While people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) experience body image ncerns ways that are generally siar to people who intify as heterosexual, their experience and relatnship wh their body is likely to differ specific ways.
Contents:
- SPEAKG OUT: MCLE DYSMORPHIA THE GAY COMMUNY
- BODY DYSMORPHIA CONTU TO BE A SER ISSUE AMONG GAY MEN
- BODY DYSMORPHIA AND EATG DISORRS GAY MEN
- GAY MEN AND BODY IMAGE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S HEALTH ISSU
- BODY DYSMORPHIA THE GAY COMMUNY
- GAY MEN AND BODY DISSATISFACTN
SPEAKG OUT: MCLE DYSMORPHIA THE GAY COMMUNY
Some gay men feel unattractive and stggle wh eatg disorrs, which tak s toll on mental and physil health. * gay community body dysmorphia *
Disfort wh his body started his all-boys elementary school, where he was overweight and began to experience puberty and his buddg to the London gay scene where O'Shghnsy's body dysmorphia followed him like a shadow.
Kg, 36, who hosts a gay culture podst. O'Shghnsy began takg steroids to bulk up and meet a supposed gay ial.
BODY DYSMORPHIA CONTU TO BE A SER ISSUE AMONG GAY MEN
Why do so many gay men crave a certa body ial? Our expert discs eatg disorrs & body image issu gay men. * gay community body dysmorphia *
'We're all overpensatg'Andrew Sciallo, 26, has a bone to pick wh the gay muny. He stggl wh the photo-heavy, body-foced vib of the onle datg scene for gay Sciallo has never had an official diagnosis of body dysmorphia or an eatg disorr, "I would be lyg if I said that I didn't still obss over the number on the sle, " he thks the gay muny is due for a reckong about appearanc. His gay inty didn't lead to his eatg disorr – was a pg mechanism.
BODY DYSMORPHIA AND EATG DISORRS GAY MEN
Gay men experience eatg disorrs and body dysmorphia more than any other populatn except for heterosexual women. Learn more about why this post. * gay community body dysmorphia *
Acrdg to Derek (not his real name), an extremely f-lookg 30-year-old rporate manager whose terview follows below, Mcle Dysmorphia (MD) is “perhaps the most ser problem facg gay men asi om HIV/AIDS. The followg terview foc on MD, as experienced through the ey of one member of the gay muny.
JH: Why do you thk MD is such a major problem the gay muny?
GAY MEN AND BODY IMAGE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
* gay community body dysmorphia *
D: MD, my opn, is the most wispread, unr-diagnosed, and misunrstood disease to h the gay muny sce AIDS. Bee beg gay n be so foced on looks, ’s often hard to ncentrate on other parts of your life, like relatnships or work. The gay world is so petive about how you look, and there’s a lot of petn out there.
I realize that some gay people don’t re about how their bodi look, but I thk then ’s somethg else they get ught up , like their cloth. Although I thk thgs are changg, for a long time beg gay was associated wh beg a sissy, weak, and feme, buildg your body was a way of provg you were strong and mascule. D: When I me of age and started to read gay magaz, all the pictur were of very good-lookg, very f people, I figured I’d better get gog and get to shape too.
GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S HEALTH ISSU
JH: Do you thk that havg a “perfect” appearance is more of an issue for gay people than for heterosexuals?
For me, and I thk other gay people like me, my nfince is based on how I look, if I don’t thk I look great, my nfince jt go away. JH: Are there any characteristic negative ways of thkg about their bodi you believe are mon among gay dividuals wh MD? Jt like women are portrayed as size 0 and 1 magaz, gay men are portrayed as big and mcular, well fed, strong.
JH: How much awarens of MD or BDD do you thk there is the gay muny? Do you thk this is a particularly difficult qutn for gay dividuals to nsir? I thk this is particularly hard for gay men.
BODY DYSMORPHIA THE GAY COMMUNY
JH: Do you thk that there needs to be more awarens of MD the gay muny?
D: Like I said, I believe that MD, and BDD, are the biggt diseas to h the gay muny sce AIDS. And, like the begng era of AIDS, the gay muny has ltle awarens.
In my md, BDD is the sgle biggt reason why so many of those the gay muny who take steroids do so. JH: Do you have any particular suggtns for clicians workg wh gay people wh MD.
GAY MEN AND BODY DISSATISFACTN
D: The ma thg is to te people, when to gay people they might not realize they have , and should be remembered that they might have a different nnotatn of the word disease, as often somethg sexually transmted. JH: What about parents or partners of gay dividuals wh MD, any suggtns for them? JH: Are prsur about physil appearance heightened among gay people to beg wh?
D: I would say that, y, prsur and ncerns about physil appearance are heightened among gay people to beg wh. JH: In regard to MD, your opn are there specific body parts that are pecially of ncern for gay people? JH: How do ialized imag of masculy affect gay people?
Do you thk the ial of beg extremely mcled the gay muny is a fad, or n change over time? Beg gay wasn’t accepted, even ten years ago, like is now. Maybe as beg gay is more accepted, the need to prove anythg won’t be as strong.