Bi guys experience less body dissatisfaction than gay men, study finds
a new study from Nottingham Trent University, which found gay and bisexual men view their bodies and experience dissatisfaction with their appearance differently.The investigation sampled 378 men between the ages of 18 to 85 who self-identified as heterosexual, gay, or bisexual.
Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Then, researchers studied their levels of motivation to alter their “leanness and muscularity,” as well as satisfaction with their “body fat, muscularity, height” and erm, endowment.boyfriends?? (i’m bi, actually) pic.twitter.com/5a5cR5qcQ0Compared to gay men, bisexual participants were “significantly less motivated to be lean and showed lower muscular dissatisfaction,” with results similar to straight respondents.Basically, while “societal body image ideals” encourage men across orientations to idolize muscularity and leanness, the research suggested that it drives actual dissatisfaction the most amongst gay men.
According to the study, one possible explanation is that gay men “report a stronger physical attraction to attractive and muscular partners.” The desire to change one’s appearance to align with these ideals may result in their “poorer body image.”“body image in the gay community” discourse again pic.twitter.com/7H1NSqWGdlStill, the most important finding was the difference between gay and bi men’s responses, as the two groups are typically lumped together in research.“Bisexual people experience greater stigma, marginalization and prejudice than other sexual [minority] identities,” the study concluded. “As of the most recent review of this issue, only a small number of studies have explored bisexual and gay men’s body image differences … emphasizing the importance of this direction of research.”Realizing you you’re attracted to others with your body type but not loving your own is very much the gay experience.Furthermore, the investigation.
