Abstract
There is evidence that gender as well as sexual orientation can affect body image. In particular, heterosexual women and homosexual men seem to be more vulnerable to a negative body image compared to homosexual women and heterosexual men. One reason for this may be derived from the fact that heterosexual women and homosexual men try to attract male romantic partners: As men place more importance on physical attractiveness than do women, the pressure to fulfill the sociocultural beauty ideal is thus increased. The present online study investigated differences in appearance-related partner preferences and their associations with measures of body image and eating pathology in homosexual and heterosexual women and men. The non-representative sample consisted of 893 participants (n = 201 lesbian women, n = 192 gay men, n = 349 heterosexual women, and n = 151 heterosexual men), who completed silhouette measures assessing their perception and expectations regarding body fat and muscularity of their own body and the body of a potential romantic partner, as well as questionnaires on drive for thinness, drive for muscularity, and eating pathology. Overall, few differences in appearance-related partner preferences emerged between the four groups. However, compared to heterosexual women, homosexual men appeared to prefer higher muscularity in potential romantic partners, which was also associated with increased drive for thinness and muscularity and increased eating pathology. The present findings indicate that, irrespective of sexual orientation, women and men tend to share similar standards regarding their own and a potential partner’s physical appearance, potentially suggesting an increased hegemony of heteronormative beauty ideals in women and men in general.
Highlights
Gender as well as sexual orientation seem to affect the risk of experiencing body dissatisfaction (e.g., Calzo et al, 2018) and of developing pathological eating behavior (Dakanalis et al, 2015; Keel & Forney, 2013)
With regard to the self-reported body image and eating pathology, the present findings revealed a rather genderspecific pattern, with women displaying a higher drive for thinness and men scoring higher on drive for muscularity
The present study adds to the very limited body of evidence on appearance-related partner preferences, and is the first study to our knowledge to investigate two complementary aspects of appearance-related partner preferences and their associations with body image and eating pathology in homosexual and heterosexual women and men
Summary
Gender as well as sexual orientation seem to affect the risk of experiencing body dissatisfaction (e.g., Calzo et al, 2018) and of developing pathological eating behavior (Dakanalis et al, 2015; Keel & Forney, 2013). The literature suggests that despite an increasing prevalence of body dissatisfaction in men over the past decades (Fiske et al, 2014; Gray & Ginsberg, 2007), women still tend to be more vulnerable to Besides this general gender gap, there is some evidence that gay men suffer from a poorer body image compared to heterosexual men (e.g., Frederick & Essayli, 2016; Jankowski et al, 2014; Morrison et al, 2004; Peplau et al, 2009; and see Kane, 2010), especially with respect to increased eating pathology and higher drive for thinness and muscularity (e.g., Yean et al, 2013). In one of the few studies to control for differences in body mass index (BMI) between lesbian and heterosexual women, Alvy (2013) reported that lesbian women displayed
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