Status, sexual capital, and intraminority body stigma in a size-diverse sample of gay men

Beyond “not my type”: A quantitative examination of intraminority stigma among gay men who use dating apps.

“…In addition, emerging evidence suggests intraminority gay community stress is associated with sexual risk-taking (Burton et al, 2020). Because status and sexual capital are unevenly distributed throughout the gay community, varying potential SHEPHERD, TIDWELL, LAYLAND, MAKI, AND BROCHU 2 for intraminority stress and related barriers to health and well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and sexual risk-taking; Burton et al, 2020;Mahon et al, 2021;Pachankis et al, 2020;Soulliard et al, 2023) exists across a number of sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., race, ethnicity, class, age, and weight;Green, 2008Green, , 2014Shepherd, Denning, et al, 2023). Yet researchers usually examine gay men or men who have sex with men as a homogenous group.…”

“…Among gay men, intraminority stress refers to the unique status-based, competitive pressures that influence interactions between gay men and other men who rely on other men to satisfy social and sexual needs (Pachankis et al, 2020). These within-group pressures are often discriminatory in nature, rooted in stigmatizing social structures and stereotypes that actively exclude diversity based on race/ethnicity, body size and shape, gender expression, socioeconomic status (SES), and other status-relevant social attributes (Antebi-Gruszka et al, 2024; Shepherd, Denning, et al, 2023; Shepherd, Kelly, et al, 2023; Shepherd, Maki, et al, 2023). According to intraminority gay community stress theory (Pachankis et al, 2020), intraminority stress increases gay men’s susceptibility to mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety (Mahon et al, 2021; Pachankis et al, 2020).…”

“…Within the context of dating and relationships among sexual minoritized men (e.g., gay and bisexual men), masculinity, job/income (i.e., SES), weight, and Whiteness are pretested elements of status that influence sexual capital or currency (i.e., social power a person acquires as a result of their sexual attractiveness to the majority of their social group) and, in turn, sexual decision making (Le & Kler, 2022; Pachankis et al, 2020; Shepherd, Denning, et al, 2023). In addition, emerging evidence suggests intraminority gay community stress is associated with sexual risk-taking (Burton et al, 2020).…”

“…Multiple forms of stigma are prevalent and pervasive within the gay community, including but are not limited to age stigma, socioeconomic stigma, gay nonconformity stigma, racial/ethnic stigma, gender expression stigma, and body stigma—all of which influence gay men’s access to status and sexual capital and, in turn, the frequency and valence of their interactions (Hammack et al, 2022; Shepherd, Denning, et al, 2023; Shepherd, Maki, et al, 2023). The current study examined gay men’s experiences with these forms of intraminority stigma in relation to their use of dating apps to meet potential romantic or sexual partners.…”