Why Body Image Issu Perva the Gay Communy | GQ

Contents:

• GAY MEN AND BODY PERFECTN
• WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY
• BODY IMAGE AND GAY MEN: ADAPTATN OF EMOTNALLY-FOCED FAY THERAPY FOR GAY CLIENTS WH NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE
• THE BODY IMAGE PROBLEM AND HOW ’S HURTG GAY MEN
• GAY MEN AND BODY IMAGE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• “NEVER REFLECTED ANYWHERE”: BODY IMAGE AMONG ETHNORACIALIZED GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• BODY IMAGE NCERNS OF GAY MEN: THE ROL OF MORY STRS AND NFORMY TO MASCULE NORMS
• THE GAY MEN RISKG THEIR HEALTH FOR THE PERFECT BODY
• BODY IMAGE PRSUR AS A CISGENRED GAY MAN
• DO GAY MEN HAVE UNHEALTHIER BODY IMAGE?
• THE BODY IMAGE PRSUR GAY MEN FEEL AROUND MARDI GRAS
• A GROUP TERVENTN TO IMPROVE BODY IMAGE SATISFACTN AND DIETARY HABS GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN LIVG WH HIV/AIDS

GAY MEN AND BODY PERFECTN

Rearch published last year by Philip Joy and Matthew Numer om Dalhoie Universy found 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. 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.

“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. 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. While people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) experience body image ncerns ways that are generally siar to those who intify as heterosexual, their experience and relatnship wh their bodi are likely to differ specific ways.

Some rearch suggts that sexual mory men may be more likely to ternalise an appearance ial that is centred around lookg athletic (124) and that there may be a greater emphasis on physil appearance the gay muny, which n negatively affect body image (125) through prsure to match this ial. One review of the rearch (126) found that gay men are more likely than their heterosexual unterparts to experience a sire to be th, which n sometim manift higher levels of eatg disorr symptoms.

WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY

As the wir rearch, studi foced on gay, and bisexual men have found a nnectn between higher levels of body dissatisfactn, an creased likelihood of experiencg prsive symptoms and creased sexual anxiety and poorer sexual self-efficy (123). Among adults who intified as gay, lbian, bisexual or other, 53% felt anx, and 56% felt prsed bee of their body image pared to one-third (33%) of the adults who intified as heterosexual.

Siarly, our survey, one-third (33%) of adults who intified as gay, lbian, bisexual or other reported experiencg suicidal thoughts or feelgs bee of ncerns about their body image, pared to 11% of the adults who intified as heterosexual. For young men who have sex wh men, one study found that ternalised negative attus towards homosexualy and sexual orientatn predicted overall body dissatisfactn, mculary, and body fat (134).

This was reflected our survey, where 40% of the adults who intified as gay, lbian, bisexual or other said they felt shame bee of their body image, pared to 18% of the heterosexual adults. Siarly, 54% of adults who intified as gay, lbian, bisexual or other felt their self-teem was negatively affected by their body image the past year, pared to 37% of the adults who intified as heterosexual. IntroductnA growg body of lerature has highlighted the creased prevalence of body image ncerns among gay and bisexual men (GBM) and other men who have sex wh men (MSM1) and s implitns for the health and well-beg of this populatn.

BODY IMAGE AND GAY MEN: ADAPTATN OF EMOTNALLY-FOCED FAY THERAPY FOR GAY CLIENTS WH NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE

Body image dissatisfactn among GBM has been associated wh symptoms of prsn (Blashill, 2010, Olivardia et al., 2004), appearance-related anxiety (Blashill, 2010), disorred eatg symptomology (Blashill, 2010, Brennan et al., 2011), and ternalized homonegativy (Brennan, Craig, & Thompson, 2012).

Rults suggted that Asian gay men stggled to fd a body type that simultaneoly meets the expectatns imposed by the predomantly gay male culture, the heterosexist Atralian culture, as well as their Asian ethnic culture that plac an emphasis on masculy.

Intersectnaly theory has also been applied to unrstand the plexi of the experience of homophobic bullyg among lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) youth of lor, some of whom dited beg more troubled by havg to send gus the possible motivatns behd bullyg than by the bullyg self (Daley, Solomon, Newman, & Mishna, 2007).

