Sexual orientation and prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disordered behaviors: A population‐based study of adolescents

French, Simone A.; Story, Mary; Remafedi, Gary; Blum, Robert W.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199603)19:2<119::aid-eat2>3.3.co;2-b

Cited by 59 publications

(82 citation statements)

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“…Our sample was relatively young (mean age between 22 and 23 years for all groups). French et al (1996) have argued that young lesbians and heterosexual women may not differ in attitudes toward their bodies as these do not develop until mature adulthood, along with greater socio-political awareness. It would be interesting to see whether differences in exercise motivations would be found in older lesbian and heterosexual women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexuality and Exercise Motivations: Are Gay Men and Heterosexual Women Most Likely to be Motivated by Concern About Weight and Appearance?

2006

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This study was designed to investigate the relationship between sexuality and exercise motivations in 93 British bar staff. Participants who self-identified as heterosexual, gay, or lesbian completed the revised version of the Exercise Motivations Inventory and reported exercise frequency. Heterosexual men scored lower on appearance motives than did heterosexual women and gay men, higher on enjoyment motives than did gay men, and higher on competition motives than did women and gay men. Men were significantly less likely than women to be motivated by weight management. Heterosexual men also reported exercising significantly more frequently than the other three groups. Suggestions for targeted exercise promotion initiatives are discussed.Previous research has highlighted differences between men and women and between heterosexual and gay/lesbian groups in weight control concerns, and has related body dissatisfaction to differences in eating behaviors and motivations (e.g., work has not examined whether these sexuality effects extend to exercise motivations. In the present research we sought to address this gap in the literature by examining the impact of sexual orientation on motivations for exercise, with particular focus on motivations related to appearance and weight-control.Researchers have used a variety of measures to demonstrate that gay men score significantly higher than heterosexual men on body dissatisfaction ratings, whereas lesbians are typically more satisfied than heterosexual women are with their bodies (e.g.,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexuality and Exercise Motivations: Are Gay Men and Heterosexual Women Most Likely to be Motivated by Concern About Weight and Appearance?

2006

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“…The authors recognize the problems endemic to convenience sampling; however, due to the nature of the gay community, random sampling is virtually impossible. This is a well-recognized limitation in this area of research and it has not prevented previous studies using convenience sampling from being published in peer-reviewed journals (Beren et al, 1996;French et al, 1994;Gettleman & Thompson, 1993;Harvey & Robinson;2003;Herzog et al, 1991;Lakkis et al, 1999;Russell & Keel, 2002;Siever, 1994;Williamson & Hartley, 1998;Yager et al, 1988).…”

Section: Methods Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, little is known about how lesbian women respond to media representations of gay women. Research comparing both gay and straight men and women indicate that gay women are not nearly as susceptible to disordered eating as are gay men (Beren et al, 1996;French et al, 1994;Harvey & Robinson;2003;Lakkis et al, 1999; 120 JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY Russell & Keel, 2002;Williamson & Hartley, 1998). One possible explanation for this is the influence of the Feminist movement on the lesbian community, providing a sociopolitical inoculation against such psychological problems (Siever, 1996).…”

Section: Journal Of Homosexualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the last two decades a clearer picture has begun to emerge, and although many subsequent studies confirmed the existence of this relationship (Gettleman & Thompson, 1993;Herzog, Newman, & Warshaw, 1991;Herzog, Norman, Gordon, & Pepose, 1984;Yager, Kurtzman, Landsverk, & Wiesmeier, 1988), it was Siever (1994) who made the first substantial argument claiming that there is a sociocultural component to disordered eating in the gay male population. Siever's assertion that there is a sociocultural component to this vulnerability has been supported by other researchers (Beren, Hayden, Wilfley, & Grilo, 1996;French, Story, Remafedi, Resnick, & Blum, 1994;Harvey & Robinson;2003;Lakkis, Ricciardelli, & Williams, 1999;Russell & Keel, 2002;Williamson & Hartley, 1998), but to date, there has been no effort to experimentally test the potential relationship between gay-oriented media (i.e., expressions of gay subculture) and the vulnerability to disordered eating in gay men. This is the goal of the present experiment.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Simulacra Effect: The Effect of Media Simulations on Eating Disorder Symptomology in Gay Men

Taylor

Goodfriend

2008

Journal of Homosexuality

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Researchers have uncovered a disturbing trend in the gay community: Gay men are at an increased risk for disordered eating. Researchers in this area generally support the existence of a sociocultural component to this phenomenon; however, these assertions have not been experimentally tested. We attempted to demonstrate that media representations targeted toward gay men have the potential to affect disordered eating and self-perception. Results showed that contrary to the hypothesis, the experimental group did not show an increase in eating disorder symptomology; in some cases, the opposite occurred. Implications of the importance of identifying with media images are discussed.

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“…Several studies found that lesbians are more accepting of their bodies and more tolerant of higher weight in self and others (Bergeron & Senn, 1998;Gettelman & Thompson, 1993;French et al, 1996;Herzog, Newman, Yeh, & Warshaw, 1992;Maor, 2012;Markey & Markey, 2014;Morrison et al, 2004;Polimeni et al, 2009;Siever, 1994;Swami & Tovee, 2006). However, other studies found lesbians to be similar to heterosexual women in concerns about weight, appearance, body acceptance, and/or dieting (Brand et al, 1992;Davids & Green, 2011;Feldman & Meyer, 2007;Heffernan, 1996;Keridwen, 2012;Huxley, Clark, & Halliwell, 2012;Kozee & Tylka, 2006;Peplau et al, 2009).…”

Section: Lesbian Community Norms About Weightmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ecological Framework for Sexual Minority Women’s Health: Factors Associated With Greater Body Mass

Eliason

Fogel

2015

Journal of Homosexuality

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In recent years, many studies have focused on the body of sexual minority women, particularly emphasizing their larger size. These studies rarely offer theoretically based explanations for the increased weight, nor study the potential consequences (or lack thereof) of being heavier. This article provides a brief overview of the multitude of factors that might cause or contribute to larger size of sexual minority women, using an ecological framework that elucidates upstream social determinants of health as well as individual risk factors. This model is infused with a minority stress model, which hypothesizes excess strain resulting from the stigma associated with oppressed minority identities such as woman, lesbian, bisexual, woman of color, and others. We argue that lack of attention to the upstream social determinants of health may result in individual-level victim blaming and interventions that do not address the root causes of minority stress or increased weight.

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Sexual orientation and prevalence of body dissatisfaction and eating disordered behaviors: A population‐based study of adolescents

Cited by 59 publications

References 0 publications

Sexuality and Exercise Motivations: Are Gay Men and Heterosexual Women Most Likely to be Motivated by Concern About Weight and Appearance?

Sexuality and Exercise Motivations: Are Gay Men and Heterosexual Women Most Likely to be Motivated by Concern About Weight and Appearance?

The Simulacra Effect: The Effect of Media Simulations on Eating Disorder Symptomology in Gay Men

An Ecological Framework for Sexual Minority Women’s Health: Factors Associated With Greater Body Mass

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