, and income. Therefore, lesbians and heterosexual men are less concerned with their own physical attractiveness and, consequently, less dissatisfied with their bodies and less vulnerable to eating disorders. Several instruments measuring body satisfaction, the importance of physical attractiveness, and symptoms of eating disorders were administered to 250 college students. The sample included 53 lesbians, 59 gay men, 62 heterosexual women, and 63 heterosexual men. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were used to examine the differences among the scores of lesbians, gay men, heterosexual women, and heterosexual men on these various constructs. The results generally confirmed the research hypothesis. The implications and ramifications these findings have for the understanding of both the psychology of lesbians and gay men and the prevention and treatment of eating disorders are discussed.

The Mental Health Impact of Physical Appearance Concerns in the Context of Other Life Domains Among Australian Gay Men

“…In contrast, with a few isolated exceptions, the importance of other life domains was largely unrelated to mental health once controlling for satisfaction with those domains. Past studies have similarly found a negative association between the importance of physical appearance and mental health among gay men (Gil, 2007;Peplau et al, 2009;Siever, 1994). It could be, as others have suggested (Levesque & Vichesky, 2006;Morrison et al, 2004;Siever, 1994), that seeing physical appearance as important creates pressure to conform to an unrealistic ideal, pressure which can be detrimental to an individual's wellbeing.…”

“…Past studies have similarly found a negative association between the importance of physical appearance and mental health among gay men (Gil, 2007;Peplau et al, 2009;Siever, 1994). It could be, as others have suggested (Levesque & Vichesky, 2006;Morrison et al, 2004;Siever, 1994), that seeing physical appearance as important creates pressure to conform to an unrealistic ideal, pressure which can be detrimental to an individual's wellbeing. This may be particularly the case in sexually objectifying cultures or communities, such as the gay male community (Levesque & Vichesky, 2006;Meyer, 2003;McArdle & Hill, 2009).…”

“…It has been suggested that one of the reasons why gay men are more at risk of body image disturbance than are heterosexual men is because they value physical attractiveness in partners, and accordingly may perceive that their own attractiveness is being evaluated by other potential gay male partners (Siever, 1994). Thus, it could be argued that once gay men find a partner, the pressure to remain attractive to others is somewhat alleviated.…”

“…As mentioned earlier, the anxiety some gay men feel about their appearance may be due to an awareness of it being evaluated by potential gay male partners (Siever, 1994). Accordingly, one may expect physical appearance concerns to be somewhat reduced, and their association with mental health to be weaker, for gay men in relationships, as the pressure to attract a partner should be lessened or absent for men who already have one.…”

“…Siever (1994) suggested that males in general tend to value the physical attractiveness of a partner more than women do, but that this is more pronounced among gay men, given they are men seeking other men as partners. Therefore, the pressure to look physically attractive to other men is heightened.…”