THE BODY IMAGE PROBLEM AND HOW ’S HURTG GAY MEN

G., beg gay/bisexual, male, racial mori) teract wh each other to create qualatively different experienc their everyday liv pared to their Whe GBM qualative study sought to explore how race and racism may play a role body image ncerns among ethnoracialized GBM.

Sectn snippetsMethodAs a part of a multi-phased, muny-based rearch project (Image Men's Health), this qualative quiry aimed to exame body image among ethnoracialized gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men (MSM) Toronto, Canada. RultsData analysis of foc groups and terviews rulted the followg major them: (1) body image ializatn gay/bisexual male culture, (2) negotiatg a racialized body image, and (3) negotiatg the impact of body image on relatnship wh self and others. The fdgs reflect the tersectn of the experienc of racism, DiscsnThis study provid substantial evince of how body image for ethnoracialized GBM is fluenced by the tersectn of forms of social opprsn such as racism, homophobia, and genr exprsn.

The thors would like to acknowledge the journal reviewers forCed by (61)Sexual racism and lourism among Atralian men who have sex wh men: A qualative vtigatn2022, Body ImageThe stereotyp and their nsequenc have been scribed as pable for non-Whe MSM their teractns wh Whe gay men specifilly and datg ntexts more broadly (Plummer, 2008). Establishg ial validy and factor stcture for the mculary-oriented eatg tt gay men2022, Eatg BehavrsParticipants were reced exclively onle, precludg participatn om those whout Inter accs, and were relatively homogeno, wh most intifyg as Whe (81. Given the signifint tersectns of race and sexualy among gay men of lor's body image (Brennan et al., 2013), wh racialized body ials and stereotyp playg a role men of lor's body satisfactn, future rearch should asss the MOET's validy and reliabily more diverse sampl of gay men.

GAY MEN AND BODY IMAGE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The thors hypothized that gay men's experienc of mory strs and their nformy to mascule norms would be associated wh creased body image dissatisfactn and mascule body ial distrs. E., ternalized homophobia, expected stigma for beg gay, and experienc of physil attack) were associated wh body image dissatisfactn and mascule body ial distrs, acuntg for 5% and 13% of the variance, rpectively. Body image disturbance and associated eatg disorr and body dysmorphic disorr pathology gay and heterosexual men: A systematic analys of gnive, affective, behavral und perceptual aspects.

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.

“NEVER REFLECTED ANYWHERE”: BODY IMAGE AMONG ETHNORACIALIZED GAY AND BISEXUAL 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.

"Not only would this help gay and bi men see themselv reflected what they watch, would also help break down harmful stereotyp that affect gay and bi men's body image and self-teem.

BODY IMAGE NCERNS OF GAY MEN: THE ROL OF MORY STRS AND NFORMY TO MASCULE NORMS

” The edian Bill Maher said on his show that by 2054, if we follow what he se as the current trajectory, “we will all be gay, ” addg that the rise the number of younger people intifyg as transgenr seemed spic. Bee of the fluence of Schorr put siarly Natnal Review: “To suggt that social suggtibily uld be playg a role the skyrocketg numbers of young girls’ exprsg their sire to bee mal, for example, is not of urse to say that gay and transgenr people would not exist whout the topics’ beg discsed the public square. Femal that intify as lbian, bisexual, or mostly heterosexual were about twice as likely to report bge-eatg at least once per month wh the last are elevated rat of bge-eatg and purgg dividuals who intify as gay, lbian, bisexual, or “mostly heterosexual” parison to heterosexual peers.

THE GAY MEN RISKG THEIR HEALTH FOR THE PERFECT BODY

A sense of nnectedns to the gay muny was related to fewer current eatg disorrs, which suggts that feelg nnected to the gay muny may have a protective effect agast eatg disorrs.

I thk that is a pretty mon experience for most people when they’re growg up, but when you’re referred to as “the gay kid” stead of your own name, you’re forced to grow up pretty quickly. Psychologist Rachel Simeone says gay men have a much higher level of body dissatisfactn than other men who have eatg disorrs, 42 per cent are of Rachel's clients prent wh extreme eatg and exercise disorrs, anxiety and prsn, and physil damage to their body.

