It's a new year and and a new , but that don't mean the world needs a new you. GQ unpacks the body image issu pervadg the gay muny.
Contents:
- GAY MEN AND BODY PERFECTN
- HOW BODY IALS SHAPE THE HEALTH OF GAY MEN
- THE GAY MEN RISKG THEIR HEALTH FOR THE PERFECT BODY
- A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
- PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
- MCULARY AND THE GAY IAL: BODY DISSATISFACTN AND DISORRED EATG HOMOSEXUAL MEN
- WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY
GAY MEN AND BODY PERFECTN
Many gay men want a perfect body, but the effort to get one creat real misery. * ideal gay body *
The gay media reprents bety and sirabily the form of youth and gym-toned bodi, makg the gay scene a harsh place for people who do not nform to such ials. There is a high prevalence of psychologil distrs related to body image amongst gay men. We ually associate eatg disorrs wh women but is mon wh gay men too (and creasgly wh heterosexual men).
This distrs go unnoticed bee is socially sirable to have the perfect body the gay scene. Many gay men velop harsh and cril thoughts about how they look, and n seem like an impossible battle to w.
I see gay men whose strict liftyle has ma them miserable and they n’t fd a way towards ntentment for themselv. Whilst the gay media perpetuat body perfectn and helps mata the distrs, the unrlyg disturbance that mak so many gay men predisposed to the stggl is homophobia.
HOW BODY IALS SHAPE THE HEALTH OF GAY MEN
Gay men speak about the prsure to have the perfect body - and how far they have gone to get . * ideal gay body *
In my practice, I see many gay men whose real stggle is the fear of rejectn, the hypervigilance of threats makg vulnerabily tolerable for them. Gay men may not be able to intify the unrlyg pa by themselv but gay-affirmative therapy, they n have a space to unpack the var layers of their disturbanc. For example, gay men often have memori of beg bullied at school so beg "big wh mcl" is a way to unter that pa.
THE GAY MEN RISKG THEIR HEALTH FOR THE PERFECT BODY
The gay world is often reprented as some sort of monolhic whole that has the same culture. That is a lie. It is actually broken down to a handful of substrata to which each gay belongs. Here they are. * ideal gay body *
‘I am bombard wh liftyl, athetics and bodi that gay men are prsured and expected to emulate to be attractive, worthy and happy. Gay men currently receive ltle rearch attentn when to health issu such as eatg disorrs and other body image ncerns. Yet expectatns are high for gay men, as the wtern ial mascule body is mcular and fat ee.
A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
The prent study vtigated body ncerns a muny sample of 52 homosexual men, as well as two parison groups prisg 51 heterosexual men and 55 heterosexual women. Gay men were found to sre signifintly more highly than heterosexual men on all measur of disorred eatg, and di … * ideal gay body *
Evince also dit that there are unique ncerns for LGBTQ people relatg to nutrn and oby, and that tailored programs n improve overall health out for gay men.
Our rearch shows that social mands placed upon gay men to eat healthily and achieve a perfect body are lked to anxiety and prsn and have ser mental health nsequenc. In our study, rried out at Dalhoie Universy, gay men explored how culture fluenc the way they thk about food and their bodi through a procs lled Photovoice—an arts-based rearch methodology which participants subm their own photographs. Ne self-intified gay men photographed var aspects of their liv relatg to their experienc wh food, body image and health.
In this rearch, participants viewed food as a way to socialize and nnect wh other gay men.
PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
They also found to be a source of strs, as they try to live up to ialized body standards wh gay culture. For this participant, this scene highlights the need for gay men to be "as th as humanly possible. Participants talked about the immense prsur to showse mcular bodi on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and gay datg apps.
The health nsequenc for gay men of not livg up to body ials have been prevly intified and clu disorred eatg, avoidance of sex, stigma, rejectn and isolatn. Media ptn, Gay body shamg prsure 'led to severe heart failure'"You're too ugly to be gay, " a man a Hudrsfield gay bar told Jakeb Artur was the latt a seri of ments om men that Jakeb says ma him feel worthls. Manchter-based chary the LGBT Foundatn has warned that body image issu are beg more wispread gay muni.
It says gay and bisexual men are "much more likely" than heterosexual men to stggle wh them.
MCULARY AND THE GAY IAL: BODY DISSATISFACTN AND DISORRED EATG HOMOSEXUAL MEN
A number of gay men have told the BBC they are gog to extreme lengths to change their bodi - cludg g steroids and havg plastic surgery - jt to bee "accepted" by others the LGBT muny. "It jt hasn't been worth at all, " he Jakeb is not alone takg drastic measur to try to appeal to Bmpton - a software engeer om Lln - found himself "tapulted to this world of self-nscns", after he hooked up wh a man at a lol gay Jam went back to the man's hoe and took off his T-shirt, his date looked at him and ma a disgted noise.
Acrdg to the most recent figur released by the Brish Associatn of Athetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps), 179 abdomoplasti were performed on men 2018 - up 18% on the prev Afsh Mosahebi, of Baaps, says gay men are currently havg more smetic procr done than straight men, although he not that women have more procr than men overall. "People havg their profil 'no fats', or that they're only to mascule and mcular guys, so they don't want anyone that's super skny, " he on social media and leadg gay magaz have also led Jam to feel he is an "var the space". "The ia your head is that to be a gay man, is to look like a Calv Kle mol, " he of "sexy bodi" drive sal of gay magaz, acrdg to Matthew Todd, a former edor of one such publitn, Attu.
WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY
"Low self-teemMatthew, the thor of Straight Jacket: How to be gay and happy, says homophobia has fuelled gay men's body issu.
"The rult has been that gay men are unr more prsure than straight men to have the perfect body, Matthew says.
"If you go on to some gay datg apps, you would thk that the vast majory of gay men are supermols, " he ntu. "If you're a gay man, the act of fdg another man attractive is also makg a judgement of yourself.