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:
- REPORTED EFFECTS OF MASCULE IALS ON GAY MEN
- HOW BODY IALS SHAPE THE HEALTH OF GAY MEN
- PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
- A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
- MCULARY AND THE GAY IAL: BODY DISSATISFACTN AND DISORRED EATG HOMOSEXUAL MEN
- PENIS SIZE AND PREFERRED SEXUAL ROL AMONG GAY MEN
- IAL GAY: CUERPO, MODA Y MASCULIDAD*
- WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY
REPORTED EFFECTS OF MASCULE IALS ON GAY MEN
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. * gay ideal *
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.
HOW BODY IALS SHAPE THE HEALTH OF 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 … * gay ideal *
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. Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC5442596NIHMSID: NIHMS860386AbstractThe Bear muny exists as a subculture reactn to the larger gay muny.
PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
I personally examed thoands of obuari of gay men to support the claim that homosexualy is not a healthy liftyle. * gay ideal *
While qualative data document such self-intifiers as mascule-actg gay men who weigh more and have more body hair, there has to date been no quantative analysis of this group’s characteristics. In rponse, we nducted two large-sle studi of gay men intifyg as Bears (n = 469) to survey their self-reported physil, behavral, and psychologil tras.
Keywords: Bears, Gay Culture, Gay and Bisexual Men, Self-teem, Masculy, ObyINTRODUCTIONThe gay muny is ultimately a heterogeneo one wh many subgroups and subcultur—one of the monali among them beg the sire to have same-sex enunters. Bee there is a arth of general rearch regardg this muny, and no studi to date that e quantative methods, we cid to explore this muny quantatively—g an Inter-nvenience sample, followed by a purposive suggted, the Bear culture exhibs and valu a greater sense of domant (but not necsarily domeerg) “thentic masculy” parison to other subcultur wh the gay muny (e. In rponse and ntrast wh Leathermen, Bears mata their mascule inty whout adoptg negative hypermascule tennci to acmodate all partners, spe their size or body is some theoretil support for why the Bear inty spltered om the gay male mastream culture.
A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
G., twks, partyboys, A-listers) that are anthetil to, and even antagonistic towards Bears, men who are hairier and heavier exist and adopt an inty to afont the stereotypil “alpha” gay male. Popular culture, the media, and Wtern hetero- and homosexual expectatns have normalized the ial male body as one that is lean, mcular, and v-shaped (wh broad shoulrs, a narrow waist, and a flat but well-fed stomach) (Olivardia, Pope, Borowiecki, & Cohane, 2000). G., poor self-image/self-teem) velop both heterosexual and homosexual men exhibg ls sirable physil tras (Beren, Hayn, Wilfley, & Grilo, 1996; Morrison, Morrison, & Sager, 2004; Pepl et al., 2009; Weer, 2009; Yelland & Tiggemann, 2003).
MCULARY AND THE GAY IAL: BODY DISSATISFACTN AND DISORRED EATG HOMOSEXUAL MEN
However, where mastream gay men report wantg partners wh those prevly stated, admired or revered characteristics (Moskowz, Rieger, & Seal, 2009), Bears may not (Manley et al., 2007).
PENIS SIZE AND PREFERRED SEXUAL ROL AMONG GAY MEN
Whereas mastream gay men often do not engage sired or preferred sexual behavrs bee of fears of rejectn or judgment (Kamski, Chapman, Hayn, & Own, 2004), those the more acceptg Bear muny reject the fears due to their beg ultimately “feme” nature (Hennen, 2005). G., uratn, fistg, voyrism, exhibnism) (Grov, Parsons, & Bimbi, 2010) to the active existence of the Bear muny and regnn of this subculture by the larger gay/bisexual male culture, more rearch is need to explore the gree to which the prevly mentned physil, behavral, and psychologil differenc actually exist. In explorg the smaller subcultur of the larger gay/bisexual male culture, soclogy, psychology, and even public health n better expla and addrs the needs of men wh same-sex attractns.
Specifilly, our first study was more exploratory and foced on the physil tras, partner selectn, and rejectn creria of gay men (wh which we llected enough Bears for analys).
A total of 531 men answered the 2: IML/PriFt Study Procr For the send study, data were llected g an anonymo survey admistered at two pennt gay events May and June 2008: the Internatnal Mr.
IAL GAY: CUERPO, MODA Y MASCULIDAD*
Our rults scribe a subculture of men who were different than mastream gay men their personal looks, partner preferenc, behavrs, and psychologi. Consirg the likely prevalence of a Bear inty may be held (wh varyg tenaci) by about 14–22% of gay men, the rults provi addnal evince for the manift and latent heterogeney of gay and bisexual rults regardg body tras and partner selectn nfirm, for the first time a systematic manner, fdgs documented prev terview and ethnographic studi.
To be able to take a fist or urate on another man may be how the men exemplify their form of masculy—particularly a sexual climate where most gay men do not want to, nnot, or will not enact the behavrs.
Regardls of the potential explanatn, Bears appear to be more sexually diverse and explorative than mastream gay and bisexual rults documented lower self-teem, which ntradicted both our hypothis and others’ terview rearch (e. Simply, to the Bear culture and reactn to mastream gay men, Bears may self-prent as feelg good; however, ternally, they may wish that they had those normative ialized bety tras. In this rpect, Bears may overtimate and overstate re towards partners to self-prent as beg distct om men adherg to the mastream gay culture (which are often stereotyped as treatg partners as disposable) (Isay, 2009).
WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY
A portra emerg om the Bear rults that supports a theory for why the gay muny ultimately is so heterogeneo (and th produc the high gree of spoff subcultur): Cultur facilate succsful same-sex enunters. As Bears are not vastly different towards their sexual partners than mastream gay men, the culture veloped to ensure that even the heavit, hairit, and/or shortt dividual uld partner.