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from Clinical/Therapeutic Issues
Study Says Gay Body Image Concerns
Related To 'Minority Stress'
January 16, 2006 -
A report published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
(December 2005) claims to show that gay males who are overly concerned about
their body image are reacting to "minority stress," which includes internalized
homophobia, external prejudice, conformity to heterosexual masculine norms, and
concerns over being assaulted for being gay.
The report, "Body Image Concerns of Gay Men: The Roles of Minority Stress and
Conformity to Masculine Norms," was published by Sara B. Kimmel (Harvard) and
James R. Mahalik (Boston College).
The researchers noted that gay males report greater body dissatisfaction,
body-related stress, eating disorders, and poorer body image than heterosexual
males.
They posit the "minority stress model" to explain this problem. It is defined as
stress related to societal stigma, internalized homophobia, and fear of
violence.
To test this model, they recruited 357 gay men, mostly white, from gay web site
discussion groups. They gave each interviewee a series of tests: Body Image
Ideals Questionnaire; Masculine Body Ideal Distress Scale; The Stigma Scale; The
Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory; and Internalized Homophobia Scale.
The researchers say the results of this study "indicated that all three minority
stress factors (i.e., internalized homophobia, stigma, and an anti-gay physical
attack) were significantly associated with both body image dissatisfaction and
masculine body ideal distress. These findings support previous research
documenting that minority stress helps to explain lesbian, gay, and bisexual
individuals' mental health problems such as suicidal ideation, depression,
anxiety, and substance use."
They also observed: "Conformity to masculine norms did not correlate with body
image dissatisfaction but was associated with gay men's distress if their body
did not meet the physically powerful masculine ideal, as we hypothesized."
Kimmel and Mahalik believe that these findings show the need for clinicians to
"explore directly with gay men their range of feelings about being masculine in
a heterosexist society. For some gay men, being masculine may be important
because it makes them feel more accepted within the dominant heterosexual
society."
In their conclusion, the researchers say, "We encourage researchers to continue
to examine other presenting concerns for gay men and to develop and evaluate
empirically informed remedial and preventive interventions to improve the health
of members of the gay community."
Additional Reading: Healing Homosexuality: Case Stories of Reparative Therapy
Updated: 8 February 2008
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