How body ials shape the health of gay men

GAY MEN AND BODY IMAGE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

* gay male body image *

Gay men experience eatg disorrs and body dysmorphia more than any other populatn except for heterosexual women. To help unrstand the lk between gay culture and negative body image, eatg disorrs and body dysmorphia, we spoke to Carl Hovey, a psychologist and rearcher at the Soho and Fidi lotns of the Gay Therapy Center New York. He terviewed a llectn of gay men New York Cy, askg open end qutns like, “Can you talk to me a ltle about how you experience your body, both now and the past?

Why are the negative impacts affectg gay men more than straight men? “The discrepancy between the rate among gay men and straight men is pretty dramatic, ” Carl told .

GAY MEN AND BODY PERFECTN

Many gay men want a perfect body, but the effort to get one creat real misery. * gay male body image *

But what Carl found, was that the level of acceptance gay men found wh their muny was sentially lked to the acceptance they felt wh their own body.

WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY

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. * gay male body image *

“One of the more surprisg elements that me out of the rearch is how often experienc of the body–more specifilly, whether or not an dividual felt his body was acceptable or unacceptable the marketplace of gay culture—was related to a feelg of cln or excln wh that culture, ” Carl said. Gay culture, Carl went on to say, is fed through sire. It’s what separat gay men om mastream heterosexual culture: this sire that for so long was nsired taboo.

BODY IMAGE GAY MEN: WHEN AND HOW TO INTERVENE

Nearly 15% of all gay men report alg wh anorexia or bulimia durg their lifetime. * gay male body image *

And wh so much of gay culture revolvg around sire, rather than some sort of cultural herage, gay men have found themselv a posn where they feel like they have to embody that sire–or else they won’t have a place wh the culture and muny. There is an unspoken expectatn wh gay culture: you mt be sirable at all tim, or else you won’t f to the cultural spac rerved for gay men.

Carl went on to expla how this is te, not only for isolatg gay men om the larger queer muny, but actually om their own inty. “Not jt om the larger gay muny. People even talked about feelg alienated om themselv, as though if their body didn’t f a certa script, they weren’t even sure who they were as gay men.

But is also leavg many gay men feelg anx about their bodi. 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.