BODY IMAGE PRSUR AS A CISGENRED GAY MAN

Dpe his newfound nfince, the thought of returng to Sydney for the Mardi Gras para ma him nervo and 's a feelg shared by many men, who nnot pe the muny's obssn wh body image on the eve of "Gay Christmas" media is ltered wh thirst traps. "There are a number of rourc and anisatns out there, cludg:Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras anisers say the event is about champng diversy "wh varied body typ, cultural backgrounds, ag and tert groups celebrated".

DO GAY MEN HAVE UNHEALTHIER BODY IMAGE?

However, spe this lk, few theraptic rourc exist that addrs the unique strsors of gay men stgglg wh body image and body image-related factors as well as fay fluence on the strsors. Gay men also report creased body dissatisfactn, disorred eatg, and negative body image pared to heterosexual men (Calzo et al., 2017; Matthews-Ewald et al., 2014; Jankowski et al., 2014; Kamski et al., 2005; McArdle & Hill, 2009). Rearch has shown that LGBTQ teens are more likely to experience weight-based teasg and gay male adolcents are more likely to ternalize the th ial than heterosexual male adolcents (Calzo et al., 2015; Eisenberg et al., 2020).

Current rearch suggts that fay relatnships impact body image and other related nstcts such as self-teem for gay men, addnally suggtg that gay adolcents may be at unique risk (Bozard & Young 2016; Detrie & Lease, 2007; Ryan et al., 2010; Shilo & Savaya, 2011). However, prelimary rearch supports that through utilizg EFFT, therapists n help gay clients and their fai heal past attachment juri related to betrayal and rejectn and crease feelgs of safety and acceptance wh the fay system.

This secure attachment may serve as a protective factor agast the impacts of stigma and opprsn often directed towards the gay muny as well as om the appearance ials and prsur wh the muny (Cook & Calebs, 2016). We will outle how fay relatnships fluence body image for gay men as well as monstrate the implementatn of stag one and two of EFFT when workg wh gay clients stgglg wh negative body image. Gay men tend to experience greater prsure to nform to specific appearance standards than heterosexual men due to an emphasis on physil attractivens wh gay culture (Kimmel, & Mahalik, 2005; Koari-Rad & Mclaren, 2013).

THE BODY IMAGE PRSUR GAY MEN FEEL AROUND MARDI GRAS

Gay men experience disproportnate rat of body dissatisfactn and low self-worth pared to heterosexual men (Gigi et al., 2016; Jankowski et al., 2014; McArdle & Hill, 2009; Pachankis & Hatzenbuehler, 2013). The high levels of body dissatisfactn and low self-worth place gay men at risk for numero adverse out such as substance e, anxiety, prsn and low self-teem as well as eatg disorr symptomology and unhealthy weight ntrol behavrs (Blashill, 2010; Calzo et al., 2017; De Santis et al., 2012; Matthews-Ewald et al., 2014; McArdle & Hill, 2009).

Rearchers found siar rults another study which gay male youth were more likely to report over-exercisg, diet pill e, fastg, and purgg than heterosexual youth the sample (Zullig et al., 2019). Although more rearch is need on body image-related out for LGBTQ + adolcents, the current rearch suggts that gay youth may be at particular risk for adverse body image and disorred eatg out. For gay men particular, perceived fay support has been lked to higher levels of self-teem, self-acceptance, and posive body image velopment (Bozard & Young 2016; Detrie & Lease, 2007; Ryan et al., 2010; Shilo & Savaya, 2011).

Given the impact of fay relatnships and attachment style on body image out, particularly for gay men, attachment-based fay therapy theori such as EFFT may be effective improvg body image out for this is important to note that limed rearch exists on the impact of fay specifilly on body image out for gay adolcents. Although no rearch has specifilly examed the impact of parental relatnships on body image and body-image related ncepts for gay youth, prr lerature supports the hypothis that a gree of impact exists. Given the relatnship between fay relatnships and body image-related factors for gay men, is val that therapists are equipped to utilize this systemic lens when workg wh this populatn.

A GROUP TERVENTN TO IMPROVE BODY IMAGE SATISFACTN AND DIETARY HABS GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN LIVG WH HIV/AIDS

Attachment theory may be a helpful amework for therapists to unrstand how the fay system impacts the velopment of self-ncept and body image for gay men (Cook & Calebs, 2016).

Studi dite that gay men experience high gre of parental rejectn childhood and adolcence which largely ntribut to the velopment of secure attachment (Landolt et al., 2004).